Climate bill in Australia to make fossil fuel investment harder

Climate change Minister Chris Bowen has introduced the government’s climate change bill and said he wants Australia to be a renewable energy powerhouse.

The minister introduced the Climate Change Bill to parliament, which if approved would commit the federal government to cut greenhouse gases by 43 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030.

Greens leader Adam Bandt has welcomed the move but said the amendments don’t guarantee public money cannot flow to coal and gas projects.

Labor will insert its upgraded emissions reduction target into the objectives of key agencies such as the Export Finance Australia (EFA), CSIRO, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, the Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund (NAIF), Infrastructure Australia and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.

Labor will make it more challenging for key government agencies to spend public money on coal and gas projects in an olive branch offering to the Greens as negotiations go down to the wire over the government’s signature climate reform.