Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

The federal government's position is that we accept the science on climate change, as advised to us by the authorities. And because we accept that science we have put in place varying substantial targets to reduce carbon emissions over the next few years. We accepted at the Paris climate conference agreements that we should reduce our climate change impacts to between 26 and 28 per cent by 2030. That is based on the advice that we have received; it is calibrated to what the rest of the world is doing and is the appropriate course of action we should take.

But putting it in the context of the project that the senator has referred to, that project can still proceed within these targets. That project provides broader benefits to developing countries overseas who do not have the electricity that we do. That is why we should support projects like this, to make the world a better place while still meeting our climate change reduction targets.