Labor’s likely minister for climate Chris Bowen has slapped down Greens demands for a more aggressive decarbonisation pathway that would derail new mega fossil fuel investments such as Woodside’s $16.5 billion Scarborough gas project off West Australia.

The Australian Financial Review has also learnt that ahead of the election Labor quietly assured the resources industry, in writing and verbally, that it understood the importance of coal and gas to the economy and would consult on changes.