Opinion: Finally, there looks like an end in sight to a long and destructive cycle in the politics of climate change over at least five terms of federal parliament | CroweDM
Finally, there looks like an end in sight to a long and destructive cycle in the politics of climate change over at least five terms of federal parliament.
But the thunder in the argument has eased. The achievement this week was the decision by a significant majority to ensure their divisions in parliament would not prevent a vote to get something done. For the first time, the national target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is being written into the law. Yes, this was only a limited agreement between Labor, the Greens and most of the crossbench.
Labor has secured its policy without making significant concessions. The bill to set the emission target is only 16 pages long and only the starting point in a series of policies that will emerge in the months ahead, so the scope for negotiation was narrow. The independents pushed, for instance, to ensure a review of the law and the public release of advice from the Climate Change Authority. The Greens wanted scope for deeper emission cuts. Nobody succeeded in changing the actual target.
Greens leader Adam Bandt speaks during the debate over amendments to the government’s climate change bill.“When it came to this bill, our preference was to improve and pass it and that’s what we’ve done,” Bandt said of this week’s vote. “Did we get everything we wanted? No. But we’re a step closer to stopping new coal and gas projects.”
Second, the government has to do something practical about the electricity grid — another challenge not mentioned in the bill debated this week. The Labor promise is to take on $20 billion in additional debt to finance a “Rewiring the Nation Corporation” that will help fund projects that upgrade the grid to support more renewable power. How fast does this money start to flow? The Greens and the crossbench could shape this decision.
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