The Albanese Government’s emissions target could be wiped out by new coal and gas projects. 

The federal government has entered into negotiations for the passage of a climate bill that  legislates a 43 per cent reduction by 2030 target.

Some of Australia’s most climate-intensive activities, particularly for methane, involve the mining and extraction of fossil fuels like coal and gas. 

By not stopping new coal and gas projects, the Albanese Government could allow massive contributions to be made to the very problem it is trying to solve.

Comparing just one year of new fossil projects to seven years of reductions, the reductions are overwhelmed, according to this analysis. 

In fact, according to other experts, the Scarborough-Pluto gas project in Western Australia (which the ALP supports) will emit almost three times Australia’s current annual emissions. This alone could make Labor’s 43 per cent target impossible to achieve.

The huge fossil fuel projects coming down the pipeline in Australia are set to continue to be strong drivers of emissions growth, counteracting any reductions that occur in the electricity sector.