Ratification of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol

Today the Turnbull Government tabled the Paris Agreement on climate change and the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol for Parliamentary and public scrutiny. Australia is seeking to ratify the Agreement by the end of this year.

The Paris Agreement represents a turning point in the global transition to a lower emission future with more than 190 countries coming together to create this historic agreement.

Under the Agreement, Australia will continue to set its own emission reduction targets in contribution to the international effort to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels.

The Turnbull Government's suite of policies are working to reduce Australia's emissions without driving up electricity prices. Already the Emissions Reduction Fund has seen 143 million tonnes of emissions reduction.

The Agreement is in our national interest. Our 2030 target of reducing emissions by 26 to 28 per cent below 2005 levels is in line with other developed economies and will halve our per capita emissions and reduce emissions by two-thirds per unit of our GDP.

By 2020 nearly a quarter of our electricity will be from renewables – already 15 per cent of our households use solar energy, the highest proportion in the world.

The Government will ensure the energy system remains affordable and reliable as Australia transitions to a lower emissions future.