An Act to establish guiding principles for action to address climate change; to set targets for the reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions in New South Wales; to set an objective for New South Wales to be more resilient to a changing climate; and to establish the Net Zero Commission to monitor, review and report on progress towards the targets and the objective and to exercise other related functions.
This Act is the Climate Change (Net Zero Future) Act 2023.
This Act commences on the date of assent to this Act.
The purpose of this Act is to give effect to the international commitment established through the 2015 Paris Agreement to—
(a) hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and
(b) pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, and
(c) increase the ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change.
The Parliament of New South Wales, in enacting this Act, recognises—
(a) there is a scientific consensus that human activity is causing abnormal changes to the climate, and
(b) action is urgently required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to address the adverse impacts of climate change.
The Parliament of New South Wales, in enacting this Act, is committed to effective action on climate change to ensure a sustainable and fair future for the people, economy and environment of New South Wales.
The objects of this Act are as follows—
(a) to establish guiding principles for action to address climate change,
(b) to set targets for the reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions in New South Wales until 2050,
(c) to set an objective for New South Wales to be more resilient to a changing climate,
(d) to establish the Net Zero Commission to independently monitor, review and report on progress in New South Wales towards the targets, the adaptation objective and other matters.
In this Act—
(a) action to mitigate climate change by reducing—
(i) greenhouse gas emissions, and
(ii) greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, for example, through sequestration or sinks, and
(b) action to adapt to a changing climate and to address the effects of climate change.
(a) directly or indirectly attributable to human activity that alters the composition of the atmosphere, and
(b) in addition to natural climate variability over comparable time periods.