Overview

• Canberra paired the target with a A$5 billion Net Zero Fund for heavy industry and an extra A$2 billion for the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.
• The commitment forms Australia’s updated Paris pledge, to be tabled at the UN General Assembly in line with the five‑year ratchet cycle.
• Environmental groups criticised the range as falling short of the IPCC’s roughly 68% 2035 benchmark, while business warned goals above 70% risk major export losses.
• Treasury modelling cited by the government indicates a 65% pathway would lift real wages by 2.5% and raise real GDP per person by about A$2,100 by 2050, though the opposition questioned credibility.
• Delivering the goal will require faster cuts across electricity, transport and industry, with emissions down about 27%–28% since 2005 and current forecasts at roughly 51% by 2035, and the government flagging potential tightening of the Safeguard Mechanism and vehicle standards plus exploring carbon tariffs.