Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the fact the Coalition and the Greens are raising concerns about the government’s new climate laws shows it has achieved the right balance between reducing emissions and not punishing heavy industries.will be the first in a decade to force businesses to lower their carbon footprint, and are crucial to achieving the government’s election pledge to cut Australia’s emissions 43 per cent by 2030.
“When you have some people saying it’s too hard and some people saying it’s too soft, we have got the balance right,” he said. Asked whether he would consider the call from the Greens and conservation groups to limit the number of carbon credits that can be used by companies, Albanese said people in Parliament “should listen to what industry are saying, listen to what economists are saying as well”.“What you need to do is to provide a pathway for lowering emissions... not disrupting the system so that it loses support,” he said.
But the Greens, who will likely hold the crucial votes to pass the legislation in the Senate, have raised concerns that the changes let coal and gas companies “off the hook”. They have demanded the government commit to banning any new coal and gas projects and limiting the number of carbon credits that fossil fuel producers can buy to force them to wind down their operations.