ACOSS Media Release
The Liberal Party’s decision to abandon the commitment to net zero emissions by 2050 puts people, communities and the environment at risk. This threat is most acute for people and communities experiencing disadvantage, who have least capacity to prepare, adapt and recover from extreme weather events, ACOSS says.
“This withdrawal from the emissions commitment, as the global community is gathered at COP, shows indifference to our climate emergency and threatens further harm to people already experiencing the sharpest impacts of climate change,” ACOSS Acting CEO Edwina MacDonald said.
“Communities experiencing disadvantage across Australia face escalating threats from intensifying natural disasters. They’re suffering through more extreme heatwaves, destructive storms, catastrophic floods and bushfires.
“We see the consequences of climate change everyday. It has major impacts on mental and physical health and people are being pushed further into housing insecurity.
“Backing down from a net zero commitment leaves these people exposed to escalating risks. All political parties should be strengthening their climate commitments and working together to protect communities and reduce inequality.
“Renewable, clean energy is our most affordable option going forward,” Ms MacDonald said.
“Cutting energy costs requires ambitious action. If we want to bring household bills down, we must rapidly expand energy efficiency programs, electrification and solar, especially for those on lowest incomes who are cut off from these benefits.
“ACOSS calls on all parliamentarians to recommit to a fair and fast transition to net zero so we ensure a safe future for our community.”
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I saw the Liberal party press conference where Ley and Tehan tried to say that they had a plan to bring down CO2 emissions and reduce electricity prices – it was something like the Willy Wonka approach to policy formulation – they don’t actually have a policy!
At least Donald Trump was upfront at the UN, he called climate change a con-job and the coalition have just endorsed his uninformed opinion.
LNP has a defeatist attitude. Too many Australians think that we are only a small country — we can’t make any difference. Australia is one of 198 countries, thus 0.5% of countries. We are 27 million of 8 billion, thus 0.3% of the population. Yet Australia invented Wi-Fi, solar power, is a leader in quantum computing, and can be in renewables (which are advancing in technology all the time). Not only is Australia awash in gas, but free solar and wind power. We actually have so much renewable energy we don’t know what to do with it before we get more battery power (which can be hydro power).
Although Australia is 0.5% of the countries and 0.3% of world population, Australia emits 1.5% of greenhouse emissions. Australia needs to catch up. We should not be defeatist.
The LNP will use scare tactics about electricity prices, blaming high retail prices on renewables, or Labor’s plans. But why do we have high retail prices when wholesale prices are lower? Not everyone’s bill is up. If you have solar, you are laughing, even more with a battery or reversible EV battery. That is fine for home owners. We need to make schemes for rental properties to install solar and batteries. Distributed systems, not big central utilities are the way of the future. The LNP is wedded to old centralised generation. Actually it is the old coal facilities that are now expensive to run and maintain because they are failing that are part of the price problem.
The other parts of the energy price problem is that the LNP (under Howard) did deals to sell our gas cheaply overseas while domestically we pay high prices. Thus when we need gas to step in for now, electricity is expensive. There is also the problem of an unstable world, particularly Russia’s invasion of Ukraine which has pushed global prices higher.
The LNP are simply trying to blame the wrong thing — renewables, the very thing that is probably keeping prices down. This is for political purposes.
Another step further into irrelevance for the LNP.