50m ago10.21 AEDT Environmental groups welcome Labor-Greens EPBC deal but remain concerned over fossil fuel approvals The government and the Greens are pretty happy about their deal announced this morning, and so too are some of the climate and environment advocacy groups. But they warn the job of protecting nature isn’t done, and express concern that the legislation will still allow the expansion of fossil fuel projects. The Greenpeace Australia Pacific CEO, David Ritter, said: The agreement announced today secures a significant improvement on the broken laws that for too long failed to deliver credible environmental protection. Removing the risk of fast-tracking coal and gas projects is also welcome. But the big sting in the tail is that the legislation still fails to address the enormous climate harm to nature from these sorts of projects. It still leaves the door open for the heedless expansion of coal and gas. The Climate Council CEO, Amanda McKenzie, said the law still “fails” the 2025 climate test. This deal strengthens protections for our native forests, and provides a faster yes to responsible renewable energy projects that cut climate pollution … But this 2025 law fails the climate test. All new coal and gas projects still get a free pass on climate pollution. In fact, the law forbids the environment minister from considering a project’s climate pollution when assessing whether it should go ahead.
There is a lot to like in the new #EPBC_Act but there are still a number of areas where it should have gone a lot further, but #Labor were intransigent about a #climateTrigger #AusPol
