Sign the Petition – Fix our enviro laws!
Australia’s environmental laws are broken. Since their creation in the 90s, they haven’t been updated once, and have allowed over 700 coal and gas projects to be approved.
They don’t even mention climate change, and let coal and gas companies get away with digging up fossil fuels, polluting our water, and fueling the climate crisis.
Labor has plans to update our environmental laws ahead of the next federal election, but are dragging their feet on getting it done. Environment laws that ignore the climate impacts of gas don’t protect our communities or the environment – instead they protect the fossil fuel industry and fuel climate chaos, and allow new fossil fuel projects to lock in climate impacts for decades to come.
With our environmental laws being updated for the first time in over 25 years, this is Labor’s opportunity to stand up for climate and young people, and include climate impacts in the updated laws.
Tell Minister Plibersek: our environmental laws must ensure climate impacts are assessed.
Dear Minister Plibersek,
Thank you for committing to update our environmental laws. We urgently call on you to introduce a climate trigger in the reforms to Australia’s environmental laws this year.
Tamboran Resources is preparing to frack across hundreds of kilometres in the Northern Territory, putting our communities at risk with millions of tonnes of climate pollution every year.
Strong environmental laws should stand up for the climate, and ensure a safe future for everyone. We need to make sure the risks climate impacts are central to the approval of every single coal and gas project.
Signed,
What has Labor promised to change?
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek is rewriting our national environment laws by reforming the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, and will soon invite the public to share their opinions on what should be included. This consultation process is our chance to ensure that water, Country, and climate has strong protection now and in the future.
We need climate damage from coal and gas developments to be considered in the very Act which assesses them, just as the Environment Minister is required to consider the impacts a fossil fuel project will have on threatened species or water resources. Australia’s national environmental law has so far approved 740 fossil fuel projects – that’s 99.9% of coal and gas proposals.
With over 116 coal and gas projects waiting for approval, this is the year Labor must decide whether to open the flood gates to climate chaos, or to stand up for communities and the environment by stopping new coal and gas.