Anthony Albanese says Labor will not support a moratorium on fossil fuel projects because doing so would have a “devastating impact on the Australian economy”.
Ahead of the introduction of legislation on Wednesday enshrining Labour’s emissions reduction targets for 2030 and 2050, the Prime Minister told ABC TV on Tuesday night that a moratorium was “Greens policy”.
“That’s not in our policy and we’re not going to implement that policy,” Albanese said. “We will not support it because that would have a devastating impact on the economy itself.”
When it was put to the Prime Minister that failure to stop fossil fuel exports would ultimately mean an increase in greenhouse emissions that would make it difficult to contain global warming to 1.5°C, Albanese said: ” It’s not good”.
“If Australia today said we’re not going to export any more coal, what you’d see is a lot of jobs lost, you’d see a significant loss to our economy, a lot less tax, revenue for education, health and other services. and that coal would not lead to a reduction in global emissions, what you would see is a replacement by coal from other countries that is likely to produce more emissions … because of the quality of the product.”
Albanese said Labor intended to be part of international efforts to reduce emissions, which was why it was implementing a higher emissions reduction target for 2030. He said the UN-led global climate framework measured emissions “according to where they are produced, not where they are produced. the product comes from”.
The Greens have been pushing Labor to implement a moratorium on new fossil fuel projects as part of negotiations on the Emissions Reduction Targets Bill. Talks about the bill’s fate are ongoing.
Albanese’s comments on the ABC followed the opening ceremony of the 47th parliament on Tuesday and a series of first speeches by new parliamentarians.
Earlier in the day, Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen did not rule out strengthening environmental regulations as part of securing support for Labour’s climate initiatives.
Bowen was asked if the government would be willing to insert a “climate trigger” into renewed environmental laws, which would mean the climate impacts of new developments would have to be assessed as part of the approval process, a procedure that would probably apply the brakes to the development of fossil fuels.
The minister pointed to recent comments from Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek. Last week, Plibersek did not rule out making that change, but noted that the government would likely follow a plan set out by former competition watchdog Graeme Samuel in a review of the act in 2020. Samuel argued that climate impacts of developments could be addressed in other ways.
Ahead of Albanese’s intervention on Tuesday night, Greens leader Adam Bandt welcomed Labor’s decision this week to specify in new legislation that future emissions reduction targets could only go up. As well as pursuing a moratorium on fossil fuel development, the Greens want a more ambitious 2030 target.
Bandt said Bowen’s decision to include more clarity in the legislation that future emissions reduction targets must always be a progression beyond current commitments was a “good step” that “may be enough” to address “fixable problems” in the bill.
The Greens leader told reporters in Canberra that his party wanted the 43% emissions cut by 2030 to be a “genuine floor”, not a ceiling, meaning future governments must be able to increase objectives “without parliamentary obstacles”.
Asked whether a “climate trigger” could be enough given Labor did not have an electoral mandate for a moratorium, Bandt acknowledged it was one of a “variety of ways” to tackle the problem, along with improving of the safeguards mechanism, which Labor will increase. promote the reduction of emissions of major pollutants.
But he questioned “what obligations” the safeguard mechanism imposed, noting that the Western Australian government had exempted gas projects from the need to find carbon offsets.
Bandt did not rule out passing a bill that did not curb new coal and gas, saying the Greens had not issued “any ultimatums” ahead of the negotiations. But he also warned that the Greens wanted “real action” not to allow “action to be undermined”.
Bandt said the Greens “usually support Senate inquiries”, and indicated the bill could face scrutiny between its passage in the House of Representatives next week and consideration in the Senate in September
Labor has the numbers to pass its climate targets bill in the lower house, but will need the support of the Greens and independent senator David Pocock to pass the package in the Senate. It is expected to pass through the lower house in this fortnight of sessions.
With the cost of living a major stressor for voters, the Albanian government is bracing for a high inflation figure on Wednesday when the Australian Bureau of Statistics releases its latest consumer price update.
The inflation figure will be followed by Treasurer Jim Chalmers, who will deliver an economic statement to parliament on Thursday that will signal a tough budget in October.