19th March 2010 - Judgment Day for political parties’ climate policies

Climate Action Hobart has made a final judgment on the climate policies of the political parties contesting the Tasmanian state election.

Climate Action Hobart has been campaigning to ensure that the new Tasmanian Government will take immediate action to secure a safe climate for our future. Climate Action Hobart has ranked each party’s climate policies against the benchmarks for climate policy outlined in Climate Action Hobart’s Ten steps for a safe climate.

Climate Action Hobart’s spokesperson Gemma Tillack said “We need to elect a strong Government who will act immediately to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and start a transition to a safe, healthy, low-carbon and prosperous future”.

The groups Safe Climate Scorecard shows that the Greens party and the Socialist Alliance have the strongest climate policies, followed by the Labor party then the Liberal party.

During the election campaign every political party has announced new climate policies. These include:

· A commitment from the Greens for massive investment in sustainable transport and renewable energy initiatives and to protect Tasmania’s carbon dense forests;

· A commitment from the Labor party to transform Tasmania’s energy production into 100% renewable energy by 2020;

· A commitment from the Liberal Party to fund energy conservation initiatives and expand renewable energy in Tasmania, and;

· A commitment from the Socialist Alliance to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2020 and 100% by 2050.

“It is vital that Tasmanian voters are informed about new climate policies and the climate credentials of each political party when they vote” said Ms Tillack.

Members of Climate Action Hobart handed out their final Safe Climate Scorecard to voters in Elizabeth Street Mall today to inform voters about the climate credentials of each party.