Chris Bowen has declared Labor's climate legislation is "simply the beginning" and the work to slash Australia's emissions starts now, as he introduced the government's signature bill to Parliament.
The Climate Change and Energy Minister said it was no accident that the Albanese government had chosen to bring forward legislation to enshrine Labor's emissions reduction targets with one of its first acts in the new parliament.
"Our country and our parliament have wasted long enough, delaying and denying," Mr Bowen said in a speech to the House of Representatives on Wednesday morning.
"Time for action is now. We don't have a second to waste."
The bill would legislate Labor's 43 per cent 2030 emissions reduction target and net zero by 2050 goal.
The legislation would also task the Climate Change Authority with providing advice on future targets, including for 2035, and require the minister to provide an annual progress statement to Parliament.
The Albanese government is hoping the bill will sail through the lower house before the end of next week, before a likely showdown in the Senate in September.
Labor need to win the backing of the Greens, which have so far refused to guarantee their support because of the government's insistence that it won't block future coal and gas projects.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed Labor wouldn't cede to the Greens' key demand, declaring that a moratorium on new fossil fuel projects and a halt to coal and gas exports would be "devastating" for Australia's economy.
Mr Bowen revealed on Tuesday that some tweaks had been made to the bill after talks with the Greens and crossbenchers, which were confirmed in the text of legislation unveiled on Wednesday morning.
The bill confirms that new emissions targets must be higher than previous ones, which both prevents the government from "backsliding" on its ambitions and opens the door for it to go further.
"This bill is not the end of the work - far from it," Mr Bowen said.
"It is simply the beginning. The real task lies in the implementation of the goals we are outlining today."
Mr Bowen again took a swipe at the Peter Dutton-led Coalition, which is set to vote against the bill because it doesn't believe legislated targets are necessary.
"The opposition had a choice. They could vote for progress, or a choice to pedal the same discredited scare campaigns they have peddled for the past two decades," he said.
"They've made that choice. It is disappointing."
READ MORE
Meanwhile, newly elected teal independents are already pushing the Albanese government to go further on climate change.
Goldstein MP Zoe Daniel used her first speech in Parliament to argue that reaching net zero emissions by 2040 - a decade ahead of the government's target - would not be a "moment too soon".
"My job now will be to hold the government to account for dramatically improved climate policy and targets, backed by the best science that we have-a timely, planned and just transition to renewable energy," Ms Daniel said.
Dan Jervis-Bardy
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
