Morrison government’s climate announcement an insult to Victoria

With today’s net zero announcement, the Morrison government has released little more than projections of state government targets to reduce emissions and then tried to claim the credit, while intending to do nothing additional over the coming critical decade to 2030.

“What the Morrison government presented today wasn’t a plan. It was a series of PowerPoint charts showing trends that might occur because others are taking action,” said Environment Victoria Campaigns Manager Dr Nicholas Aberle.

“Having spent the past seven years obstructing and complaining about Victoria’s nation-leading renewable energy policies, the federal Coalition now has the gall to claim credit for what the states have achieved, without lifting a finger to help.

“This so-called plan is an insult to the thousands of Victorians already affected by climate impacts like worsening bushfires and extreme weather, and to the millions of Victorians who have been waiting eight years for the Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison governments to take this issue seriously.

“Despite today’s greenwashing from Australia’s spin doctor PM, the federal Coalition still has Tony Abbott’s climate policies, which the UN has ranked as the worst in the world out of nearly 200 countries.

“Australia’s federal 2030 climate target is still completely out of touch with mainstream views. Recently the biggest-ever poll on climate change found a clear majority of Australians support increasing our federal emissions reduction target to between 50% and 75% by 2030.

“In the last few months, even organisations that previously opposed increasing this target like the Australian Industry Group and the Business Council of Australia have publicly called for Australia to halve its emissions by 2030. Momentum for deep emissions cuts has grown rapidly.

“The International Energy Agency’s Net Zero by 2050 report makes it very clear that reaching zero emissions by mid-century means making significant changes to our economy in the next ten years. That includes closing all coal-burning power stations in wealthy nations like Australia by 2030.

“Delaying the proper planning of this energy transition ultimately leaves communities like the Latrobe Valley in Victoria less time to prepare for the inevitable change and deters investment in industries that are already creating thousands of good regional jobs.”