Greens Leader Adam Bandt says that Scott Morrison’s 2050 plan is a climate fraud and will be treated like a sick joke in Glasgow.

Mr Bandt said there is no detailed plan, just a rehash of last year’s Technology Roadmap, and up to half of the claimed emission reduction relies on offsets, accounting tricks and unproven technology.

The so-called plan has no new money, no new policies, no increase to 2030 targets and will mean more coal and gas. The Prime Minister boasted in his press conference that the plan is based on “existing policies”.

US President Joe Biden’s push for a 2030 Global Methane Pledge further puts Australia’s climate policies at odds with the rest of the world at Glasgow.

Methane emissions are a potent greenhouse gas, assessed by the IEA as 28 times more potent than CO2. With the focus of Glasgow being on 2030 and actions this decade, cutting methane gas use is set to be at the top of the agenda. 

In Australia, reports suggest that the National Party have demanded the government not sign the Biden pledge at Glasgow as part of their negotiations on the fraudulent mid-century net-zero target.

Today in senate estimates, interrogation by Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young revealed that fossil fuel industry go-to modeller Brian Fisher was contracted to oversee and verify the cabinet modelling for net zero.

Leader of the Australian Greens Adam Bandt MP has labelled the deal between the Nationals and Liberal Party as a ‘fraudulent’ deal that does nothing to stop the climate crisis, bakes in 2030 targets that endanger our kids and puts more coal and gas into the system.

To put genuine action to the Liberal, Labor and National target, Mr Bandt will today introduce a bill that will prohibit new thermal coal projects, phase out thermal coal exports completely by 2030 and support our rapid medium-term transition to a thriving renewable economy.

Greenpeace have today leaked details from the IPCC climate report draft that show Australia tried to rewrite the report to promote coal and weaken the report’s conclusions.

The leaks show the Australian Government tried to have sections about phasing out coal removed, saying coal has a future due to carbon capture and storage.

The comments also show the government tried to have Australia removed from the list of leading fossil fuel producers and consumers, despite Australia being the 5th largest producer.

The Greens will take their fight for strong 2030 targets and greater protection for our environment all the way to Glasgow next month, with Senator Sarah Hanson-Young announced as the party’s representative at COP 26.

Leader of the Australian Greens Adam Bandt MP said:

“If the Liberals and Labor won’t take any 2030 climate targets to Glasgow, the Greens will,” Mr Bandt said.

“Senator Sarah Hanson-Young will represent the Greens’ calls for bold cuts to emissions in this critical decade for climate action. 

The Northern Territory gas fields hold the equivalent of 70 years worth of Australia’s complete national emissions from all sectors. 

Greens Senator Dorinda Cox says many traditional owners of the lands have raised serious concerns about the lack of consultation, information and respect through the process. 

As the Glasgow climate summit looms and the government’s woeful 2030 targets come under the spotlight, Greens Leader, Adam Bandt MP, has said so-called ‘moderate Liberals’ are having an internal debate about whether to go over the climate cliff head first or feet first, advocating 2030 and 2035 targets that are out of step with the science and won’t fix the government’s problems with the US, UK and other countries.  

The world is cooking, and the Morrison government is sitting on its hands: no targets, no plan and no action. While nature may not have intended to discriminate, geopolitical boundaries that divide the world into the Global South and the Global North make sure that patterns of systemic discrimination continue, as the impacts of climate change, natural disasters and pollution fall disproportionately on communities in low-income nations.