Darebin Greens welcome carbon price agreement

The Darebin Greens strongly welcomes the announcement of a climate action agreement that will put a $23 per tonne price on carbon pollution (as was first proposed by the Greens), support householders and vulnerable communities, and invest billions of dollars in clean, renewable energy.

Show your support for the carbon price package

This package, which the Greens have helped shape, is the first vital step towards tackling the climate crisis, modernising the Australian economy and building a cleaner, healthier, more secure Australia for all of us.

Darebin is a community that supports strong action on climate change and wants a safe future for our growing number of children.  But we also need to make sure any costs are shared fairly, which is why the Greens support low and middle income households being compensated for rising costs.

The Darebin Greens are especially pleased that older people, many of whom struggle to make ends meet, will be significantly better off under this policy.  The policy rewards those who reduce their energy usage, providing a real incentive to reduce unnecessary energy use.  

By modernising the Australian economy and driving investment in renewable energy, the package will also create thousands of new jobs, many in regional areas.

The carbon price agreement delivers:

• A price on pollution which big polluters will have to pay: $23 per tonne of carbon as called for by the Greens in 2010; PLUS
• $10 Billion investment in renewable energy
• 80% cut in Australia’s emissions by 2050
• Assistance to vulnerable Australians totalling over $4 billion per annum
• Starting to close the most polluting coal fired power stations and stop new ones from opening
• $1B for the protection of Australia’s biodiversity, wildlife and woodlands.

In a political climate characterised by fear-mongering and misinformation, the carbon price agreement is a tangible example of the positive, constructive role Greens in Parliament can play.

Everybody in Darebin who signed a petition, wrote to an MP, attended a rally or helped the Greens whether by campaigning, voting or just wishing us well can be proud that we are making real progress.

But there is still much to be done.  Recent scientific reports suggest our chances of remaining under 2 degrees of warming have dwindled, and we are on track to seeing 4 degrees of warming by the end of the century. 

That is a truly catastrophic scenario, and one which will only be averted by urgent global action.  Far from Australia’s efforts having no tangible effect on global emissions, taking this step will show other countries it can be done, and help encourage others to follow suit.

With this first step agreed, the Greens will continue to campaign for the much stronger action we need to effectively and efficiently tackle the climate crisis – from the local to the global.

Take a moment now to email the Government or send a letter to the editor to voice your support.