The release of a report planning for the end of coal by the right-leaning Blueprint Institute shows that all sides of politics were now calling for a managed transition out of coal, Leader of the Australian Greens Adam Bandt MP said.

“The time of coal is over and the time for clean energy has begun,” Mr Bandt said. “When even conservative think tanks are putting forward proposals to leave coal, you can tell this transition is unstoppable.

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) the New South Wales (NSW) Government has released a plan to transition to renewable energy, including through the creation of renewable energy zones, support for solar and wind power projects and the development of new transmission capacity,

(ii) the NSW Government has a goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050, and

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answer given by the Leader of the Government in the Senate representing the Prime Minister (Senator Birmingham) to a question without notice asked by Senator Faruqi today relating to climate change.

Greens Leader, Adam Bandt, says the latest reported emissions drop, driven by the Covid-19 shutdowns, should provide no cover for the Morrison Government.
 
Australia’s reduction targets are some of the weakest in the developed world and are under renewed pressure after the election of Joe Biden who has called on nations to lift 2030 targets.
 
Indeed, when volatile land clearing figures are excluded, Australia’s emissions are actually above 2005 levels.
 
“Covid is not a climate policy,” Bandt said.
 

I rise to support the disallowance motion and associate myself with the comments made by my Greens colleague Senator Waters from Queensland. I will say that loud and clear: she is a Greens senator from Queensland who cares about Queenslanders, who cares about the workers in Queensland, who cares that the environment they work in is safe and healthy, and who cares about a healthy planet for everyone.

The Australian Greens Leader, Adam Bandt, has said Labor’s latest offer to embrace carbon capture and storage won’t help tackle the climate emergency, saying you don’t end the climate wars by surrendering.

“You don’t end the climate wars by surrendering,” Greens Leader Adam Bandt said.

“We need a plan to get coal out of the system, not to lock it in.
“The Liberals don’t care about climate change, so holding out for bipartisanship is just a recipe for inaction.”

Greens Leader Adam Bandt has pledged to fight the government’s gas push laid out in the Technology Road Map Discussion Paper released by the government today.

Mr Bandt also said the leaked COVID Commission push for a gas-rush shows the corruption of process the government is using to develop a plan for manufacturing.

“We need to be ending Australia’s addiction to toxic methane gas not feeding it,” Mr Bandt said.

“Coal, oil and gas are the primary cause of the climate crisis. We can't solve the climate emergency and economic crisis by pouring gas on the fire.”

Young people will be guaranteed a job, secure income, and free education under a new Greens recovery plan to build ‘a better normal’ and restart the economy after the coronavirus economic shock.

The vision for a debt-financed recovery reaffirms the government’s role in responding to the crisis, and rejects the austerity approaches offered by the Liberal and Labor parties, charting a course for a government-led recovery that extends Australia’s social services, instead of slashing funding for education, healthcare, and the environment.