NGER Act 2007
The National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 establishes a national system for reporting greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption and production by corporations from 1 July 2008. Its development was initiated through the Council of Australian Governments in 2006.
National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 (amended in September 2008)
Explanatory Memorandum (to the National Greenhouse and Engergy Reporting Bill 2007)
The NGER Act establishes the Greenhouse and Energy Data Officer (GEDO) as the regulatory and administrative decision-maker. It is currently administered by the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency.
Data reported under the NGER Act will underpin the Australian Government's Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme. Monitoring, reporting and auditing of businesses' greenhouse gas emissions data will be essential to maintain the environmental and financial integrity of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.
Key features of the NGER Act are:
- reporting of greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption and production by large corporations.
- public disclosure of company level greenhouse gas emissions and energy information.
- consistent and comparable data available for decision making, in particular, the development of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.
- a reduction in the number of greenhouse and energy reports required across State, Territory and Australian Government programs
Amendments to the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007
The National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 has been amended twice. These amendments received assent to on 15 September 2008 and on 18 September 2009.
The NGER Amendment Act 2008 enables the Greenhouse and Energy Data Officer to:
- publish additional information reported by corporations
- make a number of minor administrative enhancements to better reflect the original policy intent of the NGER Act.
The amendments do not represent any major shifts in government policy.
The NGER Amendment Act 2009 established the Greenhouse and Energy Audit Framework and to establish Reporting Transfer Certificates.
More information about the development of these two Amendment Acts can be found at http://www.climatechange.gov.au/submissions/reporting.aspx.