MELBOURNE, Tuesday 20 April 2021 – In response to Scott Morrison’s speech to the Business Council of Australia last night, Greenpeace Australia Pacific spokesperson Nelli Stevenson said:“Morrison’s continued flirting with net-zero by 2050 is simply not good enough. In order to protect Australians and our Pacific neighbours from the worsening impacts of climate change like floods, fire and cyclones, the prime minister must commit to net-zero by 2035.”
“People across Australia and the Pacific Islands are feeling the devastating impacts of climate change right now. Dithering and delaying with hypothetical targets set thirty years into the future is wasting the precious little time we have left to drastically reduce emissions.”
“The science on this is crystal clear: fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas are driving the climate crisis. Just yesterday Morrison announced he’d be forcing more gas – a key driver of climate change – into South Australia’s energy mix.”
“The world is watching Australia this week leading up to the Biden climate summit. The Federal Government has been increasingly isolated on the world stage and this sort of net-zero lip service while propping up the gas industry will not cut it.”
“Last week more than 10 environmental and humanitarian organisations including Greenpeace Australia Pacific, Oxfam Australia, and The Pacific Conference of Churches called on the Prime Minister to drastically increase his climate ambition ahead of the Biden Summit in order to protect Australians and the Pacific from the worsening impacts of climate change.”
For more information please contact Head of Communications Nelli Stevenson on 0428 113 346 or email [email protected]
