The Greens WA have slammed the WA Labor Government for its continued inaction on climate change following its dismissal of the recent EPA recommendations.
“Emissions have continued to rise, WA has the second highest per capita emissions nationally and Australia is not on track to meet its Paris targets,” The Greens WA spokesperson for Climate Change, Tim Clifford said.
“It baffles me that the McGowan Government continues to spruik how LNG is a transition fuel to lower carbon emissions when LNG related carbon emissions have risen to over 30 million tonnes per year as Chevron’s giant Wheatstone and Gorgon projects have come online in the last 12 months.
“We keep hearing that the McGowan Government wants a nationally consistent approach when that itself is unlikely to be binding.
“The EPA guidance clearly states the aim is to ‘improve transparency and addressing market failures which impede energy efficiency and low emissions technology uptake, and are warranted regardless of the policy approach at the national level.’
“Successive Labor and Liberal Governments continue to give gas companies a free ride, they pay next to no tax or royalties back to the State. All that money could be going back into roads or hospitals, instead it’s lining the pockets of gas executives.
“This is hypocrisy at its highest level, the State Government and LNG companies love to tell us how much they care about climate change but as soon as they are held accountable they run.
“For a government that claims to care about climate change, they should be welcoming these new measures by the EPA. Emissions are at huge levels, and there must be more accountability.”
Media: Talitha Wolfe – 9274 8484