It is Australia's shame that the Liberals are propping up coal, oil and gas by funnelling endless taxpayer dollars to these dirty industries. The world is moving away from digging up fossil fuels, but the Liberals are pouring tens of millions of dollars of public money in, to frack the Beetaloo basin and plunge us further into the climate crisis.

Today’s quarterly emissions data reveals that emissions have risen by almost 2% this quarter and that the temporary decrease in carbon pollution during COVID-19 is wearing off.

Even more concerningly, June quarter emissions were 128 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, the highest number since December 2019 and the beginning of the pandemic.

Leader of the Australian Greens Adam Bandt MP said this proves the only way to take genuine action on climate change is to kick the Liberals out, and put the Greens into balance of power. 

The Greens have slammed the Morrison Government’s 2021 national gas infrastructure plan as exposing its Net Zero 2050 pledge as a short term ruse to fool the US and UK in Glasgow.

Despite the IEA’s repeated calls for no new coal mines or gas fields to meet net zero by 2050, the plan is hoping to open three new gas basins (Beetaloo,  Gunnedah and North Bowen-Galilee basins) and build up to eleven new gas transmission pipelines spanning thousands of kilometres across the country. 

I rise to speak to the matter of urgency before us. Just today we have received news that Sergio, a 22-year-old climate activist in New South Wales, has been sentenced to 12 months in prison for participating in a non-violent direct action targeting the coal industry. Twelve months in prison—what an outrageously severe and disproportionate punishment! What an appalling message this sends to climate activists and those of us who are fighting for a healthy planet. The real criminals are the fossil fuel companies who are killing our planet, not those who are trying to save it.

The Greens have slammed the decision to approve a massive new methane gas project in the weeks following the Glasgow climate pact, calling the Liberal & Labor-approved Scarborough project a slap in the face to climate scientists.

Scarborough is the most polluting project currently proposed in Australia. Driven by the WA Labor government, the gas field threatens to release 1.6bn tonnes of carbon emissions - equivalent to 15 coal-fired power stations. 

Greens Leader Adam Bandt has said a 12-month prison sentence for a young climate activist engaging in peaceful civil disobedience was harsh and excessive, as he called for greater legal protection for peaceful activists and urged people to join protests against the sentence.

The 22-year-old man was convicted and sentenced for direct action stopping a coal train at the world’s biggest coal port in Newcastle.

Quotes attributable to Greens Leader Adam Bandt MP:

“Our country shouldn’t be jailing peaceful activists fighting to defend human life. 

As Barnaby Joyce and Matt Canavan call for more coal before the ink on the Glasgow Climate Pact is even dry, the Greens have begun hitting the streets in target inner-city Liberal seats like Ryan, Brisbane, Kooyong and Higgins to unseat incumbents by reminding them that if you vote Liberal, you get Barnaby.

The Greens have said the next election will be a climate fight with the heat now on Liberal and Labor, after the Glasgow Climate Pact put coal & gas on death row and committed countries to limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees, which will mean Australia taking to next year’s summit 2030 targets of 75% emissions cuts.

However, within hours of signing up to the Glasgow Climate Pact, Angus Taylor has ruled out setting new 2030 targets prior to COP27 in November 2022, which the Pact explicitly requests and urges Australia to do. 

With the final Glasgow pact resolving that coal and gas were on the way out but the world was not on track to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees because 2030 pledges were too weak, the summit will be remembered as one that ScoMo helped sabotage.

But it will also heap pressure on Liberal and Labor next year to lift 2030 targets, and phase out coal and gas. 

Quotes attributable to Greens Leader Adam Bandt MP:

“Glasgow was the summit ScoMo helped sabotage, but he doesn’t get off scot free.