Net zero targets and their laws would be scrapped
Senator Matthew Canavan of the Nationals wants to cancel five climate and energy laws. He also wants to take net zero goals out of three more. Net zero means putting no more greenhouse gas into the air than is taken out. It would touch big polluters, carmakers, exporters and anyone paying a power bill.
Official name: Repeal Net Zero Bill 2025 [No. 2]
- The law that sets Australia's climate targets would be cancelled.
- Four more laws would go, including the rule on car pollution and the Net Zero Economy Authority.
- The Safeguard Mechanism, which limits pollution from big industrial sites, would be scrapped.
- Net zero goals would be cut out of the government's export lender and its Future Made in Australia law.
Who it affects
- Big industrial sites like mines and factories: They would no longer have to keep their pollution under a Safeguard limit or send in safeguard checks.
- Car companies: The New Vehicle Efficiency Standard law would be cancelled. It sets pollution goals for the new cars they sell.
- Makers of clean power and hydrogen: The Guarantee of Origin scheme would be scrapped. It proves how clean their product is.
- Workers and towns in coal and gas areas: The Net Zero Economy Authority would be closed. It was set up to help them as the country moves away from coal and gas.
- Exporters who borrow from the government: The government's export lender would lose its duty to back net zero projects.
Net zero by 2050 law
Net zero means a country takes as much greenhouse gas out of the air as it puts in. Australia has a law saying it will reach net zero by 2050.
Senator Matthew Canavan brought this bill to the Senate, Parliament's second house, on 4 September 2025. Parliament's list calls it the Repeal Net Zero Bill 2025 [No. 2]. The [No. 2] shows an earlier bill with the same name came first.
His notes on the bill say net zero is hurting the economy and pushing up the cost of living. He says it is closing industries, raising power prices and taking farmland out of use.
He also says most of the world does not follow net zero. So he says Australia's efforts will not change the climate. He wants solar and wind to compete with coal and gas without government help.
Five laws cancelled
Part 1 of the bill wipes out five whole laws.
The first is the Climate Change Act 2022. This law sets Australia's targets. One is to cut pollution by 43% by 2030. The other is to reach net zero by 2050. It also makes the climate minister report to Parliament each year.
Two laws from 2024 set up the Guarantee of Origin scheme and the fees that go with it. The scheme gives out certificates. They prove how green a product like hydrogen or power is, so buyers can trust the claim. Both laws would go.
The Net Zero Economy Authority Act 2024 would also go. That law set up a government agency to help workers, regions and investors as the country moves away from coal and gas.
The fifth is the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard Act 2024. It sets targets for how much carbon the new cars a company sells can give off on average. Say you run a business that brings in cars from overseas. Under this bill, you would no longer face that target.
Safeguard Mechanism removed
The Safeguard Mechanism is a set of rules in the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007. It puts a limit on the pollution from the country's biggest industrial sites. This limit is called a baseline.
Sites that go over must buy carbon credits. A carbon credit is proof that gas was cut or stored somewhere else. Sites that come in under can earn their own credits and sell them.
The bill cuts out all of these rules. That includes the limits, the credits, the safeguard checks and the fines that go with them. The general rules that make big companies report their pollution and energy use stay in place.
Changes to the export lender
Export Finance Australia is the government's lender for Australian exporters. Its law is called the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation Act 1991.
That law now gives the lender a net zero job. It tells the lender to think about the Paris Agreement and Australia's pollution targets. The Paris Agreement is a deal between countries to limit world warming.
The bill takes out the net zero job and all those mentions. The lender would keep its other work.
Future Made in Australia changes
The Future Made in Australia Act 2024 guides which industries the government backs with public money. It has two streams. One is for net zero industries. The other is for keeping the economy strong and safe.
The bill deletes the net zero stream and the words about the world's move to net zero. Only the stream for a strong and safe economy would be left.
The Paris Agreement and pollution targets would also be taken out of the tests used to pick projects.
Waiting in the Senate
If passed, the law would start the day after the Governor-General signs it. The Governor-General stands in for the King.
The bill went into the Senate on 4 September 2025. On the same day, he formally asked the Senate to vote on its main idea. It is still before the Senate.
The Senate would need to debate it and pass it. Then the House of Representatives, the lower house, would have to pass it too.
Its journey through Parliament
| 04 Sep 2025 | Senate: Introduced and read a first time |
| 04 Sep 2025 | Senate: Second reading moved |