Budget ignores climate change despite rising pollution: Bandt

Greens climate change and energy spokesperson Adam Bandt MP said that despite the impending climate catastrophe, the budget ignores climate change and rising pollution. Instead of increasing funding for climate change, it cut funding.

“This is another budget from the Treasurer that basically encourages climate change,” said Mr Bandt.

“Scott Morrison didn’t mention climate change in his speech and only brought up renewable energy to attack it.

Greens welcome plan to 'Repower Australia'

Greens climate change and energy spokesperson Adam Bandt MP today welcomed the release of a plan to ‘Repower Australia’ and called on all sides of Parliament to embrace the need for a rapid transition to a renewable energy future.

“The release of this comprehensive plan underscores the ambition gap of the old parties,” said Mr Bandt.

“Rapidly shifting to a 100% renewable energy system is essential if we want to avoid the impacts of catastrophic global warming.

Renewables jobs boom in spite of Turnbull's war on renewables: Bandt

Greens climate change and energy spokesperson Adam Bandt MP today welcomed ABS data showing a 33% surge in employment from renewable energy in Australia, noting these gains were achieved despite the government’s war on renewable energy.

“Renewable energy is a jobs-rich industry and these latest figures prove it,” said Mr Bandt.

Abbott-friendly NEG is a dog: Greens

Greens energy and climate change spokesperson Adam Bandt MP today said that as Tony Abbott starts tweeting in support of the NEG, Labor should toughen up and demand better of the Federal government than this dog of a policy.

“The NEG is a dog,” said Mr Bandt. 

“The NEG was designed to appease the coal-huggers on the backbench and Tony Abbott’s latest endorsement suggests that plan is working.”

Greens ready to block NEG.

Greens climate change and energy spokesperson Adam Bandt MP today said that the more detail that emerges about the NEG, the worse the framework becomes. With each new revelation, it becomes increasingly difficult to see how the NEG is anything but a policy designed to placate Tony Abbott and the fossils on the backbench, meaning the Greens may have no choice but to block legislation when it comes to Federal Parliament.

Stopping network rorting requires rule change to reduce rate of return: Bandt

Greens climate change and energy spokesperson Adam Bandt MP today backed The Grattan Institute’s call to reduce the ‘regulated asset base’ of our electricity networks, which echoes The Greens’ call to reduce the guaranteed rate of return offered to networks to a figure that is, or is close to, the government bond level.

“There’s no justification for making consumers subsidise investment that is essentially risk-free,” said Mr Bandt.

The Senate has backed an Australian Greens motion rejecting any moves by the Federal or SA Liberal Government to weaken South Australia’s position as a leader in renewable energy. The Senate also rejected dismantling SA’s strong renewable energy target.

“If Malcolm Turnbull and Steven Marshall think they can start tearing down South Australia’s strong renewable energy industry, they can think again,” Greens Senator for South Australia Sarah Hanson-Young said.

Is our new Deputy Prime Minister a climate change denier?

Greens spokesperson for climate change and energy Adam Bandt MP today questioned the new Deputy Prime Minister, Michael McCormack, about his position on climate change.

“It appears that the second most powerful man in the country doesn’t believe in climate change,” said Mr Bandt.

Direct Action is a sham, safeguard mechanism not safe: Bandt

Greens climate change and energy spokesperson Adam Bandt MP said reports today that nearly 60 industrial sites have been jacking up their pollution, sanctioned under the so called ‘safeguard mechanism’ shows that Tony Abbott’s Direct Action plan is a sham that lets Josh Frydenberg lift pollution at taxpayers’ expense.

“Emissions are rising because our climate legislation is a figleaf designed by Tony Abbott to let polluters keep on polluting,” said Mr Bandt.