Only the Greens could block legislation in the Senate where Labor needs 12 green votes and one more vote to approve the bill. Key independent senators David Pocock and Jacqui Lambie have already indicated they are considering supporting the 43 percent target, and Pocock is also calling for assurances that it will be a “flat, not a roof.”
The Greens are concerned that the drafting of legislation will set a 43 per cent target by law, meaning any attempt to raise it in the future will require parliament to approve it, which could be hampered by a future more hostile Senate. with the ambition of climate change. But Bandt said it was a “solvable problem.”
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“Can you imagine a change of [composition of the] Senate granting Pauline Hanson in the future a veto on a future government. It’s probably not a genuine ground, a future government could actually get a commitment to the Paris Agreement that is less than 43 percent, ”Bandt said.
The Greens have maintained that the goal is only symbolic if the legislation has no commitments against the opening of new coal and gas projects. However, Bandt noted that the party would be open to negotiating this issue separately from the legislation.
“If the government came to us and said, ‘look, there’s a different way we can address this issue of opening new coal and gas,’ we’d all be heard. But for now, we’re not even ready to go because the government says they want to continue opening new coal and gas projects ”.
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