Climate scientist warns against coalition partnership on environmental reform: “don’t repeat abbott’s climate vandalism”

Leading climate scientist Tim Flannery is sounding the alarm about potential political compromises that could undermine Australia’s new environmental legislation. The former Climate Commission chief warns that if the Labor government partners with the Liberal-National Coalition on environmental reforms, it risks sacrificing meaningful climate progress for short-term political gains.

Flannery draws parallels to the Tony Abbott era, describing the 2013 abolition of the Climate Commission as an act of “climate vandalism.” He argues that Abbott’s government simply refused to confront the scientific reality that fossil fuel pollution from coal, oil, and gas is driving dangerous planetary warming. This week’s actions by the Coalition, according to Flannery, represent a troubling return to that same destructive approach.

The climate scientist observes that climate denial has evolved over the past decade, shifting from outright rejection of global warming to a more subtle strategy of acknowledging the problem while pushing solutions into the indefinite future. This delayed-action approach, he suggests, is equally dangerous as it prevents the urgent action needed to address the climate crisis.

Flannery’s warning comes at a critical time for Australia’s environmental policy, as the government works to develop new environmental laws. His message is clear: any partnership with parties that have a track record of climate obstruction could result in weakened legislation that fails to meet the scale of the environmental challenges facing Australia and the world.