2015-11-27
Labor's climate targets announced today leave the Turnbull Government isolated but raise serious questions about how Labor will deliver on its targets without a plan to transition away from coal.
"We welcome this shift from the ALP but now they need a detailed plan to achieve these modest targets," said Greens Leader Richard Di Natale.
"Transitioning away from coal is what's required to safeguard our economy and achieve dramatic pollution cuts, but neither of the big parties are willing to show leadership.
"Just yesterday the Labor Party and the Liberal Party said ‘no' to our legislation to end massive fuel subsidies to big mining industries.
"Labor has said their targets are a draft for discussion, but you can't negotiate on science that demands strong action now," Senator Di Natale said.
Australian Greens Deputy Leader and climate change spokesperson, Senator Larissa Waters said today's announcement from Labor, while undercooked, reinforces how out of touch the Turnbull Government is with community expectations.
"Malcolm Turnbull is big on the rhetoric of innovation and the new economy but continues to champion Tony Abbott's climate denying pollution targets. It's a shocking position which abdicates our international responsibilities and places economic prosperity and jobs at risk.
"The dinosaurs in the right of the Turnbull government are now seriously risking our transition to a twenty first economy and our international reputation, and the consequences of the deal Malcolm Turnbull had to negotiate with them to become Prime Minster are now playing out for our economy and international standing.
"The Greens have announced pollution reduction targets of 60-80% by 2030 and our RenewAustralia plan would get the country to 90% renewable energy by 2030, creating thousands of jobs and slashing power bills," Senator Waters said.
Read our plan to achieve at least 90 per cent clean energy by 2030 here: http://renewaustralia.org.au/