Greens attempt to drag Albanese to negotiating table on climate targets

Greens leader Adam Bandt wants to negotiate with Labor on its climate targets. Picture: ACM

The Greens are adamant Anthony Albanese must negotiate to win its support for legislated climate targets, setting the stage for a showdown when the Federal Parliament returns next month.

The Greens will be an influential force in the new parliament, with Labor set to require the Greens’ 12 votes and support from ACT Senator David Pocock to pass its progressive policies.

The first test is set to be on climate policy after Mr Albanese promised to “move quickly” to legislate the government’s emissions reductions targets, which includes a 43 per cent cut by 2030 and net zero by 2050.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton has confirmed the Coalition won’t support legislated targets, a position which has unsettled some moderate Liberals.

Mr Dutton’s stance means Mr Albanese will need the Greens’ support if it wants to pass the bill through the upper house.

The Greens went to the election with a far more ambitious set of climate policies than Labor, including a phasing out of fossil fuels.

Labor won’t revise its policies and is prepared to push ahead without enshrining the targets in law.

But its preference remains that the goals be legislated.

Warringah MP Zali Steggall said Labor’s 43 per cent target should be a “floor not a cieling” to its emissions reduction ambitions. Picture: Geoff Jones

Mr Bandt has this week stepped up efforts to drag the new government to the negotiating table, claiming the “only obstacle to good climate action is Labor itself”.

With new members entering the party room after the election and parliament’s return still a month away, Mr Bandt isn’t disclosing how the Greens would vote if Labor refuses to budge.

The Greens infamously voted against Kevin Rudd’s carbon pollution reduction scheme in 2009, a decision which Labor blames for helping to fuel the climate and energy wars of the past decade.

While insisting Labor’s targets were at odds with the Paris Agreement and aligned with a level of global warming which would cook the Great Barrier Reef, Mr Bandt said the Greens were ready to negotiate with the new government.

He signaled the Greens would continue to pressure Labor to drop its support for coal and gas.

“Labor wants to open new coal and gas mines, which would blow any climate targets out of the water,” he told ACM.

“Parliament might pass climate laws on Monday only to have Labor open new coal and gas projects on Tuesday, undoing parliament’s work.

“The Greens are prepared to work with Labor in the Senate to pass good climate laws, but Labor’s ‘take it or leave it’ approach is exactly the kind of hairy-chested politics the public has just rejected.

“The ball’s in Labor’s court. We’re willing to talk targets, coal and gas, but it seems Labor isn’t.”

“I think everyone does need to come to the table sensibly,” she said.

“The government can’t say that we want to end the climate wars, but it’s your [The Greens’] fault [they aren’t] because you won’t do exactly what we say. That is not a very mature approach.”

The Warringah MP, who advocates for a 60 per cent 2030 target, was hopeful that Labor’s legislation would signal that the 43 per cent figure was a “floor rather than a ceiling” to its emissions reduction ambitions.

Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.

Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.