Nature Positive: Greens continue to push for ‘climate trigger’ despite Anthony Albanese ruling it out
The Greens are digging in with their demands for some form of “climate trigger” in exchange for backing Labor’s Nature Positive laws despite Prime Minister Anthony Albanese ruling it out.
However, Greens leader Adam Bandt is open to negotiating around the specifics model, giving Mr Albanese some wiggle room if he is prepared to shift position and entertain a deal with the left-wing party.
Mr Albanese has twice in two days ruled out a “climate trigger” — a mechanism that would require a project’s future greenhouse gas emissions to be factored into the environmental approval process.
He has also dismissed the Greens’ vaguer request for “climate considerations” to be part of the assessment process.
The firm stance effectively kills off the possibility of a deal with the Greens to legislate its federal EPA, given the long-called-for “climate trigger” and closing a loophole around native forest logging are considered red-line issues.
Speaking in Parliament House on Tuesday afternoon, Mr Bandt confirmed the Greens wouldn’t drop the two key demands despite Mr Albanese’s position.
“There needs to be a fix to our environment laws to address climate change and to address native forest logging,” Mr Bandt said.
The Greens leader said he remained open to talks with Labor, giving the Government a path to deliver a key 2022 election promise.
But Mr Bandt said Mr Albanese appeared hell-bent on only negotiating with the Coalition.
“I’m concerned that the closer that we get to an election, the more the Prime Minister is just saying he’s only going to talk to Peter Dutton, and is already preparing to let Peter Dutton write the laws of this country, especially when it comes to our environment,” he said.
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