February 25, 2019: Today’s funding announcement by the Federal Coalition is woefully inadequate to address climate change and proves that the climate denying coal huggers like Tony Abbott are still in charge of energy policy.Prime Minister Scott Morrison will today announce the amount of funding the government will set aside for climate initiatives over the next 10 years – a sum of less than $8.01 per person a year.

“Australians are struggling with the impacts of climate change, like the horrible destructive bushfires in Tasmania and New South Wales, and the floods in Northern Queensland. Despite that the Coalition have released a plan to do as close to nothing as they can get away with,” Greenpeace Australia Pacific campaigner Neneh Darwin said.

“This announcement shows the Liberal Party thinks the right response to climate chaos is exactly $8.01 a person – even as at the same time they funnel billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money into making the problem worse, by subsidising coal and other fossil fuel projects.

“The Coalition and PM Scott Morrison will never be serious about taking action on the climate unless they stop pumping money into the biggest cause of climate change in Australia – coal.”

Darwin said the $200 million a year announced under the scheme is one seventh of what they cut from climate spending last year and there were no guarantees it would not also be spent on upgrading fossil fuel projects such as the ageing and brittle Vales Point coal fired power plant.

“First step in fixing the climate crisis is powering past coal – but the government is doing every single thing it can think of to delay that, including trying to actively prop up the industry by throwing as much taxpayer money at it as they can”, Darwin said.

“If this was a proper climate policy it would support the renewable energy industry. But doesn’t, and it won’t. The Coalition’s refusal to acknowledge that climate change is a problem means renewables are about to fall off a cliff-edge.

“Instead, this – shovelling money into a policy that was always designed to be nothing more than an expensive distraction.

“What we need right now is this: for Scott Morrison and Angus Taylor to rule out any public money being spent on subsidies for dirty, high polluting coal fired power stations.”

For interviews contact:

Simon Black

Greenpeace Australia Pacific Senior Media Campaigner

0418 219 086 / [email protected]