Greens Leader, Adam Bandt, says Labor at its national conference has joined the Liberals by backing gas and having no 2030 target, leaving voters who want action on climate change with only the Greens.
"Gas is as dirty as coal. If you back new gas fields, you're not serious about stopping the climate crisis," Bandt said.
"With Labor's national conference falling in behind the Liberals' gas-led recovery and refusing to adopt a 2030 target, Labor is letting Scott Morrison off the hook. No hat-tips to renewables or bare-minimum EV policies can make up for a gas-fuelled lack of 2030 climate targets."
A clear alternative
"After Labor dropped the ball on climate at its national conference, the only path to climate action is kicking the Liberals out and putting the Greens in balance of power. At the next election, it will be very difficult for Labor to win majority government in its own right, but with just a small shift in the vote, voters can turf Scott Morrison out and put the Greens in balance of power, where we will push Labor to go faster and further on climate change and drop Morrison's gas-led recovery," Bandt said.
Independent analysis shows that a small uniform swing of half a percent would produce a minority parliament, but Labor would need a swing of about 4% (which they only achieved once in the last 20 years, with Kevin07) to win government in its own right.
Gas is an emissions bomb, not a transition fuel
Recently the IPCC identified methane emissions as even worse for the climate than previously thought and adjusted its accounting for methane greenhouse impact from 25 to 28 times CO2, which the Australian government also now accepts.
"Gas isn't the solution, it's the problem.
"The gas cartel has ramped up its lobbying efforts and the establishment parties have fallen into line, taking their corporate donations and then voting to open up new gas fields.
"The race is now on and the next 18 months are crucial to Australia's future. The gas industry knows that this is their last chance to lock in gas infrastructure, which in turn will lock Australia into a high-carbon future and blow any chance of meeting our international commitments," Bandt said.
