Chris Bowen stares down Greens and crossbench threats to scuttle safeguard mechanism

Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen is staring down threats from the Greens, crossbenchers and the Coalition to scuttle Labor’s safeguard mechanism.

Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen in Canberra on Tuesday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen is staring down threats from the Greens, crossbenchers and the Coalition to scuttle Labor’s safeguard mechanism and refusing to release government modelling on the grounds it would breach cabinet in-confidence and market sensitivities.

The Greens and Coalition on Tuesday accused the government of being in contempt of the Senate after joining forces to support a motion calling for the release of “secret” modelling on carbon offsets and emissions.

The political stunt came despite Mr Bowen sending a letter to Senate environment legislation committee chair Karen Grogan last week rejecting a request from Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young for the Australian Carbon Credit Units modelling.

In the letter, Mr Bowen said “disclosure of the safeguard mechanism modelling would not be in the public interest because disclosure would reveal the delib­erations of cabinet”.

“It is a long-held and accepted principle that deliberations of cabinet be appropriately protected in order to ensure that decisions can be discussed in an open manner preserving cabinet unity,” Mr Bowen said.

“In addition, disclosure of the safeguard mechanism modelling would not be in the public interest due to market sensitivities relating to the government’s role as a purchaser of ACCUs.

“Providing government forecasts of ACCU market demand would be a signal to the market, creating the potential risk of significant flow-on effects for the operation of future auctions for government purchase of ACCUs.”

Mr Bowen – who is negotiating with Greens leader Adam Bandt and key Senate crossbenchers including David Pocock – on Tuesday shot back at demands to ban new coal and gas projects.

He said Labor’s more ambitious safeguard mechanism, requiring the 215 biggest-emitting facilities to slash emissions by nearly 5 per cent each year out to 2030, must be seized because the “stakes are too high”.

“The opportunity before the parliament over coming weeks is either to seize the opportunity to reduce emissions by 205 million tonnes or squander it,” he said.

“This is the big opportunity when it comes to heavy industry, which is almost a third of our emissions.”

The Albanese government is targeting nine sitting days later this month to push its safeguard mechanism crediting legislation through the parliament. The new scheme is due to commence from July 1.

With Labor needing the Greens’ 11 senators plus two crossbenchers to pass its legislation in the parliament, Mr Bandt said large emitters should not be allowed to “buy their way out of the scheme”.

“It’s modelling regarding the offsets because the question is, at the moment, we are very worried that these big corporations are going to buy their way out of the scheme and not cut their pollution at all,” Mr Bandt said.

“That’s what all the evidence is and if the government has got any modelling to the contrary, then we would like to see it.”

Opposition climate change and energy spokesman Ted O’Brien said by not releasing the modelling, the government was “refusing” to reveal how reforms to the safeguard mechanism would impact families, businesses and jobs.

He said the government should “stump up and deliver” the modelling if it was committed to transparency.

Mr Bowen said the government was open to integrity measures suggested by investor groups and financial institutional investors, representing members with $US43 trillion in assets under management.