Justice News
MEDIA RELEASE
Uniting Church opposes further weakening of CPRS
22 October 2009
The Uniting Church in Australia has written to MPs and Senators, urging them to vote for a strengthened Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.
National Director of UnitingJustice Australia, Rev. Elenie Poulos, said “We are unable to support any further weakening of the CPRS which compromises its integrity, increases support for polluting industries, and holds back Australia’s transition to a low carbon society.
“The future of the global economy will rest on green and clean energy. Amendments which do not support such economic development in Australia are, therefore, both misdirected and short-sighted,” she said.
“We fail to see how more assistance for coal-fired electricity generators will do anything other than compensate for bad investment decisions and hinder the uptake of renewable and low-emissions energy alternatives at a cost to the Australian community of billions of dollars.
“Funds should instead be directed as a priority to assisting low-income households with direct compensation and energy-efficiency measures, and for assistance to communities that will bear the brunt of Australia’s transition to a low energy-intensive future.”
The Uniting Church in Australia has a long history of concern for the integrity of all creation and regards climate change as a serious threat to the future of life on earth.
Rev. Poulos said, “We believe it is vital that Australia does all it can towards an international agreement to stabilise and reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.
“As one of the countries most threatened by the effects of climate change, it is overwhelmingly in Australia’s national interest to see a comprehensive, effective global agreement at the United Nations climate change talks in Copenhagen this December.
“It is the hope of the Uniting Church that the Federal Government, the Opposition and all parliamentarians will put the environment first when considering this scheme. The future of our children and our grandchildren depend on it.”
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