After a drawn out process, Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has finally committed to back the imminent announcement, but Prime Minister Scott Morrison has still given no detail on how we'll get there. Meanwhile his government continues to greenlight massive coal and gas projects that will pump billions of tonnes of carbon pollution into the atmosphere.
If the Government is serious about getting to net zero, they must slash coal and gas pollution and deliver 100% clean energy this decade.
GetUp Climate Justice Campaigns Director Kathryn McCallum said:
"After years of delay, denial and deception, the Morrison Government has been dragged kicking and screaming to a pollution target of net zero by 2050. It's a victory for the community-driven climate movement, which has grown to become a huge, vibrant and persistent force. But it's far short of what Australia needs.
“The Morrison Government knows voters want climate action, so they’re pretending to act with a distant target. In reality, they’re trying to subsidise multiple new coal and gas projects.
“Sneaky accounting and an offsets scam won’t protect the people we love from climate damage.
"If the Morrison Government was serious about cutting pollution, it would immediately commit to no new funding for fracking, mining and burning gas or coal. Instead, the Government continues to spend public funds on expensive, inefficient and polluting coal, oil and gas projects that will soon be obsolete.
"By not setting a 2030 target, Prime Minister Morrison is avoiding responsibility and falling far behind major global economies like the UK, the US and Japan.
“To get to zero, the Government can't approve or subsidise new projects like a publicly-funded gas-burning power station at Kurri Kurri, a new coal-burning power station from Clive Palmer’s company in Queensland, or redirecting renewable energy funding to gas corporations so they can pretend to bury pollution.
"GetUp and the broader environmental movement remain united and committed to holding the Morrison Government to account on its lack of climate action, and to informing voters and the public about what real action looks like."