Page 259 - Week 01 - Thursday, 10 February 2022
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In addition, Ms Clay’s motion called on all members to sign a petition supporting a global fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty. In January this year I wrote to all MLAs with information on how to sign up to this petition. I am pleased to see that the Chief Minister, Minister Cheyne, Minister Steel and Minister Berry have already signed this petition, as have all the Greens ministers and MLAs. I do encourage the remainder of our colleagues to consider signing also. This kind of global advocacy and leadership is important for shaping the future we want.
I am proud that the Australian Greens, as outlined in the letter from Adam Bandt, have the strongest and most ambitious climate policies. We recognise that we are in a state of climate emergency and support an emissions reduction target of 75 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, and net zero by 2035. This is consistent with keeping warming to below 1.5 degrees.
The Greens have long called for no new coal-fired power stations, gas mines or oil wells, and no expansions to any existing coal or gas-fired power stations or mines. We support phasing out thermal coal exports by 2030 and ending all subsidies for the fossil fuel industry. As Adam Bandt’s position has outlined, the Australian Greens support the rapid decarbonisation of our electricity sector, with a national target of 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2030 and increasing to 700 per cent renewables, positioning Australia as a renewable energy superpower.
For many years we have argued for a well-funded national strategy to urgently reduce transport emissions, including setting vehicle fuel efficiency and pollution standards. We support a target of 100 per cent of new light vehicle sales to be electric by 2030, alongside subsidies and the rapid development of a national fast-charging network. We recognise too that climate action is closely connected to issues of justice, equality and opportunity for all—locally, nationally and internationally—and that we must use the upheaval generated by the pandemic to make positive, long-term changes across the whole of society. The Greens understand the problem and are focused on lasting solutions that can deliver a smarter, cleaner and more just future for our nation. Together, these commitments would mean that Australia meets its obligation under the Glasgow climate pact.
The same cannot be said for the major parties. Federal Labor have committed to a target of 43 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, which does not go far enough to keep warming to below 1.5 degrees and is not the leadership we need. They have refused to commit to phasing out the use of fossil fuels and continue to support new gas plants like Kurri Kurri in New South Wales and new gas extraction projects like the Beetaloo Basin shale gas project in the Northern Territory.
You cannot have it both ways. Either you accept the seriousness of our situation and commit to a net zero emissions future or you do not. We know what is needed and yet federal Labor remains, unhelpfully, sitting on the fence, too afraid of the backlash from the fossil fuel industry to do what is really needed.
As for the federal Liberal Party, they remain devoted to the interests of the fossil fuel lobby, at the expense of people and the planet. The Australian government’s 26 to
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