As the COP26 summit nears its conclusion in Glasgow, the ACT Greens say local politicians have a responsibility to push for stronger climate action at the national level.
“According to the ACT’s three party leaders, Canberrans are united around real climate action, to safeguard our community’s wellbeing. But Liberal and Labor policies at the federal level are incompatible with a safe and stable climate, and inconsistent with what Liberal and Labor are saying here in the ACT,” said Greens MLA Jo Clay.
Ms Clay has tabled a motion that will be debated in the Legislative Assembly this afternoon. It calls on all three party leaders to write to their federal counterparts, urging them to commit to ending the extraction, export and use of coal and fossil-fuel gas, and to set meaningful emissions reduction targets for 2030.
“Liberal leader Elizabeth Lee said last week in Scotland that political will is what’s needed, and I couldn’t agree more, but it’s lacking most in the Liberal-National Coalition in Federal Parliament.
“As long as we have people like Senator Zed Seselja representing the Liberals and the ACT, we’re not going to get the kind of climate action the Canberra Liberals themselves say they now support.
“Having governed with the Greens for 12 years now, Labor in the ACT has become a partner on climate action, but federal Labor still supports the extraction and use of fossil-fuel gas.
“In a press release just last week ACT Labor leader Andrew Barr reaffirmed his Government’s commitment to phasing out fossil-fuel gas, and it would be powerful for him to urge federal Labor to do the same.
“The Greens, obviously, are very comfortable writing to our federal counterparts because we have a shared vision for sustainable communities that are healthy and thriving in a clean, jobs-rich economy.
“We’re pleased Labor and at times even the Liberals have supported the Greens in taking real climate action here in the ACT, but the impact is limited as long as those same parties shun that same action at the national level.”
Australia continues to be the world’s largest exporter of coal with around 72 new coal projects and 44 new gas projects in the pipeline around the country. Meanwhile, 2030 targets submitted at the Glasgow summit have the world on track for a catastrophic 2.4 degrees of warming.
