If you thought our Australian government wasn’t doing a good job with climate change, well they’ve just made it harder by splitting the climate change branch over two mega departments: time to double-down on letting them know we need massive climate action now.
There are dramatic changes to the federal bureaucracy, with the Department of the Environment and Energy to be abolished, and energy and climate change branches set to be absorbed by the resources department.
The Prime Minister announced the formation of a recombined energy and resources department, creating a new Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources.
The environment portfolio will be merged into the agriculture department, with the creation of a new Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment.
The changes see the environment and energy portfolios once again split up into separate departments.
Parts of the environment department that are responsible for ’emissions reduction’ will remain coupled with the energy portfolio, effectively splitting climate change policy and reporting roles from the environment department, and putting government branches responsible for fossil fuels under the same banner as the branches responsible for climate change and renewable energy policy.