Face of Nation : The minister responsible for reducing Australia’s pollution levels has shrugged off calls from hundreds of thousands of protesters for stronger climate action.
Minister for Emissions Reductions Angus Taylor says the nation is on track to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris target, which is a 26 to 28 per cent reduction on 2005 levels by 2030.
“It’s good to see we’ve got active citizens amongst our kids, we always encourage that,” Mr Taylor said. “I don’t think it should be at the expense of their education.”
Mr Taylor has framed the rise of local emissions due to LNG as a positive for the world, arguing that countries like China, Japan and South Korea have lowered emissions by using LNG. But he wouldn’t be drawn on how Australia’s coal exports are doing the opposite. “Because the growth has been in LNG exports,” Mr Taylor said.
He says the coalition’s climate solutions package has mapped out “to the last tonne” how Australia will meet its 2030 targets. The plan includes a $2 billion fund to pay companies for projects to reduce Australia’s emissions by 100 million tonnes.
The calculations also include credits from meeting previous emissions reduction targets under the Kyoto protocol. However, the global rules allowing their use are yet to be finalised.
Labor is reviewing all of its policies following the election, including a goal of reducing emissions by 45 per cent by 2030 on 2005 levels. The opposition’s climate spokesman Mark Butler says Labor’s stance on the environment is “unshakeable”, telling Guardian Australia the party’s principles aren’t being reviewed.
Mr Butler says Labor supports the goal of net zero emissions by 2050, flagging possible medium to short term targets based on scientific advice. Meanwhile, UN climate talks are set to begin in New York on Monday, with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calling for the Paris targets to be doubled and for nations to be carbon neutral by 2050.
