Plan saves ‘endangered pollies’

DESPITE several recent climate and energy funding announcements, the Federal Government is receiving a lukewarm reception from environmental groups.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison (right) yesterday announced $22 million in funding for community environmental projects, giving up to $150,000 to each federal electorate.

But the Wilderness Society says the program was tiny compared to the scale of environmental challenges.

Community groups will decide on environmental projects appropriate for their area, with the Prime Minister saying he expected candidates and MPs to have “quick and early” lists of ideas for the funds.

“They have the right answers, they have the right projects and it is for us to back those projects,” he said. These could include restoring coastlines, wetlands and waterways, protecting native animals and cleaning up waste and litter.

However the Wilderness Society’s Tim Beshara said: “This is an announcement more geared up to saving endangered politicians than to saving endangered species. Australia’s environment urgently requires policy reform that addresses the scale of the challenges we are facing.”

A group of climate experts is also calling on the Government to increase Australia’s emissions reduction target of 45-65 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, instead of 26-28 per cent.

The joint statement was released after the government’s emissions data last week showed a 0.9 per cent increase on levels in the September quarter compared to the previous year. While emissions are declining in the electricity sector, this progress is outweighed by rises in transport and industrial energy.