Scott Morrison outlines his new climate change policy. (ABC News)
Key points
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The Climate Solutions Fund is an extension of former prime minister Tony Abbott's Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF).
"It's important to have a balance in your emissions reductions policies. You've got to have the cool head as well as the passionate heart," Mr Morrison said.
"Our Government will take, and is taking, meaningful, practical, sensible, responsible action on climate change without damaging our economy or your family budget."
The Prime Minister has repeatedly said Australia would meet its Paris commitment of reducing emissions by 26 to 28 per cent by 2030 "in a canter", despite recent government projections casting doubt over that figure.
"It's been an incredibly successful program, both improving the economy and supporting the environment," he said.
"It was always our intention that we would need to extend that out to ensure we met our 2030 targets, which we will."
Meeting the 2030 commitment also relies on counting old credits, left over from the Kyoto targets, a move criticised by some experts but defended by Environment Minister Melissa Price.
"We've never actually shied away from that, we're very open and upfront about that," she told The World Today.
"This will ensure that we actually meet our targets.
"Now, you and I can argue over whether carry over should be included or not, we say that we're entitled to include carry over and we say here are our policies with our target of 26 to 28 per cent that's going to ensure that we meet that target by 2030."
The Prime Minister also announced $56 million to fast-track the development of a second Bass Strait interconnector as part of an extra $1.5 billion package of measures.
Further details are yet to be announced, but Mr Morrison said the measures would include improving energy efficiency standards and developing an electric vehicles strategy.
Senior Liberals have flagged need for new policies
A number of Coalition MPs are facing challenges from high-profile independents campaigning on the need for more action on climate change, including in Mr Abbott's seat of Warringah.
Shadow Climate Change Minister Mark Butler said a Labor government would scrap the Prime Minister's policy.
"What he's doing is again making [taxpayers] foot the bill for something that big polluters should be doing," he said.
"The question really here is whether people would trust a Government that has spent five years trashing climate policy, trashing climate science, led by a Prime Minister who brought a lump of coal into the Parliament, suddenly to have had some last-minute conversion in the shadow of an election campaign to take climate change seriously."
Labor has set its own emissions reduction target of 45 per cent by 2030, a figure Mr Morrison said was "reckless" which would put a "wrecking ball" through the economy.
Links
- Critics decry Coalition's 'fig leaf' climate pledge
- Industry calls for Morrison to go further on climate policy
- Climate Solutions Fund driven by 'big corporate interest'
- PM's fence-sitting on climate change leaves him exposed
- Missed opportunity: farm sector sceptical of PM's climate policy
- The emissions reduction fund was deeply flawed – and no rebranding will change this
- Are Australia's Paris 2030 emissions reductions on track thanks to 'loophole'?
- Emissions increases approved by regulator may wipe out $260m of Direct Action cuts
- Australia's coal future under threat as more changes hit fossil fuels globally
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