All future coal and gas projects would be assessed on whether they would make climate change worse under legislation the Greens will introduce into the Senate, as support for the so-called “climate trigger” grows among those crucial to passing Labor’s climate bill.
The push comes as industry and conservation groups on Monday called on the parliament to pass the Albanese government’s bill, which legislates its 43% emissions reduction target, hailing it as an important step towards “greater climate policy certainty”.
The government cannot pass the bill without the support from the Greens and independent senator David Pocock, who also called for a climate trigger last week.
The “sticking point” in the discussions between Labor and the Greens centre around future coal and gas projects: the Greens want an agreement that no new projects will be approved, but Labor has said that is not feasible.
The Greens’ environment and water spokesperson, Sarah Hanson-Young, said a climate trigger would force the government to look at the actual impacts new projects would have on the climate.
“Putting a ‘climate trigger’ in law will force corporations to be honest about how much pollution their new projects and mines will create and force the minister to consider the climate impacts before giving any environmental approval,” she said.
“Current environment laws are not fit for purpose. It makes no sense that an application for a new mine or development is not assessed for the impact the project’s emissions will have on the climate.
“Any suggestion a project can ‘stack up environmentally’, justifying the environment minister giving it the green light, is a complete furphy.”
The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, has previously not ruled out a climate trigger in new laws on fossil fuel project assessments, but she has also pointed to a major review of laws last year that said climate impacts could be addressed in other ways.
Labor’s bill will not pass the Senate without the Greens’ support. The climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, has said the government does not need to legislate its 43% emissions reduction target to take action, but that putting it into law will give security and certainty to business and investor groups, as well as signal that Australia is serious about taking action on climate.
Signatories to a joint statement released on Monday, which include the Australian Industry Group, the Australian Energy Council, the Australian Conservation Foundation and the Australian Institute of Company Directors, said the lack of settled national policy had hurt Australia.
“There is bipartisan and broad community and business support for achieving net zero emissions by 2050,” the group of eight signatories said. “The government legislating a 2030 target of at least a 43% emissions reduction under the Paris agreement establishes some much-needed policy certainty.
“Importantly the legislation includes a process for advice and adoption of deeper targets over time. It also provides clarity to investors and the business community more broadly, given all nations have committed under the Paris agreement to only strengthen their stated contributions.”
The previous Morrison government refused to entertain legislating its own lower emission reduction targets, insisting regulation changes were all that were needed.
But the group of signatories, which also includes the Investor Group on Climate Change, the Governance Institute of Australia, the Responsible Investment Association Australasia and the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors, said legislating the target “was a timely signal” that would “further encourage” organisations to “progress their own decarbonisation plans”.
The government plans on passing its climate bill through the House this week. The Senate has already started an inquiry into the legislation.
