Environment Victoria and Greenpeace have called a plan by Victoria’s National Party to create another greenhouse polluting power station in the Latrobe Valley “ludicrous”.
Environment Victoria Climate Change Director Tricia Phelan said the plan would send Victoria’s greenhouse emissions to record new levels.
“This is a desperate 20th century dinosaur, being offered by a party that is continuing to prove it does not care about farmers and regional communities who are the first to feel the effects of climate change,” Ms Phelan said.
“The plan is simply ludicrous. What we need are 21st century solutions from our political leaders.”
Mark Wakeham, Greenpeace’s Clean Energy Campaigner, said:
“Clearly the National Party has failed to connect the dots between climate change and drought. Supporting more greenhouse pollution by burning more coal will haunt Victorian farmers into the future, and if the National Party is not looking out for farmers the question has to be asked – what are they doing?”
Ms Phelan added that regional communities are already feeling the impacts of climate change.
“Many of Victoria’s regional communities are facing drastically low water reserves. Climate change means water will become ever scarcer – another brown coal power station will simply guarantee an on-going water crisis.
If the National Party was really concerned about maintaining our living standards and sustaining economic growth, it would ensure climate change was being tackled swiftly and effectively instead of burying their collective heads in the sand.”