Senator Mehreen Faruqi: Matter of Public Importance-Climate Change. (New South Wales): We are in a climate emergency, and those in the government are sitting on their hands, hands which are stained with the dirty donations from the fossil fuel lobby. The Liberals’ lack of action has us fully on track for 3.4 degrees of warming, which will have catastrophic consequences. History will remember you as the cowards who did nothing in a climate emergency. History will remember you as villains who blocked international action on climate. And history will remember you as the dishonest government who knew the signs and chose not to act to save the planet.
School kids have shown incredible courage by marching in the tens of thousands to demand action. It’s because they want a fighting chance for a future where not every summer is marked by severe bushfires, where they can breathe without masks, where they can enjoy nature. There are no two ways about this: scientists have this week warned that both Liberal and Labor Party policies fall dangerously short of the action that we actually need. Labor’s target of zero net emissions by 2050 puts us on track to blow the Paris budget.
We need to front-end our emissions reductions. Labor haven’t outlined any plans to cut pollution. We need action now. Scientists tell us that, if we are to keep our planet habitable, there should be no new fossil fuel developments for domestic use or for export. Quitting coal, oil and gas is the real test on which Labor and Liberals have failed time and again, and they have failed miserably. Our actions in the next few years will define what the world looks like in the next 50 years. The absolute lack of any leadership from the Liberals and Labor will not save us in this climate emergency.
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