Australia on Thursday, September 18, 2025, set its 2035 emissions target at a reduction of 62%-70% from 2005 levels, a lower-than-expected figure that was criticised by green groups.
The United Nations has asked countries to submit their climate plans, called Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs, before the end of September so that their efforts can be assessed before the COP30 climate summit in November in Brazil.
Australia is one of the world’s highest polluting countries per capita, largely due to its resources industry that extracts large amounts of coal and natural gas.
The country’s target falls below the range of 65%-75% that was modelled by the Treasury Department and initially suggested by the Climate Change Authority, an independent body that advises the government on climate policy.
Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, told a news conference on Thursday the lower target was a more realistically reachable level.
“The target must be two things, ambitious and achievable. A target over 70% is not achievable. That advice is clear. We have gone for the maximum level of ambition that is achievable,” he said.
The pledge comes days after the national climate risk assessment warned of “cascading, compounding and concurrent” threats if heating exceeds 1.5°C, and days after the Albanese government approved an extension for the North West Shelf gas project until 2070.
The reduced target drew sharp criticism from environmentalists, who said it lacked ambition and prioritised industry over communities vulnerable to climate change in the region.
“The Albanese government’s new climate plan is an affront to communities across the Pacific and Australia facing the escalating impacts of dangerous climate change,” said Shiva Gounden, head of Pacific at Greenpeace Australia Pacific.
“Today the government has chosen coal and gas profits over the safety of Pacific and Australian communities.”
The target falls “dangerously short of what the science demands,” said Dermot O’Gorman, CEO of WWF-Australia.
Fenton Lutunatabua, 350.org Deputy Head of Regions, says: “Anything less than a 75% cut this decade backed by a plan to phase out coal, oil and gas is not a climate plan, it’s a denial of climate justice. Pacific peoples are already living the losses that come from every fraction of a degree of warming. The supposed ‘sweet spot’ decided by the Albanese government is nowhere near what is needed to secure our survival. Not only that, but it also doesn’t address the enormous burden of Australia’s fossil fuel exports, the consequences of which the children of the Pacific will have to bear.”
Jacynta Fa’amau, 350.org Pacific Campaigner, says: “Australia had the chance to begin its COP31 legacy as a true climate leader and did not deliver. This target is short of what is required to keep communities in Australia and the Pacific safe. We made it clear that drawing the line at 1.5°C would require at least a 75% decrease in emissions by 2035. As a Pacific Islander living in Australia, I’m concerned for both of my homes. The Pacific has long known and lived with the severity of the climate crisis, but Australia’s new risk assessment makes it clear that this country will not be spared the consequences of climate inaction either.”
Shani Tager, 350.org Australia Senior Campaigner, says: “This target is a betrayal of the science of climate change and the communities across our region. Albanese has failed to lead and instead capitulated to the big coal and gas polluters. Today’s announcement puts us all at risk of more extreme heat, worse bushfires and unlivable towns.”
Observers believe that the announcement adds momentum to this weekend’s global Draw the Line mobilisations, where people across the Pacific, Australia and Aotearoa will demand governments draw the line at 1.5°C and stop billionaires and fossil fuel corporations from fuelling inequality and disaster.
COP30 is the next critical checkpoint for the Paris Agreement where governments must arrive with NDCs aligned to a 1.5 °C pathway and ready to agree on a global deal to phase out fossil fuels while scaling up renewable energy and finance for communities already living the climate crisis. Success in Brazil will determine whether the world can still avoid the worst tipping points described in Australia’s own climate risk report, which emphasised that every fraction of a degree of global heating that can be prevented, counts.
As Australia campaigns to co-host COP31 with Pacific nations, its stance at COP30 will be under intense scrutiny. Anything less than bold leadership will undermine both global ambition and Australia’s legitimacy as a UNFCCC host.