2020-02-13
New laws that would require climate impacts and carbon emissions to be assessed before large-scale projects are given environmental approval have been introduced into the Senate today.
The ‘Climate Trigger’ Bill would ensure mining, drilling and large-scale land clearing projects would need to be assessed on whether they make climate change worse.
Greens Environment Spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young who introduced the Bill said a federal climate trigger was long overdue.
“We know a lot needs to be done to reduce pollution and put Australia and the globe on a transition from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy,” she said.
“While we work to reduce carbon emissions, we must stop making pollution worse.
“The PM and Energy Minister keep claiming Australia will meet its emissions targets ‘in a canter’, but the reality is this Government is burying its head in the sand by ignoring the clear link between burning fossil fuels, carbon emissions, and worsening climate change.
“We are in fact galloping towards environmental collapse and climate change is at the heart of it – the bushfires, the flooding rains, and other catastrophic weather events.
“There is no time to waste if we are going to prevent further global warming. Assessing the emissions of fossil fuel projects and tree-destroying developments is one of the easiest steps this Parliament could take to save the planet.”
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Climate Trigger) Bill 2020, Explanatory Memorandum and Second Reading speech can be found here.