Labor's climate hypocrisy exposed by axing emissions targets
Labor has spent several months blaming the devastation of Australias deadly bushfires on the Coalitions supposed climate change inaction. For those who view politics through a cursory lens it would appear Labor were the ones pushing for tough emissions reductions measures. But in a trainwreck interview for Anthony Albanese, which aired on Sky News this morning, the partys hypocrisy has been exposed. Mr Albanese has no climate policies. No emissions reductions targets at all. The Coalition will reduce emissions by 26 per cent by 2030 using 2005 levels as a baseline. Mr Albanese and Labor have no counter to that figure and the opportunistic Labor leader has awkwardly revealed he has no plans to produce one. Not having climate change targets of their own shows Labor is just using the issue for short-term gain. Mr Albanese argues the science is settled. If that is the case then he should have no problems producing a policy solution for climate change. If the science wont change between now and the next election it doesnt matter when Labors plan is released. Unless of course he cares more about votes than saving the planet. The climate is changing and were seeing the consequences right now, Mr Albanese wrote on Twitter today. Our natural environment is one of our most precious assets. It must be protected. Empty, hollow rhetoric which solves nothing. For a party which claims to follow the science its sloganeering is curiously devoid of practical solutions. Despite what the feral left will say, this writer accepts the findings contained in IPCC reports. The dispute is about how a country strikes a balance between energy reform by minimising economic damage and maximising environmental impact. It could be argued that maximum emissions reduction impact would be gained from scrapping the Paris Agreement which allows China to increase its emissions infinitely from 13,000 mega tonnes of CO2 today to an anticipated 16,000 mega tonnes in 2030. If Australia eliminated all emissions today it would wipe 530 mega tonnes off the global map. The Paris Agreement, what the world holds up as the solution to climate change, allows China to create the equivalent of five Australian economies in the next decade. Anthony Albanese knows this and he knows the solution to the issue will not be decided by reducing domestic geo-centric emissions in Australia. He knows how damaging Labors war on coal was at the last election and he is attempting to play both sides. He also knows that one of the most devastating moments of the campaign trail came when Bill Shorten refused to reveal how much a 45 per cent emissions reduction target would cost the economy. When it was revealed by economist Brian Fisher that the policy would cost $264 billion and kill 167,000 jobs the election result was sealed. Why would people vote for a party who would sacrifice so much to achieve so little? A much smarter solution is to create the technologies which will one day replace fossil fuels and pressure the worlds largest emitters to agree to emissions reduction targets. Which is why the Coalition is probing 100 new technologies to invest in like in hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, lithium production, biofuels and waste-to-energy. If Australia can reduce emissions by 26 per cent in the next decade so can a superpower like China. And any suggestions from Labor that Australia should influence China by leading by example are completely puerile. President Xi Jinping is an evil dictator who is keeping hundreds and thousands of Muslims in re-education slave camps and he will not be swayed by a nice gesture of morality. He will only be swayed by economic sanctions. But Labor has been completely silent about this reality. If Mr Albanese does not start displaying some honestly about the issue he risks throwing away any chance of being elected. In the interview with Sky News Political Editor Andrew Clennell he could neither throw his support behind the Adani coalmine or criticise it. Instead, he disassociated himself from it all together, repeatedly referring to it as being a private sector project, insinuating government should not get involved. He then went on to talk about how important coal was for Australia. People in Queensland and everywhere else know, who are involved in the industry, knows that the industry is continuing, Mr Albanese said. If you gave got a 50 per cent renewable energy target, by definition there is 50 per cent coming from fossil fuels. So, lets be realistic there about what the framework is domestically and internationally. Of course, there will continue to be coal exports; I have made that very clear. Mr Albanese screams about climate change one moment then spruiks coal the next. He knows Queenslanders will not tolerate another war on coal. Playing both sides is a dangerous game and hypocrisy is a very poisonous chalice to drink from. Read More Our Apps