Leader of the Australian Greens Adam Bandt has said that Scott Morrison’s reported intention to avoid appearing at the COP26 Glasgow Climate Summit is a dangerous abrogation of his responsibility to act on climate change and threatens to slow global progress.

“If Scott Morrison doesn’t want to lead the country on climate, he should hand the reins to someone who does,” Mr Bandt said. 

Overnight, China announced at the UN that they would cease building new coal plants, signalling a further, faster global transition out of coal.

The Greens also seized on new polling showing Australians want to get out of coal and increase our 2030 climate targets.

Both Liberal and Labor have repeatedly said they see coal exports continuing even beyond 2050, and while the government’s 2030 target is being internationally condemned, Labor has no 2030 target at all.

The Greens have reiterated their call for Australia to act in line with the climate science and UN call to quit coal, with an RBA report estimating the impact on the Australian economy would be as low as 0.1% of GDP.

The Greens have attacked Scott Morrison’s plan to buy nuclear submarines. 

Quotes attributable to Greens Leader, Adam Bandt MP:

"This is a dangerous move that makes our country less safe by putting floating Chernobyls in the heart of our major cities, increasing the risk of conflict in our region and putting Australia in the firing line.

"The Prime Minister is putting floating Chernobyls near people in Brisbane, Adelaide, Sydney and Perth and he needs to explain how many people will die if there’s a nuclear accident in one of our major cities.

Greens around the world have lambasted revelations that Australia has vetoed Paris Agreement climate goals being included in a trade agreement, and that the UK acceded to those demands. 

But it’s not just progressive voices: UK Tory Lord Deben, who heads up an independent climate advisory body, decried Australia as “one of the recalcitrant nations” on climate action.

With the UN calling for Australia to quit coal by 2030, but Rupert Murdoch officially moving only to ‘net zero by 2050’, the looming divide between climate activists and fossil fuel supporters is now clear, Greens Leader, Adam Bandt MP said, announcing the Greens will introduce a bill to phase out coal by 2030 to parliament, putting legislative action behind the UN’s demands. 

In another episode of 'We will do anything but tackle climate change', a bunch of Liberal and National MPs are jumping up and down and wanting more school chaplains so they can knock the very real fear of looming climate catastrophe out of the minds of young people. The problem isn't the kids' activism and recognition of climate emergencies. It is your inaction on the climate crisis that is the real problem. Schoolkids don't need religious chaplains. They need a government that embraces science and takes responsibility to protect their future.

The Australian Greens have savaged Labor’s decision to vote with the Liberals today in the Senate to spend public money opening up massive gas fields in the Beetaloo Basin, saying the move raised questions as to whether Labor still believes the climate crisis is real.

If Labor had voted with the Greens and crossbench, the fund would have been abolished, given the numbers in the Senate. Labor is responsible for the continued existence of the $50 million Beetaloo Co-operative Drilling Program to open up new gas projects.

We are in a critical time for climate action, and the Liberals are busy giving handouts to their political donors, for gas giants to frack the Beetaloo basin and plunge us further into a climate emergency. Labor's capitulation on this dodgy, climate-destroying project is yet another terrible decision from the so-called opposition. The Beetaloo slush fund stinks of corruption. It will be deadly for our climate.