Andrew Wilkie (Clark, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction. The government claims Australia will meet its Paris agreement targets in a canter. However, the truth is that the government is relying on accounting tricks to meet our targets by counting artificially inflated credits left over from the Kyoto protocol—credits which most developed countries have agreed to reject. Meanwhile, official government figures show that our emissions have reached record highs and continue to rise, fuelling the climate emergency—the effects of which we're seeing in our backyard, with the drought and fires. In other words, our planet is cooking while the government cooks the books. Minister, why the denial and when will the government take real action to reduce emissions?

Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his question. Whilst some in this place are keen on symbolism, we are keen on real and meaningful action. That's why we have strong targets as part of coordinated global action. Those targets involve a 26 per cent emissions reduction obligation, which will see a 50 per cent reduction in our emissions per capita and a 65 per cent reduction in our emissions intensity across the whole economy.

We have an enviable track record in meeting and beating our targets. Indeed, we're on track to overachieve, to meet and beat our 2020 targets by 367 million tonnes. There are few countries that can boast such a report card. And we believe credit should be where credit is due. Australian households and businesses have worked hard to overachieve, to meet and beat those targets. That overachievement of 367 million tonnes is a 1.1 billion tonne turnaround on what we inherited from those opposite. We're also seeing record levels of investment in renewables. In fact, in the calendar year of 2018, the investment in Australia per capita was more than France, Germany and the UK combined.

We have a clear plan to meet our 2030 targets, through our fully funded $3½ billion Climate Solutions Package, which includes the $2 billion Climate Solutions Fund, energy efficiency initiatives and hydro projects, including Battery of the Nation and the Marinus Link in Tasmania. Looking forward, we're investing in technologies of the future. That includes our National Hydrogen Strategy, where we've already invested $140 million. That has contributed $50 million to the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain project in the Latrobe Valley—a very important project for this crucial technology. There's also Jemena's Power to Gas trial in New South Wales, alongside a range of other hydrogen projects. All of this is focused on achieving our emissions reduction obligations, whilst we keep a strong economy—whilst we don't trash the economy, which is the policy that those opposite took to the last election.