2015-11-10
The Greens have strengthened the party's position on international climate change targets, ahead of Leader Richard Di Natale and Deputy Leader Larissa Waters heading to Paris for the UN climate talks.
Senator Di Natale said the Greens have unanimously resolved, at the party's National Conference over the weekend, that global warming should be stabilised within 1.5 degrees.
"More than 100 countries have made this call. Australia actually has the capacity to help achieve it," said Senator Di Natale.
"We won't do it if both Liberal and Labor push ahead with new coal mines. We won't do it by taking Tony Abbott's pathetic targets to Paris.
"Right now, with just 0.85 degrees of warming, we've just had Australia's hottest month on record and the Victorian bushfire season has started dangerously early.
"Declaring this new ambition is what the science says is required to protect our health, our environment and the global economy," Senator Di Natale said.
Senator Waters, the Australian Greens' climate change spokesperson, said:
"With current warming of less than one degree, a ‘monster' El Nino is already bearing down on Australian farmers, raising our bushfire risk and supercharging forest fires in Indonesia.
"Two degrees of average warming could destroy entire Pacific nations and would wipe almost 100% of all coral reefs, including our Great Barrier Reef.
"The Turnbull Government's targets are less than half of those the Climate Change Authority recommends to give a two thirds chance of staying within 2 degrees.
"It's clear Tony Abbott's targets, which Malcolm Turnbull is sticking with, are not enough to save our Pacific island neighbours' homes or our Great Barrier Reef, let alone to protect Australians' way of life."
Senator Waters will attend the first week of COP21 in Paris and Senator Di Natale will attend the second week.