Former South Australian premier Mike Rann says gas has become a "lifeline" for fossil fuel polluters akin to what vaping is for the tobacco lobby, as he warns that "battalions of lobbyists" will attempt to frustrate climate action at next year's COP31 summit.
Ahead of a looming decision on whether Adelaide will host the UN's major climate conference in 2026, Mr Rann warned on Thursday evening that Australia was "often seen internationally as walking both sides of the street on climate" due to its continued approval of coal mines and "massive embrace of a gas industry continuing well beyond 2050".
The former Labor premier, who led South Australia from 2002 to 2011 and now chairs the UK board of the not-for-profit Climate Group, said he was "appalled that multinational gas companies are making massive, multi-billion [dollar] profits from exporting Australian resources while paying little tax".
"For the Australian fossil fuel industry, maintaining an ongoing, bipartisan commitment to gas exploration, production and almost tax-free exports is their central objective," he said.
" They have been doi
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