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The federal government is starting consultations on lowering the safeguard mechanism, which was put in place to ensure that big companies reduce their emissions.

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said that while the framework for the mechanism was strong, its implementation had failed under the previous government.

Chris Bowen, Minister of Climate Change and Energy.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

‘Reference levels are set, in many cases, above existing broadcasts,’ the Labor leader told Radio National earlier this morning.

“That’s why the system so far, backups, have failed and emissions have increased from installations covered by the backup mechanism.

“We keep the architecture, because the architecture is quite elegant, but the way it was implemented was very, very poor.”

The ability of large emitters to purchase international carbon credits will also be considered, Bowen said, adding that programs must be credible and verifiable.

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Such programs would only be allowed “if the government was 100% guaranteed and satisfied with the integrity of these emission reductions”.

“I’m very eager to get input from industry and climate groups on some of the finer details,” he said.

The current mechanism applies to large facilities in certain industries that produce more than 100,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases per year.

It currently covers approximately 215 establishments.

The government reforms are expected to come into effect from July 1, 2023.

AAP

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