Zali Steggall (Warringah, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Young people around the world want a say in the environment they will inherit. The ICJ has now affirmed that nations have a legal obligation to prevent climate harm, and our productivity and economy are being battered by successive climate fuelled events. Despite this, the government's defining action so far is to recklessly accelerate warming by approving new gas extraction to 2070. This negates any other policy. A minimum target of 75 by '35 and methane abatement is urgently needed. Will you be ambitious?

Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the government, I thank the honourable member for her question. Her position is very well-established, and the crossbench have been very strong in their views. In this government, we set our targets following a very rigorous process, which is outlined by the Climate Change Act, which, to be fair, members on the crossbench voted for. The Climate Change Act outlines world's best practice for setting a target: the government receives advice from the Climate Change Authority, considers it, considers the economic impact, considers the science, considers how that target might be achieved and then announces the target. The UK are taking a very similar approach.

The target the government sets will be two things. It will be, importantly, achievable. I say to honourable members, as I've said elsewhere, it's very important that a target be able to be achieved. It is not a useful contribution to the debate to set a target without outlining how the country can actually achieve that target. Yes, ambition is very important, but so is achievability. Both those measures will be reflected in the target that the government announces, following the receipt of the Climate Change Authority advice, which we have not yet received. We will follow the rigorous process outlined in the Climate Change Act.