The major parties are being urged to declare their 2035 climate targets with the nation’s land mass already warming beyond 1.5 degrees.

A group of independent MPs on Tuesday called for emissions reduction targets to be released before the next election, after recent the State of the Climate Report warned of worsening heatwaves, bushfires, cyclones and floods.

Kylea Tink, MP for North Sydney, told AAP it was “beyond ridiculous” that neither Labor nor the coalition wanted to talk about 2035 targets, saying it would be a key trigger in how people choose to vote in 2025.

“Silence should not be an option … they need to come clean, release their 2035 targets, say how they’re going to get us there and whether they will follow the science on how to get there,” she said.

Ms Tink said the Labor government seemed to have moved to a position where they did not want to make a decision because they were waiting to see the result of the US election and its impact on decarbonisation.

“To me that’s an inappropriate deferral of the opportunities for our country and the responsibility of our government,” she said.

Zali Steggall, MP for Warringah in Sydney – formerly the stronghold of Tony Abbott who once said the “climate change cult” would be discredited – said climate risks were rising and costing Australians more each year.

“Major parties need to be transparent about their emissions reduction goals before the next election so voters can assess if they’re fair dinkum or not about tackling climate change,” she said.

Sophie Scamps, MP for Mackeller said she had “grave concerns” that the nuclear aspirations of the coalition meant Australia would remain heavily reliant on coal until 2050.

Teal independents were voted into parliament in 2022 on a platform for climate action. That was swiftly followed by Labor’s legislated emissions reduction target of 43 per cent for 2030 and net zero by 2050.

“While people are now talking about cost of living being the No.1 issue going into 2025, the truth is many of the cost of living issues we’re talking about are being impact by climate change,” Ms Tink said.

“Whether it’s the cost of insurance, the cost of electricity, the cost of our groceries – climate change is playing into all of that.”

Still mulling her own future after her electorate was scrapped under new electoral boundaries, Ms Tink said the next six months would see her pushing both sides of politics on climate action as “one of the most pressing issues for the nation”.

Zoe Daniel, MP for Goldstein, repeated her call for a climate target of at least 75 per cent emissions reduction by 2035, while acknowledging that would be “close to the minimum required” for Australia to meet its international commitments.

The Climate Change Authority says it is developing advice for 2035 emissions reduction targets, which will determine the so-called nationally determined contribution that Australia must pledge to the United Nations in 2025.

Monique Ryan, MP for Kooyong said Australians want the major parties to demonstrate a strong commitment to action on climate change.

“Voters deserve to know exactly where the parties stand, before the next federal election,” she said.

Marion Rae
(Australian Associated Press)