Oz Greens Face Critical Vote - Endorse Shitty Labor Climate Plan, Or No Climate Plan At All
The future of one of Labor’s signature climate policies – updating the safeguard mechanism to deal with industrial greenhouse gas emissions – hangs in the balance. The government held off pushing it through parliament this week while negotiations continued with the Greens and key independent senator David Pocock over a potential deal to strengthen it.
The design of the policy is not the Greens’ responsibility, but what happens next is largely up to its party room – with the Coalition opposed, the government can’t get its legislation through without their support. The minor party is divided. Its 15 members will meet through the weekend ahead of a potential decision by Monday. It could go either way. Given the party operates on a consensus model that allows time to find common ground, it could also remain unresolved into next week.
If you’re new to the safeguard mechanism – it’s a Coalition policy that was promised to stop emissions from 215 big industrial polluting sites rising, but failed because it did not get applied. Labor says it wants most facilities to have to cut emissions intensity by 4.9% a year to cut total pollution under the scheme by about 30% by 2030. Critics say the scheme is flawed because new fossil fuel mines will be allowed into the scheme, adding to emissions, and companies can buy an unlimited number of controversial carbon offsets as an alternative to making onsite emissions cuts.
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Some Greens, including leader Adam Bandt, want to get the best deal they can (we haven’t seen the details of what has been negotiated) to make life harder for new coal and gas developments, allow the changes to be introduced and keep fighting on fossil fuels. That fight would include a debate over an upcoming revamp of national environment laws and a campaign at the next federal election. This group thinks the scheme is nothing like what is needed to address the climate crisis, but introducing a carbon price and annually declining emissions limits for major polluting facilities is better than the alternative – currently, nothing. Others in the Greens would prefer to use their balance-of-power status to block the changes and to keep attacking the safeguard as a Tony Abbott creation that can’t be redeemed. There are different views along the spectrum between these two positions.
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https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/mar/24/the-greens-face-one-of-the-biggest-decisions-of-their-political-lives-as-labors-climate-policy-hangs-in-the-balance