AUSTRALIA’S CLIMATE REPORT card has been delivered and, once again, the country gets a big, fat ‘F’ for fail.

Newly released figures from the Environment and Energy department show there’s been a 0.9 percent increase in greenhouse gas pollution in the year to September 2018. Greenhouse gas pollution has now been rising for more than 3 years.

“Under the Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison governments, pollution levels have risen year on year. There’s been no leadership on climate change and this is the result,” said Climate Council CEO, Amanda McKenzie.

“This week we’ve seen the Federal Government recycling a failed policy, the Emissions Reduction Fund. That policy never tackled fossil fuels, the main contributor to climate change, so pollution has kept rising. An old, ineffective policy with a fresh name isn’t a solution,” she said.

“Today’s data tells a very clear story. Without effective policy, Australia’s pollution will keep rising. We are further away than ever from meeting our 2030 Paris climate commitments,” said Ms McKenzie.

“Australia is the sunniest country in the world and one of the windiest. We have great opportunities to tackle climate change, but we have had no effective Federal policy,” she said.

“Australia is highly vulnerable to climate change with sea level rise threatening coastal property, worsening extreme heat and fire conditions. The Federal Government has failed to get pollution down and protect Australians from climate change,” said Ms McKenzie.

For more information please contact Senior Communications Advisor, Lisa Upton on 0438 972 260 or Communications Officer, Brianna Hudson on 0455 238 875.

The Climate Council is Australia’s leading climate change communications organisation. We provide authoritative, expert and evidence-based advice on climate change to journalists, policymakers, and the wider Australian community.

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