Labor will not hit its 2030 climate targets without an overhaul of green tape, Environment Minister Murray Watt has warned, as he seeks the backing of the Coalition, business, state governments and conservationists to reform environmental laws. Source: The Australian.
Senator Watt revealed he would dump the “nature positive” label of environmental reforms championed by former minister Tanya Plibersek, declaring that the phrase “jarred with a lot of people”.
The Government was yet to land on a new name for its environmental reform agenda, with legislation to be introduced to parliament by the end of the year.
Pushing back on calls for a climate trigger, the Queensland Left faction heavyweight said coal mine approvals under his watch would be treated the same as any other project.
Senator Watt said the Government was also considering a model that would give the minister power to make approval decisions, with an Environmental Protection Agency to give advice to government or to be excluded from approval decisions and to be limited to enforcing compliance.
With Labor expected to set a 2035 emissions-reduction target of 65 per cent or more next month, Senator Watt warned Australia would fall short of existing international climate commitments unless legislation was passed to reform the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
The cornerstone of Labor’s pledge to lower carbon emissions by 43 per cent of 2005 levels by 2030 is an 82 per cent renewables target, which experts say is not on track amid delays in approvals of major renewables projects.
“I definitely think for us to hit our emissions and renewables targets, we need change to our environmental laws,” Senator Watt said. “It’s not about allowing renewable projects to just trash the environment or completely ignore community consultation. It’s really about simplifying and speeding up the processes that we go through to determine whether a project should go ahead or not.”
He also said reforms to the EPBC Act would be needed if the Government had any chance of hitting the target to build 1.2 million homes by 2029.
FULL STORY
‘Nature Positive’ no more, as Murray Watt warns 2030 climate targets won’t be met without green tape reform (By Greg Brown, The Australian)
