New Energy Bulletin: Guarantee of Origin Bill Introduced to Parliament

On 12 September 2024, the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water introduced the new landmark Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin) Bill 2024 into the Australian Parliament. This proposed legislation will establish the voluntary Guarantee of Origin (GO) scheme which is designed to track and verify the attributes associated with low-emission products.¹

The GO scheme is aimed at bolstering Australia’s green industries by certifying renewable electricity and the emissions associated with products.²There will be two types of certificates issued under the GO scheme:

1. Product GO Certificates, which will enable the verification of the origin of a product as well as of the emissions linked to its production, transportation and storage³; and
2. Renewable Electricity Guarantee of Origin Certificates, which will verify when, where and how renewable electricity was produced.⁴

The Product GO Certificates will commence with hydrogen, before expanding to other low emissions industries.⁵

Further information on the Go scheme can be found in the Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin) Bill 2024 Explanatory Memorandum here.

In its media announcement the Clean Energy Council’s Policy Director – Decarbonisation, Anna Freeman stated “Decarbonisation commitments are gathering pace globally, and there is increasing demand for green and low-emissions products. Businesses and consumers are hungry for greater transparency relating to the environmental impacts of the products they purchase, and this scheme will enable Australia to meet those information needs for growing markets”.⁶

To learn more about the background to the GO scheme, please read our previous articles GO Hydrogen! The Hydrogen Guarantee of Origin scheme opens consultation and Fifty Shades of Green.

The Hamilton Locke New Energy team will provide further insights and updates on the GO scheme in the coming weeks.

For more information, please contact Matt Baumgurtel.

¹‘New Guarantee of Origin Scheme to Support Low-Emission Industries’, Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (Media Release, 12 September 2024) <https://www.dcceew.gov.au/about/news/new-guarantee-origin-scheme-support-low-emission-industries#:~:text=The%20Australian%20Government%20 has%20today,emissions%20products%2C%20such%20as%20hydrogen.>.

²Ibid.

³Ibid.

⁴Ibid.

⁵Ibid.

⁶‘New Guarantee of Origin Scheme Paves the Way for Australia’s Emerging Net Zero Industries’, Clean Energy Council (Media Release, 12 September 2024).