The Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) welcomes the opportunity to provide comment on the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Climate Trigger) Bill 2022 (the Bill). We strongly support fundamental legislative reform in this term of parliament to address the inter-related climate and extinction crises. EDO has consistently advocated for climate change considerations to be expressly included in the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). A national trigger to oversee significant greenhouse gas emitting projects has long been a major gap in national environmental law. A new standalone climate trigger is needed to link Australia’s new emissions reduction targets and carbon accounting with critical decisions on development impact assessment and development approval conditions.