Prior to the final vote,the lower house on Thursday adopted a slate of amendments from the teal independent MPs,which they said would boost the role of science in setting greenhouse emissions reduction targets.
Bowen told parliament he had worked in good faith on their “sensible suggestions”,which were made by MPs Kylea Tink,Sophie Scamps,Monique Ryan,Zali Steggall,Zoe Daniel,Kate Chaney,Allegra Spender and Helen Haines.
One amendment made it explicit that the 43 per cent target was a floor rather than a ceiling. Others added requirements that the impacts on regional communities be taken into account and future updates to targets under the Paris Agreement must draw on expert advice from the Climate Change Authority.
Separate bids from the Greens and independent Andrew Wilkie to lift the emissions cuts to 75 per cent were defeated.
Bandt urged the government to “act quicker to fix it” after the Coalition’s inertia.
“We’re doing this to stop going over a cliff,” he said. “If we hit two degrees,say goodbye to the Great Barrier Reef,and parts of Australia may become inhabitable if we go beyond that.”
In the final vote,the overwhelming support for the bill came from Labor,the four Greens MPs and crossbenchers Daniel,Ryan,Scamps,Rebekha Sharkie,Spender,Steggall,Tink and Wilkie. Chaney and Haines were absent because they caught COVID-19 earlier in the week and are isolating.
Liberal MP Bridget Archer crossed the floor to support the legislation,but the rest of the Coalition voted against it.
The opposition has set out plans for a nuclear energy policy instead while signalling it might commit to deeper emission cuts than the target it had in government – a cut of 26 to 28 per cent by 2030.
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Crossbenchers Bob Katter and Dai Le abstained.
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