Parliamentary Updates

21 November 2024

Overnight, the annual Climate Change Performance Index was released. The index compares the climate action performance of 63 countries and the EU, which account for more than 90% of global climate emissions. Disappointingly, Australia's ranking has dropped from 50 to 52.

Zali spoke on the following key points:

(1) Renewed calls for government leadership on Climate Change:

Alongside the Australian Conservation Foundation and colleagues from the crossbench, Zali called on the government to do better when it comes to climate action and emissions reduction, and stop enabling the increase of coal and gas production.

(2) The Future Fund and Climate Action:

Zali welcomes the Treasurer's announcement to direct Australia's Future Fund (worth $238bn as of 2024) to focus on green energy and infrastructure. The Future Fund has historically invested in banks, airlines, supermarkets, fossil-fuel companies and mining companies. To now direct it towards industries such as housing and renewables, that will actually benefit the future of Australia, is a good thing.

(3) Stop approving fossil fuels:

Zali also called on the Future Fund and the government to stop approving the exploration of more coal and gas, and, in particular, gas in WA. She questioned the government's Future Gas Strategy launched in May, which seeks to open massive, new gas fields and continues to burn and export fossil fuels well beyond 2050.

(4) Strong climate leadership:

Zali notes that as we pass critical tipping points locking in future warming, the need for ambitious policies and strong leadership has never been so important. She calls for, among other ambitions, a strong 2035 target.

(5) Climate risk and the Cost of Living Crisis:

Climate risk continues to escalate and it is costing our communities. Zali points to once-in-100-year fires and floods becoming more and more frequent, and ordinary Australian people are paying the price for this reckless negligence that continues, government after government. The cost-of-living crisis is fuelled, in part, by the increasing costs to home insurance premiums due to the intensifying of climate change and increasing risks. Allianz Insurance recently told a parliamentary inquiry that it had increased average premiums across its household portfolio by a cumulative 56 per cent over three years, due to climate risks. A warming climate also means food and water become more scarce and more expensive.

(6) Zali's final message:

"If you out there don't actually accept the science of climate change and you think that this is a problem that someone else is going to deal with—trust me, you are also going to pay for it, because climate risk is going to be averaged across all of your insurance premiums. Everyone will pay for this, and, ultimately, the government will pay because communities are not safe and government will have to subsidise the consequences, instead of the fossil fuel companies. They should be held responsible to pay for the damage that they are causing."