Crossbenchers call for Labor support to declare ‘climate and environmental emergency’
Zali Steggall has called on Australia to be more like China — the world’s biggest carbon emitter — as she joined crossbench colleagues demanding parliament declare a “climate emergency”.
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Zali Steggall has called on Australia to be more like China — the world’s biggest carbon emitter — as she joined crossbench colleagues demanding parliament declare a “climate emergency”.
The independent Warringah MP joined Andrew Wilkie and Greens MP Adam Bandt to demand Labor and the Coalition support their motion declaring Australia is facing a climate and environmental emergency, which would be put to parliament later this year.
Ms Steggall on Wednesday praised China as a good example for the federal government to follow, but failed to acknowledge the Asian powerhouse was responsible for about 27 per cent of the world’s carbon emissions.
“China … is set to overachieve its nationally determined contribution under the Paris Agreement, it met its 2020 pledge three years ahead of schedule,” she said.
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Environment Minister Sussan Ley said the government was meeting Australia’s emissions targets and did not need to declare an emergency to take action.
“Declaring an emergency doesn’t make it rain, and no amount of opportunistic politics from the independents or Greens helps anyone,” Ms Ley said.
“What we won’t do is adopt reckless Labor and Greens’ policies that wreck the economy destroy jobs and which Australians rejected at the last election.”
It comes as Ms Steggall, despite trumpeting her eco credentials, was once again forced to defend owning a fuel-guzzling car herself, blaming the high cost of electric vehicles for the reason she has not invested in one.
“I, like every other Australian, have budget pressures, mortgage pressures,” she told Sky News.
“I would really welcome the government taking some steps to make EVs more affordable so I could accelerate the process in which I could transfer my car. I am committed to when it comes time to changing my vehicle, that I will change it to an EV.”
Ms Steggall was spotted driving a Nissan Pathfinder T1 model — one of the highest carbon-emitting cars — during the federal election.
Despite this she said on Wednesday climate change was a concern for “all Australians” and the first step to dealing with the problem was “acknowledging it”.
Mr Bandt said he was confident the crossbench would be supported by Labor, pointing to the success of a similar motions in the UK, France and Canada.
“In the past the Opposition here has a talked about the climate emergency as well, we are quite confident that if there’s a conscience vote and people are able to speak their mind … we’d have the majority in parliament to be able to pass it,” he said.
However, Labor’s environment and water spokeswoman Terri Butler would not say if her party would support a motion.
“Well it’s actually up to the government to decide whether there will be a declaration of a climate emergency and, frankly, I don’t have any confidence that they even believe in climate change,” Ms Butler said. “I don’t know whether we can be confident that the government will actually do anything at all.”
Mr Bandt said he was not concerned about Ms Butler’s reluctance to state a position on the climate emergency motion. “(Labor have) got their own internal process to go through and so I respect that, but I hope that once they’ve considered it and seen the text of the motion, they’ll support it,” he said.
The crossbench group has the support of former Liberal leader John Hewson (pictured with the trio above), who said “short-term politics” had delayed action on climate change in the past three decades. “The climate challenge should not be a matter of politics,” Mr Hewson said.
Earlier this year Sydney City Council joined several local governments around the country in declaring a climate emergency.