The Greens have vowed to fight Scott Morrison's move to bankroll carbon capture and storage, saying public funds should not be funnelled to billionaire coal and gas corporations for unicorn technology.
"The way to tackle climate change is to get out of fossil fuels, but Scott Morrison wants to funnel public funds to coal and gas corporations for a unicorn technology they haven't been able to make work themselves," said Greens Leader, Adam Bandt.
"Today, the UN has warned that we're heading to over 2.4C of warming unless we take urgent action by 2030. It's time to get out of coal and gas, not fund more of it.
"Public money should go to schools, hospitals and renewables, not to tax-dodging billionaire coal and gas corporations.
"Coal and gas are not 'clean energy'.
"The Greens secured the CEFC during the 2010 power-sharing Parliament, we made sure it couldn't fund CCS and we'll fight this latest attack tooth and nail.
"The government doesn't need legislation to take ownership stakes in new start-ups. The CEFC can do that already and an investment mandate from the Minister would put it beyond doubt. The only reason the Liberals want legislation is to turn the CEFC into a slush found for coal and gas corporations.
"This is nothing to do with stopping climate change and everything to do with Scott Morrison rewarding the coal and gas corporations that donate to the Liberal and Labor parties."
"The simplest way to stop pollution is to stop digging up and burning coal and gas in the first place, not to hope unicorn technology will one day stop coal and gas pollution escaping.
"Here lies the big trick of Scott Morrison's climate charade. He pays coal and gas corporations to dig up fossil fuels then pays them to fail at cleaning up their pollution. They win but the rest of us lose."
