Andrew Wilkie (Clark, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

The State of the environment report, finally made public last month, confirms what scientists, experts and communities from around the country have been trying to tell this parliament for years: that the climate crisis isn't some esoteric mumbo jumbo or a far-off threat to be confronted in the future—a policy problem to be kicked down the road—but rather an increasingly all-consuming reality that is already tearing the very fabric of our environment, society and economy. Remember, climate change has already been felt brutally by the communities who experienced the terrifying Black Summer bushfires in 2019-2020 or the recent flooding down the east coast of the mainland. Moreover, we see the evidence in the bleached northern corals and in our dying kelp forests well down south. Indeed, extreme events like storms, floods, heatwaves, droughts and wildfires have affected every part of Australia in recent years, hence 19 of Australia's critical ecosystems have collapsed or are in the process of collapsing. We're already the home of the first mammalian extinction due to human induced climate change.

We can't waste any more time, because, quite simply, we don't have any more time. So I do welcome this bill, and I do support the government's move to enshrine our emissions targets in legislation, not least to provide certainty to businesses but also to shore up commitments made on the international stage. Yes, adding climate considerations into the legislation underpinning agencies like the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, as well as reinstating the role of the Climate Change Authority, are good steps. But don't get me wrong: this bill is the bare minimum. It contains no plans for how to reach the new emissions target and no plans for what will happen if we don't. It says nothing about sectoral plans to reduce emissions, to phase out fossil fuels or to support fossil fuel workers to transition into new areas of work. It's silent on measures to help local communities to invest in renewable energy and battery technology or policies to protect the health of Australians from the impacts of climate change. In other words, the bill is a start, but one that illustrates just how far we have to go.

While there are quite a few problems with this bill, there are some areas in particular that I'd like to focus on, and I foreshadow that I'll be moving two substantive amendments in the consideration in detail stage. Let's start with the Climate Change Authority, which will obviously have an important role in advising the minister—and the parliament—under the model proposed by the bill. Because it is important, the government must commit to repair, resource and guarantee the independence of the authority if it is to unwind the damage done by the previous coalition government, which, honourable members would recall, gutted the authority's funding and stacked it with gas industry executives.

Mind you, sadly, we know that the provision of expert advice by the authority and others will be no guarantee that the government will do the right thing. For example, eight years ago the Climate Change Authority recommended Australia adopt an emissions reduction target of between 45 per cent and 65 per cent, yet here we are in 2022 debating a miserable 43 per cent target, which is consistent with two degrees of global warming. But according to Climate Analytics, an increase of two degrees will see the end of the Great Barrier Reef and other tropical reefs around Australia, and it will result in three times more frequent and intense extreme heat events globally. Frankly, this target of 43 per cent is just too little, too late.

Indeed, the science tells us right now that we need emissions targets which reflect the urgency of the situation. To that end, I will introduce amendments to the bill which update the paltry emissions targets currently in the legislation, in line with the science—that is, we need to aim for a 75 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, compared to 2005 levels, and achieve net zero by 2035 at the latest. Failure to do this will be abrogating our responsibility as global citizens, failing future generations and locking in climate damage for decades to come.

Moreover, how we reach these emissions targets is just as important as the targets themselves. For a start, the government cannot rely on the false solutions and dangerous distractions peddled by the fossil fuel industry. For instance, carbon capture and storage continues to be pushed by fossil fuel interests, despite decades of experience showing that it is ineffective and costly and mostly benefits corporations seeking to access deeper deposits of oil. Similarly, carbon offsetting is not an effective way to tackle climate change, being the preferred choice for an industry desperate to keep polluting, and anyone who thinks that gas can be a transition fuel has some serious research to do. Good climate legislation should make clear that the time has passed for shifting baselines and reliance on junk credits. Exploration for new fossil fuels and the expansion of coal, oil and gas infrastructure must cease this year, but this bill does not do this and that is a deeply worrying omission.

This parliament must also remember that, no matter what target the government writes into its legislation, if Australia continues to dig up and export thousands of tons of fossil fuels around the world then we have already blown the carbon budget. To illustrate the point, with 116 gas and coal projects under development currently, if the government continues with its pro fossil fuel agenda, we would see an additional 1.7 billion tons of carbon released into the atmosphere per year. To put it another way, if all the projects in the pipeline are approved it would be the equivalent of adding around five per cent more to global energy emissions. In other words, the Scarborough gas field project and fracking in the Beetaloo Basin alone would push us over the edge. The problem is, as things stand, much of this pollution won't even be counted in our national greenhouse gas databases, which means it is all too easy for politicians to ignore. But of course the atmosphere doesn't care about dodgy accounting rules. What matters to it, the environment, is the overall contribution of greenhouse gases that increases as a result of Australian decisions to dig up coal, oil and gas. So what I will also move is an amendment to include so-called scope 3 emissions, which are our exported emissions, in the annual climate change statement, because the Australian public should not be left in the dark about our huge contribution to global emissions, whatever good work we might be doing to reduce our emissions here at home.

In closing, I want to make the point that this bill is a start. We do need a legislated target, and any moves towards greater transparency and reporting to the parliament on our climate efforts are a good thing. But as the CSIRO told us last week, the uncomfortable truth is that the world has missed its opportunity to limit dangerous climate change within this century and we will have to wait until the beginning of the next century to see the benefit of emissions reductions that we do today. This means that every fraction of a degree avoided today will make a difference for our ecosystems, landscapes and communities, so we need much stronger action right now backed by clear policies and we need to start now.

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