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.

The Australian Greens have slammed Labor for joining the Liberals in allowing $21 million of public money to be handed to a company deeply connected to Minister Taylor and the Liberals, using public money to fund new gas projects in a time of climate crisis.

At today’s Labor Caucus meeting, the party confirmed it intends to vote with the government on a Greens disallowance motion that would have blocked $50m from being gifted to gas companies headquartered in tax havens that want to kick start a 6% rise in Australia’s pollution.  

Labor’s belated recognition that Scott Morrison’s 2030 climate targets aren’t good enough is a move in the right direction, said Greens Leader, Adam Bandt, but he called on Labor to join the Greens in setting science-based 2030 targets now, to help put pressure on Scott Morrison before the Glasgow climate summit at the end of the year.

Labor’s move comes as Scott Morrison has already announced that he is considering ‘updating’ the government's 2030 climate targets before Glasgow, suggesting government targets may be lifted but by an insufficient amount.

Australia’s biggest electricity consumer, stationed right next to a major coal field, is getting out of coal. The announcement comes as nations are rallying around the world to put an end to coal.

The Greens called on Scott Morrison to exercise real climate pressure on China and other countries by lifting our 2030 targets and stopping selling them our coal.

Quotes attributable to Greens Leader Adam Bandt:

“Tomago’s announcement is huge. The biggest user of electricity in the whole country is saying no to coal.