It’s the 10-year anniversary of our climate policy abyss. But don’t blame the Greens

Federal Labor this week commemorated a dubious anniversary – a decade of climate policy failure. And it pointed the finger of blame squarely at the Greens.

In 2009, a Bob Brown-led Greens party voted against an emissions
 trading scheme – but they can’t be blamed for what came after.

Labor claimed that had the Greens not voted against its Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) in 2009, Australia’s carbon emissions would be more than 200 million tonnes lower and electricity would be more affordable.

Labor MP Pat Conroy said the Coalition and the Greens “bear a heavy responsibility for the fact that, a decade later, Australia still does not have an effective policy to tackle climate change by reducing emissions”.

But one moment in 2009 is not the root cause of ongoing parliamentary disagreement over climate action. And the Greens cannot be blamed for what came afterwards.

Read the story from The Conversation by a lecturer from the Department of Political Economy at the University of Sydney, Rebecca Pearse - “It’s the 10-year anniversary of our climate policy abyss. But don’t blame the Greens.”