Australia will aim to cut greenhouse gas emissions by between 62% and 70% of 2005 levels by 2035 under the federal government’s new climate target.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, announced the long-awaited target at midday on Thursday after cabinet accepted the advice of the Climate Change Authority.
“It is the right target to protect our environment, to protect and advance our economy and jobs and to ensure that we act in our national interest and in the interest of this and future generations,” Albanese said.
The government also released a high-level plan to reach net zero by 2050, including pathways for six sectors of the economy.
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“This is a responsible target supported by science and a practical plan to get there and built on proven technology,” Albanese said.
Environmentalists and business groups have for months been mounting the case for their preferred number as the government mulled a decision that would set the trajectory of Australia’s climate action ambition for the next decade.
The latest annual climate department forecast put Australia on track to reduce emissions by 51% on 2005 levels by 2035, meaning the Albanese government must substantially accelerate efforts if it wants achieve the new target.
The government also announced a new $5bn National Reconstruction Fund program to help industry decarbonise, an extra $2bn for the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and $40m for more electric vehicle charging stations.
The climate change authority’s preliminary advice suggested a range between 65% and 75% would be ambitious but achievable.
But its final advice, which was published on Thursday, recommended a range of between 62% and 70%, which the government accepted.
Climate campaigners have generally argued the target range must include 75% to be credible, a level of ambition supported by an Andrew Forrest-led coalition of businesses.
The climate change minister, Chris Bowen, said the government’s announced target was the “maximum level of ambition that is achievable”.
“We will not pretend that some sort of figure over 70 with no evidence or no modelling or no advice is achievable is a sensible ambition for this country to go after,” he said.
“The IPCC in their report about what was necessary said 68% around the world emissions reduction. That is within our range.
Other industry groups had cautioned against a higher target amid concerns about the potential economic cost.
Treasury modelling of a 65% target, which was also published on Thursday, found that level of emissions reduction would grow the economy $2.2tn by 2050, make every Australian $36,000 wealthier and create 5.1m jobs.
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In contrast, a “disorderly transition” would shrink the economy and drive up wholesale electricity prices, the modelling found.
“An orderly transition to net zero is a golden economic opportunity for Australia,” the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said.
The new target builds on the 43% goal for 2030 that the Albanese government legislated after the 2022 election.
The announcement of the 2035 target follows the release of a landmark report that found no Australian would escape the “cascading, compounding and concurrent” threats of the climate crisis.
Described as a “wake-up call” by Albanese, the national climate risk assessment warned 1.5 million people could be at risk from rising sea levels and heat-related deaths could surge if global heating rose above 2C.
The 2035 emissions target was due prior to the May federal election was delayed to give the climate authority more time to assess the implications of Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Trump’s withdrawal of the US – the world’s second-largest polluter behind China – from the Paris Agreement has prompted concerns for the global push to net zero.
Speaking ahead of Thursday’s announcement, the opposition leader, Sussan Ley, said the government must be upfront about the cost of meeting the targets.
The opposition does not have interim climate targets and its commitment to net zero by 2050 is up for debate.
