The federal government yesterday released the terms of reference for its review of climate change policies to be led by the Department of Environment and Energy in 2017.
It delivers on a commitment by the federal government to undertake a review when it set Australia's 2030 emissions reduction target.
In a statement the government said Australia's approach to climate change policy is to meet international emissions reduction commitments while at the same time maintaining energy security and affordability.
"The Government is committed to adopting a non-ideological approach to emissions reduction to ensure we secure the lowest cost of abatement," the statement said.
"The Turnbull Government recently ratified the Paris Agreement and has an ambitious and responsible target to reduce emissions by 26 to 28 per cent on 2005 levels by 2030. The target will halve our per capita emissions making it one of the largest reductions in the G20 on that basis.
"Australia's effective climate change policies are working. We beat our first Kyoto target by 128 million tonnes and are on track to beat our second Kyoto 2020 target by 78 million tonnes."
The government is currently committed to a Renewable Energy Target of 23.5 per cent by 2020 which was legislated in the Federal Parliament in 2015.
The 2017 review will build on the Finkel Review into the reliability and security of the National Electricity Market,and the National Energy Productivity Plan.
Government will consult with business and the community throughout the review and a discussion paper will be released in early 2017 seeking public submissions.
The Terms of Reference and further information on the review are available at: www.environment.gov.au/climate-change/review-climate-change-policies.