Nicolette Boele (Bradfield, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. We need an emissions reduction goal. 'Go high,' said the science, 'That's your role.' Will the government have ambition, take a 75 per cent position or side with the sellers of coal?

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

I thank the honourable member for the question, but I'll be answering in prose. I'm sorry to disappoint. I'll be answering in terms of the Climate Change Act, which this government passed with the support of the crossbench and is the world's best practice when setting a target. The Climate Change Act requires the government to receive the advice of the Climate Change Authority before setting a target. It's a matter of law. The law also requires the Climate Change Authority to have regard to the best available scientific knowledge and the global temperature goals under article 2 of the Paris Agreement, which are two degrees and 1.5 degrees. Under the act, I must take that advice into account in setting the targets, and I am also able to take into account other factors such as the economic and social impact of the target we set.

The legislation makes this process clear and makes clear what we must consider in setting the target, and that is exactly what we will do. We will have regard to the science, as we're required to under the law and, frankly, as we are morally required to. The parliament and the government absolutely are. That is why we passed the Climate Change Act in the way we did. I note that the Federal Court has recently ruled on matters of target setting in the Pabai case. In the Pabai case, in the Federal Court, His Honour was particularly critical of the previous government's targets and said they 'paid scant if any regard to the best available science'. He considered the 2021 update to be 'political window dressing to distract attention from the retained 2030 target'. That's what he said about the previous government's approach.

In contrast, His Honour said, in relation to this government's 2022 target, that it 'could fairly be said to be a target that was capable of realistically contributing towards limiting the increase in the global average temperature to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels'. That's what His Honour said about our 2022 target. When we set the 2035 target, it will be in accord with the Climate Change Act after I've received the Climate Change Authority's advice. It will set out, very comprehensively, this government's intentions when it comes to 2035, and that's as it should be.