The federal government will launch a sovereign green bonds program and crack down on greenwashing as part of a series of new measures aimed at helping Australia reach net zero.
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The measures were announced following a roundtable in Brisbane, where Treasurer Jim Chalmers met with investors, climate experts and representatives from banks and energy companies representing more than $2 trillion in private capital under management.
Dr Chalmers said the government will work with investors to design the green bonds program, which will aim to increase investment in public projects helping the country reach net zero and grow Australia's green finance market.
The program is expected to be launched next year and will be run by the Australian Office of Financial Management.
Further measures to draw in green investment include co-funding the initial development phase of an Australian Sustainable Finance Taxonomy, which will define what is sustainable, and providing the Australian Securities and Investments Commission with $4.3 million to crack down on businesses being dishonest about how sustainable or efficient their products are.
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![Treasurer Jim Chalmers. Picture by Elesa Kurtz Treasurer Jim Chalmers. Picture by Elesa Kurtz](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/209641672/e35deec0-06d2-45bf-9c3a-c604fb1650eb.jpg/r37_0_5492_3059_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"We want to make sure that the claims that businesses and others make about their investments in cleaner and cheaper energy stack up, and overwhelmingly, obviously, investors and businesses and the community more broadly do the right thing here," Dr Chalmers said.
"We want investors to have maximum confidence in their investments in cleaner and cheaper energy and all of the industrial and other benefits that that brings."
The government also announced plans to invest $24.4 million to expand the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme rating system to help homes become more sustainable.
Also known as NatHERS, it will give homes energy star ratings and help families understand what upgrades will make their houses more energy efficient.
Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen, who also attended the roundtable with assistant minister Jenny McAllister, said the scheme currently caters to new homes but not existing ones, which make up most of Australia's housing stock.
"This is important not only for households, but also for banks and financial institutions we heard today because they want to offer more and more green loans and concessional loans to help families on the task they want to embark on to decarbonise, but they need the tools," he said.
The government is also expected to include measures that will assist homes and businesses in transitioning to electrical appliances in the May budget.
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