Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called a federal election for 3 May 2025. The major parties will spend the next five weeks establishing their proposed policies ahead of polling day.
To provide the clearest, fact-checked updates on the parties' climate policies over the coming weeks, MCF has compiled the 2025 Climate Policy Tracker, to provide ongoing updates on where the parties stand across policy areas.
This tracker will be updated regularly in the lead up to the federal election.
| Policy area | Labor Party | LNP | Minor Parties and Independents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hosting COP31 | The Australian government, under the Labor Party, is bidding to host the UN Climate Summit, COP31, in Australia in 2026, in partnership with the Pacific. PM Anthony Albanese reaffirmed in his press conference announcing the election date: "We hope to host a COP conference of the parties here in Australia and I’ll have more to say about that during the campaign." | On March 31, the Opposition Leader of the Coalition, Peter Dutton, confirmed he will ditch the bid to co-host a global United Nations climate change meeting – COP31 – with the Pacific if he wins the election, labelling the idea "madness". | |
| Paris Agreement | Australia is a party to the Paris Agreement. The Labor government legislated its 2030 and 2050 emissions reduction targets under the Climate Change Act 2022. | The Coalition has indicated that, if elected, it would keep Australia in as a Party Agreement party and is committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2050. It has, however, said it would dump Australia's current 2030 target (43% reduction on 2005 levels by 2030) as "unachievable". | |
| 2035 emissions reduction target | The Labor party have said they will announce a 2035 interim emissions reduction target after the election if returned to power. The reason for delay is cited as the need to receive advice from the Climate Change Authority on the target. The Authority has advised it is not in a position to provide this advice until after the election. | The Opposition Leader, Peter Dutton, has confirmed that, if elected, the Coalition would set a 2035 emissions reduction target on the basis that this is a legal obligation. It is likely to be less ambitious than that under contemplation by the Labor government or the levels recommended by the Climate Change Authority. | The Greens say the only 2035 target consistent with the science is net-zero emissions. |
| Climate change authority | There are no plans to remove the Climate Change Authority, headed by former NSW Liberal Climate Minister, Matt Kean, if the Labor Party is relected. | The Coalition has indicated that it may dump Matt Kean as the head of the Climate Change Authority if it wins the election. The Authority itself may also be dismantled. Opposition finance spokeswoman Jane Hume has said, “I don’t think that we could possibly maintain a Climate Change Authority that has been so badly politicised”. | |
| Offshore wind | The Labor Government have prioritised the establishment of a multi-billion-dollar offshore wind industry, via the allocation of six priority areas for offshore development in August 2022. These priority areas have subsequently been declared over a collective 30,000km2 of Commonwealth Waters, off the shores of Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania, South Australia, and Western Australia. | The Opposition Leader of the Coalition, Peter Dutton, has openly expressed an intent to cancel three of Labor’s offshore wind proposed projects if elected, namely the Illawara, Southern Ocean, and Hunter declared areas, citing community opposition as a primary driver. | |
| Nuclear energy | The Labor party opposes the coalition's nuclear power plan, claiming it is too slow, too expensive and too risky. | The Coalition has unveiled seven sites in five states where it proposes to build nuclear power plants if it is elected. The plants would be government-owned and the Coalition has promised they would be operational by 2035-2037, a timeline doubted by many experts, in addition to the concerns voiced by many experts about the environmental, health and economic impacts of the plan. | The Greens openly oppose the nuclear plan, with their policy stating: 'No nuclear power, weapons or mining. Future generations must not be burdened with toxic nuclear waste for which there is no safe disposal.' The House Select Committee on Nuclear Energy released a report finding that nuclear power is unsuitable for Australia, with the independent MP Monique Ryan listing a myriad reasons why nuclear is unsuitable for Australia. A contingent of Liberal Party members have also established an offshoot that opposes the nuclear power plan. |
| Gas and coal projects requiring federal approval | The Labor government has ruled out changes to the main federal environment legislation, the EPBC Act, to introduce a 'climate trigger' that would apply to greenhouse gas producing projects. It's 2022 proposals for a federal EPA were also dumped, though PM Albanese has now pledged to create a new nature watchdog if re-elected (using a different model than previously proposed). | Dutton intends to fast-track North West Shelf approval, jumping the queue on the assessment of environmental, social and economic impacts. The coalition will also introduce a National Interest Test to approvals and limit activist ability to stall projects. | |
| Safeguard mechanism | The Albanese Labor government strengthened the scheme in 2023 by applying a decline rate to the facilities’ baselines. | The Coalition has announced it will consider weakening the Safeguard Mechanism, which is a baseline and credit scheme originally set up by the Abbott Coalition government to curb growth in the emissions intensity of Australia’s highest emitting facilities (now covering 219 facilities). However, the baselines were set to allow growth in emissions intensity. | |
| Federal Environmental Protection Authority | Anthony Albanese has confirmed the federal environmental protection agency he has promised to establish if elected would not be “the same model” as the one he promised but failed to legislate during this term of government. | ||
| Vehicle efficiency standards | In 2024, the Labor government enacted new Vehicle Efficiency Standards, to come into effect in 2025. The standards require vehicle manufacturers to conform to limits on fleet-wide carbon emissions each year, with higher limits on SUVs and four-wheel drives, and penalties for noncompliance. | The Coalition has called the standards a ‘tax’ and has pledged to remove the penalties for noncompliance. | |
| Gas | Dutton has pledged a national gas reservation plan. This will force gas companies to divert up to 20% of existing export supply into the domestic market. | ||
| Superannuation | If elected, the Coalition says it would write laws that would allow first home buyers to use up to 40% of their superannuation balance towards a home. This is significant from a climate perspective because this money can be used to finance long-term climate projects. | ||
| Home batteries | Albanese pledged to roll out a $2.3 billion Cheaper Home Batteries Program from 1 July 2025, reducing the cost of a typical installed battery by 30 per cent – with over one million new batteries expected by 2030. | ||
| Extreme Weather Radar | Albanese Labor Government will invest $10 million to establish a new weather radar in regional Queensland to help communities, emergency services and businesses access reliable flood forecasts and warnings. |