Greens Leader, Adam Bandt, says the Liberal government in NSW has exposed the complete failure on a federal level to engage with the real targets debate ahead of Glasgow - 2030.

The Glasgow summit will focus on countries lifting their 2030 targets and increasing short-term ambition.
 
While the government’s 2030 target has been internationally condemned as woefully insufficient, Labor has no 2030 target at all. 

Greens Leader, Adam Bandt, says Barnaby Joyce and Scott Morrison are trying to push the Australian climate debate out to 2050 ahead of the Glasgow COP, which will be primarily focussed on countries lifting their 2030 targets.

Today the Greens released research commissioned from the Parliamentary Library which shows that wholesale power prices are higher now under the Coalition than they were under the Greens-Labor carbon price policy.

While the government’s 2030 target has been internationally condemned as woefully insufficient, Labor has no 2030 target at all.

Leader of the Australian Greens Adam Bandt has said that Scott Morrison’s reported intention to avoid appearing at the COP26 Glasgow Climate Summit is a dangerous abrogation of his responsibility to act on climate change and threatens to slow global progress.

“If Scott Morrison doesn’t want to lead the country on climate, he should hand the reins to someone who does,” Mr Bandt said. 

Overnight, China announced at the UN that they would cease building new coal plants, signalling a further, faster global transition out of coal.

The Greens also seized on new polling showing Australians want to get out of coal and increase our 2030 climate targets.

Both Liberal and Labor have repeatedly said they see coal exports continuing even beyond 2050, and while the government’s 2030 target is being internationally condemned, Labor has no 2030 target at all.

The Greens have reiterated their call for Australia to act in line with the climate science and UN call to quit coal, with an RBA report estimating the impact on the Australian economy would be as low as 0.1% of GDP.

The Greens have attacked Scott Morrison’s plan to buy nuclear submarines. 

Quotes attributable to Greens Leader, Adam Bandt MP:

"This is a dangerous move that makes our country less safe by putting floating Chernobyls in the heart of our major cities, increasing the risk of conflict in our region and putting Australia in the firing line.

"The Prime Minister is putting floating Chernobyls near people in Brisbane, Adelaide, Sydney and Perth and he needs to explain how many people will die if there’s a nuclear accident in one of our major cities.

Greens around the world have lambasted revelations that Australia has vetoed Paris Agreement climate goals being included in a trade agreement, and that the UK acceded to those demands. 

But it’s not just progressive voices: UK Tory Lord Deben, who heads up an independent climate advisory body, decried Australia as “one of the recalcitrant nations” on climate action.

With the UN calling for Australia to quit coal by 2030, but Rupert Murdoch officially moving only to ‘net zero by 2050’, the looming divide between climate activists and fossil fuel supporters is now clear, Greens Leader, Adam Bandt MP said, announcing the Greens will introduce a bill to phase out coal by 2030 to parliament, putting legislative action behind the UN’s demands. 

The Australian Greens have savaged Labor’s decision to vote with the Liberals today in the Senate to spend public money opening up massive gas fields in the Beetaloo Basin, saying the move raised questions as to whether Labor still believes the climate crisis is real.

If Labor had voted with the Greens and crossbench, the fund would have been abolished, given the numbers in the Senate. Labor is responsible for the continued existence of the $50 million Beetaloo Co-operative Drilling Program to open up new gas projects.