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Senator McAllister drove the National Energy Performance Strategy and the Consumer Energy Resources Taskforce. These provide a foundation for the new assistant minister to enable solar and electrification for more households, including renters, apartments and low income demographics.

Josh Wilson has been federal member for Fremantle since 2016.

“It’s an honour to have been asked by the Prime Minister to take on the responsibility of serving as the Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy, working with Minister Chris Bowen,” he said in a statement.

“There is no area of greater challenge and greater opportunity for Australia, and I relish the chance to work with communities around the country, with innovators and entrepreneurs, with businesses and clean energy advocates and civil society to continue the Albanese government’s sharp focus on the path to net zero, with cheaper energy, cleaner air, and a safe climate.

“Our approach will always involve taking action now and supporting households, including with the cost of living, while laying the foundation for lasting positive change in renewable generation, storage, transmission, transport, and efficiency, including through collaborative work with nations in our region.

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“For her tireless work in this portfolio, I pay homage to my friend, colleague and now Minister, the Hon Senator Jenny McAllister and extend my congratulations on her new appointment.”

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In a submission to the Senate inquiry on greenwashing, the Climate Council has named and shamed 10 fossil fuel corporations’ dubious climate plans.

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Climate Council Head of Advocacy Dr Jennifer Rayner said, “Let’s be real—these big polluters are gaslighting Australians. We are living through the climate crisis right now, with megafires, record floods, heatwaves and crippling droughts. The only way forward is to drastically cut emissions this decade.

“Fossil fuel corporations who claim to be pursuing net zero targets are doing the absolute opposite: rapidly expanding new fossil fuel projects like the Scarborough, Browse and Beetaloo carbon bombs that will spew out harmful greenhouse gasses for decades to come. Simply put, it’s greenwashing.

“When these corporations dazzle the public and politicians with buzzwords like ‘low emissions’, ‘net zero’ or ‘carbon neutral’, it’s pure bullsh*t. Well-funded marketing spin deliberately distorts the facts, prevents real climate action, and funnels precious investment into dead ends—money that should power genuine green innovations.

“Dodgy net zero claims by fossil fuel polluters are the billion tonne elephant in the room of this inquiry. It’s time our Parliament tackles the fossil fuel industry’s sham environmental claims.

“Developing new and expanded fossil fuel projects is incompatible with a safe future. The science is clear that this has to stop to avoid escalating climate harm.”

The Climate Council’s submission calls on the Australian Parliament to crack down on fossil fuel greenwashing as a priority, starting with the worst offenders.

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This includes:

• Banning the use of deceptive ‘carbon neutral’ claims by any company pursuing fossil fuel expansion, including in public advertising, financial markets, and communications with governments.
• Requiring corporations that make net zero claims to show genuine efforts to reduce emissions, rather than cooking the books by relying on offsets.
• Requiring corporations that make net zero claims to prioritise the absolute reduction of their total life cycle emissions, rather than simply reducing their emission intensity or addressing only a fraction of their total emissions.

The post Calls for crackdown on fossil fuel company greenwashing appeared first on Energy Source & Distribution.

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen formally launched the group on the lawns outside Parliament House in Canberra, where a range of new model EVs were on display. Among the vehicles was an electric VW ID Buzz (more affectionately known as a ‘Kombi Van’) which had not been shown publicly in Australia until now.

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The group will be Co-Chaired by Michelle Ananda-Rajah (Member for Higgins) and Monique Ryan (Member for Kooyong) who are both passionate about super-charging the uptake of EVs and helping more Australians get the opportunity to enjoy the benefits they provide.

“The adoption of electric vehicles in Australia will be a step change in transport that will liberate motorists from the irritations of the nozzle with the added bonus of lower running costs and cleaner air, free from particulates and carcinogens that come from Australian cars burning some of the dirtiest fuel in the world,” Dr Ananda-Rajah said.

“We need to work together to usher in the cleaner, greener economy, and investing in electric vehicles is a central part of that,” Ryan added.

“I’m thrilled to launch this group and bring more than 30 MPs into the fold as we look to move Australia into the fast lane on electric vehicles.”

The Electric Vehicle Council welcomed the launch of the Parliamentary Friendship Group and will work with MPs involved to develop, support and advocate for policies that make EVs more affordable and accessible.

“It’s great to see the political momentum building for electric vehicles. Australia has more to gain from transport electrification than any other nation. The millions of vehicles traversing our nation can and should be powered by Australian renewable electricity,” Electric Vehicle Council CEO Behyad Jafari said.

Leading Australian road transport infrastructure provider, Transurban, supported the launch as it strives to provide motorists with more sustainable journeys in the country’s three biggest cities.

“At Transurban, we pride ourselves on getting people where they need to go safer, faster, more reliably and more sustainably when compared to alternate routes,” Transurban chief financial officer Michelle Jablko said.

“If we can help drive the uptake of EVs amongst our customers, we know it will have a significant impact in reducing emissions across the broader road network.”

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Origin also supported the launch as part of its ongoing efforts to accelerate the switch to EVs by providing opportunities, and making it easier, for people to get into the driver’s seat of an EV sooner.

The Parliamentary Friends of Electric Vehicles Group plans to hold several events during this term of Parliament to help ensure Australia’s EV momentum powers ahead.

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