The safeguard mechanism: Australia’s emissions trading scheme in all but name

From the time it was created, the mechanism has been subject to obfuscation. Labor is about to try and make it work, but it won't be smooth sailing

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Climate policy can sometimes seem like it is being spoken in a different language. Take the issue of the moment in Australia: the safeguard mechanism.

For people deeply embedded in the mechanics of how governments plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions, the safeguard mechanism has become a reasonably familiar subject since it was introduced by the Coalition six years ago - even though the Morrison government and its predecessors didn't like to talk about it much.

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