5 years ago
LIBERAL CLIMATE POLICY LASTS FIVE WEEKS BEFORE CUTS
MARK BUTLER MP
After six years of rising pollution and inaction on climate change, and six weeks before an election, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has already cut his government’s main policy to deliver his weak 2030 pollution reduction targets.
On the 26th of February this year, feeling the pressure to be seen to act on climate after the hottest summer on record, the Prime Minister doubled down on Tony Abbott’s failed Emission Reduction Fund policy announcing the rebadged Climate Solutions Fund “with an additional $2 billion investment over the next ten years.”
This was the policy that was meant to do the heavy lifting to deliver the government’s 2030 emission reduction targets, even though government data projects Australia will fail to meet even this government’s weak emission reduction targets.
Yet just five weeks after announcing the Climate Solutions Fund, the first Morrison budget has cut the funding by spreading the $2 billion allocation over 15 years instead of 10 years.
This is a Budget from a government that has given up governing, and never tried to deliver real climate action, because they don’t really believe it.
There is no plan to tackle power prices, no plan to address climate change, and no plan for the future.
Bill Shorten and Labor will deliver a fair go for Australia through a comprehensive climate change action plan to deliver on our 45 per cent emissions reduction target by 2030, net zero emissions by 2050 as well as bringing down power prices with our target of 50 per cent renewables by 2030.
Only Labor will deliver real action on climate change to deliver lower pollution, lower power prices and a stronger economy.
On the 26th of February this year, feeling the pressure to be seen to act on climate after the hottest summer on record, the Prime Minister doubled down on Tony Abbott’s failed Emission Reduction Fund policy announcing the rebadged Climate Solutions Fund “with an additional $2 billion investment over the next ten years.”
This was the policy that was meant to do the heavy lifting to deliver the government’s 2030 emission reduction targets, even though government data projects Australia will fail to meet even this government’s weak emission reduction targets.
Yet just five weeks after announcing the Climate Solutions Fund, the first Morrison budget has cut the funding by spreading the $2 billion allocation over 15 years instead of 10 years.
This is a Budget from a government that has given up governing, and never tried to deliver real climate action, because they don’t really believe it.
There is no plan to tackle power prices, no plan to address climate change, and no plan for the future.
Bill Shorten and Labor will deliver a fair go for Australia through a comprehensive climate change action plan to deliver on our 45 per cent emissions reduction target by 2030, net zero emissions by 2050 as well as bringing down power prices with our target of 50 per cent renewables by 2030.
Only Labor will deliver real action on climate change to deliver lower pollution, lower power prices and a stronger economy.