Labor's bill to enshrine its 43 per cent 2030 emissions reduction target in law has passed the Federal Parliament, delivering a major boost to the Albanese government's climate action agenda.
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Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen has described the bill's passage as a "good day for Australia", which he said turned the page on a decade of "denial and delay" under the former Coalition government.
The focus is now shifting to how Labor will achieve the pollution cuts, with the Greens preparing to step up their fight to stop new coal and gas projects.
The climate change bill passed the upper house 37 votes to 30 early on Thursday afternoon, after the Greens, ACT independent David Pocock and Tasmanian crossbenchers Jacqui Lambie and Tammy Tyrrell sided with the government.
The Coalition, One Nation and United Australia Party senator Ralph Babet voted against the legislation.
The bill also locks in the government's net zero by 2050 target, tasks the Climate Change Authority with advising on future goals and requires the minister to provide an annual progress statement to Parliament.
"The passage of the Climate Change legislation sends a message to the world that Australia is serious about driving down emissions, and serious about reaping the economic opportunities from affordable renewable energy ," Mr Bowen said.
Senator Pocock secured some changes to the bill, which the government agreed earlier this week to support under a deal that guaranteed the former Wallabies captain's crucial vote.
The minister's annual statement to Parliament will have to address the far-reaching risks of climate change to Australia's environment and the economy, under one of Senator Pocock's changes.
The Climate Change Authority's advice must also be released no later than the day the minister makes the statement, allowing the public to see if it has been followed.
Labor, as expected, rejected Senator Pocock, Senator Lambie and Senator Tyrrell's proposal for the government to publish a report alongside the federal budget which measured the impact of spending on greenhouse gas emissions.
Senator Lambie took to social media to attack Labor and the Coalition for rejecting the transparency push.
"Labor voting on the same side as the Coalition on an amendment that would have required them to show what they're doing federally is a worrying sign for progress," she wrote on Twitter.
Senator Pocock was also on the wrong side of the ledger when he sided with the Greens in a failed attempt to increase the government's 2030 target to at least 75 per cent.
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Labor voted against a higher target, arguing it had a mandate from voters to legislate 43 per cent.
"They [Labor's] are ambitious targets and they are responsible targets," Assistant Climate Change and Energy Minister Jenny McAllister told the Senate.
The Coalition voted against the bill, maintaining its position that the legislation was unnecessary because Labor has already submitted its targets to the United Nations.
Greens leader Adam Bandt said Labor's bill was a "small step on the road toward tackling the climate emergency".
Bur Mr Bandt said it would be undone if the government intervene to block new fossil fuel projects.
The Greens leader said the planned redesign of the so-called safeguard mechanism - the scheme intended to limit emissions at the nation's heaviest polluting facilities - presented an avenue to stop new coal and gas developments.
Dan Jervis-Bardy
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
