“There's a feeling of déjà vu because the Federal Government similarly failed to release a backlog of climate data last year.

“The government has a responsibility to release Australia’s quarterly National Greenhouse Gas Inventory in a timely fashion so that we can tell how our greenhouse gas pollution levels are tracking. We’re waiting on data that should have been released six months ago,” he said.

“Australia’s emissions have been consistently rising, but time and time again the government has delayed releasing crucial information. We are still waiting on complete national emissions data for the March and July quarters of this year,” said Dr Rice.

“I have called the Environment and Energy Department and been told the data is still under review with no clear release date.”

“This has become a worryingly familiar scenario. The Federal Government not only delays releasing climate information, it also tries to bury it. We’ve seen emissions data quietly released on Christmas Eve, or on a Friday evening, at a time it’s least likely to attract attention or scrutiny,” said Dr Rice.

He said Australia’s greenhouse gas pollution levels have been rising for three consecutive years, while the Federal Government has no credible climate policy in place.

“Australia’s climate policy is at an impasse at a time when we really need to be ramping up climate action. Increasing temperatures, driven primarily by the burning of fossil fuels, is worsening extreme weather events in Australia,” he said.

Dr Rice insists Australia can and should do better.  “We need to continue to transition away from fossil fuels to clean, reliable and affordable renewable energy,” he said.

* The Climate Council is Australia’s leading climate change communications organisation. We provide authoritative, expert and evidence-based advice on climate change to journalists, policymakers, and the wider Australian community.

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