Adam Bandt (Melbourne, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I urge the House to accept these amendments secured by the Greens because they tackle the causes of the climate crisis—coal and gas—and deliver a big hit on coal and gas and especially on new gas projects. That is critical, because before these amendments were secured pollution from coal and gas was set to increase. Why? Because, under the original design of the scheme, new coal and gas mines could come into the system and keep on polluting, and all coal and gas mines could keep putting out as much pollution as they wanted, and they just had to buy offset permits to deal with it. As a result, pollution from the areas that were covered by the safeguard sector, which at the moment is about 140 megatonnes a year, was set to rise to up to 184 megatonnes; pollution from coal and gas was going to rise. This at the time when the UN Secretary-General and the world's scientists are pleading with countries like Australia, saying, 'We need countries like Australia to do their bit,' and that means stopping opening new coal and gas projects.

As a result of these amendments that we're debating right now, secured by the Greens, there will be a limit on coal and gas expansion in Australia for the first time. There will be a limit on how much pollution can come out of the corporations covered by this safeguard sector, and that is critical, because that means, no matter how much offsets the corporations buy, they cannot offset their way out of this hard cap. And that is what matters to the climate crisis. The decisions that we make right now will reverberate for generations to come. The decisions that we make right now about whether or not to open a new coal or gas mine will determine whether or not climate change becomes runaway and our kids and our grandkids are unable to rein it in. We estimate that, as a result of this hard cap on pollution, the pollution from about half of those 116 new coal and gas projects in the pipeline won't be able to go ahead. And that is huge.

Also, as a result of these changes, it will now be up to the minister—this minister and future ministers—to look at any new projects that are coming up in the pipeline and work out whether those projects are going to lift pollution above the declining cap, and, if they are, the minister can take steps with respect to the scheme generally or with respect to that project. So there will be that kind of trigger in the legislation, and that is critical to ensuring that this hard cap is not breached.

Yes, there are areas of disagreement, as the minister has said. The Greens stand with the science and with the people. To get the climate crisis under control, we cannot open any new coal or gas projects. Unfortunately, the government disagrees with that, but that remains our position and we will continue to fight in the rest of this parliament to stop the other half from being opened up. We know that there are many who want them opened up, to squeeze a bit of extra profit for their billionaire shareholders before the planet goes under and our kids and our grandkids suffer. And we will stop any new coal or gas projects being opened.

But one thing I need to say to the opposition is that they don't seem to get that, as to taking action on coal and gas and ensuring that we've got a safe climate, you can do that, because it's coal and gas that are causing the climate crisis, not manufacturing and not investment in clean energy. The Greens support manufacturing and investment in clean energy. Growing manufacturing in this country and, indeed, supporting mining in critical minerals in this country are things that we all back. You can back manufacturing but tackle coal and gas, and that is what we are seeking to do.

I want to thank the minister and his staff for their long and sustained engagement that was conducted in good faith, and I echo the comments that the minister has made. I also want to take this opportunity to place on the record my thanks for my staff—in particular, Damien Lawson and Jay Tilley, as well as all my other staff—who have worked tirelessly around the clock to help deliver this important victory for the climate.

As a result of this, for the first time ever, in law, pollution from coal and gas and other corporations that are covered by this sector will not be allowed to rise, and must go down. And that is historic.

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