CLEAN JOBS are the key to long-term emissions reductions and will help get Australians back to work.
"Today we've seen preliminary government data for the year to June 2020 that indicates emissions have dropped because of the coronavirus," said the Climate Council's Head of Research, Dr Martin Rice.
"Lowering our emissions is critical to keeping Australians safe, but it must be done in a way that is sustainable," he said.
"Unfortunately this drop is temporary and built upon the suffering of Australians and the economy. To reduce our emissions in the long-term, we need credible climate policy and clean jobs," said Dr Rice.
"The latest government data also indicates there's been a record roll-out of renewable energy which has reduced emissions in the electricity sector," said Climate Council senior researcher Tim Baxter.
"However, emissions linked to Australia's growing liquified natural gas (LNG) exports have cancelled out that positive progress," he said.
"Gas is a fossil fuel, driving climate change, and right now Australia is the largest exporter of LNG in the world," said Mr Baxter.
"What is deeply concerning is that the methane emissions from Australia's gas industry are not being fully accounted for," he said.
"Recent re-evaluations of the climate impact of methane have found that it is even more damaging to the stability of the climate than previously thought," said Mr Baxter.
The Climate Council's recently released Clean Jobs Plan shows we can create 76,000 jobs in the short term, while setting Australia up for the future and tackling long-term problems like climate change.
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