CANBERRA, Australia - Australia's new government is putting climate change at the top of its legislative agenda when Parliament sits next month for the first time since May 21st, with bills to enshrine a cut in greenhouse gas emissions and make electric cars cheaper, a minister said on Wednesday.
When Parliament sits on July 26th, Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen told the National Press Club that Australia will reduce its emissions by 43% below 2005 levels by 2030.
Another bill would abolish import tariffs and taxes on electric vehicles that are cheaper than the luxury car threshold of 77,565 Australian dollars $53,580 Only 1.5% of cars sold in Australia are electric or plug-in hybrids, and passenger cars account for almost 10% of the nation's emissions, the government said.
The Labor Party government believes thatEVs will account for 89% of Australian new car sales by the year 2030.
The government's fleet will be converted to 75% no-emission vehicles, bolstering a second-hand EV market as government vehicles are sold after three years.
The new government has already informed the United Nations of Australia of its ambitious 2030 target, which is more ambitious than the previous Conservative Liberal Party-led administration has pursued, a reduction of 26% to 28%.
Bowen said that legislating the target of 43% would create greater confidence.
Bowen said that it is about certainty and stability, mainly for the business investment community.
It sends a signal if a parliament hasn't legislated that maybe the country is not serious. Bowen said that a Liberal government, heaven forbid, might walk it back.
The Opposition leader Peter Dutton ruled out his Liberal Party senators from getting the Labor target through the upper chamber. Labor needs outside help to pass its legislative agenda, because it holds only 26 seats in the 76 seat Senate.
If Labor got all 12 senators from the minor Greens party to support the goal, the government would only need to persuade one of six remaining independent or unaligned legislators to reach a majority.
Adam Bandt, the Greens leader, said he will push the government to ban coal mines and gas projects when the target legislation is negotiated. The Greens want Australia's emissions to be reduced by 75% by the year 2030.
Australia's greenhouse gas emissions went up by 0.8% last year, or 4.1 million US tons Bowen said that the increase was one of the biggest emissions spikes in 15 years and blamed the previous government s inaction during nine years in office.
The increase included a 4% rise in transport emissions as travel restrictions were eased and 4.2% more agricultural emissions as rain ended years of drought across large swathes of southeast Australia.