Damning new research backs the Greens' call for more ambitious climate targets, warning Labor's new fossil fuel approvals will lead to climate-related deaths and accelerate environmental destruction including coral bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef.
The study published in Nature journal Climate Action found that emissions from Woodside's Scarborough gas project will be responsible for 484 heat-related deaths in Europe and will expose an extra 516,000 people to extreme heat levels.
This research backs Labor's own findings in the National Climate Risk Assessment, which detailed the significant potential for loss of life due to extreme heat and increasing weather events.
It also comes after Environment Minister Murray Watt ruled out a climate trigger from proposed environmental law changes. A climate trigger would require the government to review the environmental impacts of a project before approval.
The Scarborough project is expected to start production next year and could result in 876m tonnes of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere in the next 30 years.
Since 2022, Labor has approved 31 new coal and gas projects with 38 new or expanded coal projects waiting for federal government approval.
As put by Assistant Climate and Energy Spokesperson Senator Steph Hodgins-May:
"This study should be a wake-up call for the Labor government - every fossil fuel project is another nail in the coffin for our people and our planet.
"Labor knows from their own Climate Risk Assessment that more new coal and gas projects will cost lives. This study lays the numbers out in black and white.
"Australians are staring down the barrel of a summer with worsening heatwaves and extreme weather events. How many homes destroyed and lives lost will it take for real action?
"Science is telling us that Scarborough will kill people, but the grip of the fossil fuel industry is so strong that Labor is choosing to ignore the evidence.
"People want their government to keep them safe from risk and danger. Instead, Labor's poor choices are putting us in the line of fire.
"This damning research should be the final wake up call Labor needs to finally get serious about protecting Australians from the climate crisis.
