Ministers from Victoria, Queensland, South Australia as well as the ACT informed the environmentalist how their governments were acting to mitigate the impact of climate change.
The ACT’s climate change minister Shane Rattenbury, who is a Greens member in a Green-Labor Government, said that while the federal government had so far failed to deliver a clean energy future the states, investors and communities were “getting the job done”.
'People will die' from renewable subsidies
Earlier, Liberal backbencher Craig Kelly told ABC Radio he believes people cannot afford to heat their homes this winter.
"People will die," he said, putting his warning down to the government's policies that push up the price of electricity.
"There (is) $3 billion this year being paid in subsidies for renewable energy," he said.
To back up his claims Mr Kelly pointed to recent reports that one-in-four Australian households this winter will be frightened to turn on the heater due to high power prices.
Labor's energy spokesman Mark Butler dismissed the suggestion.
"This is another appalling intervention, not just by a backbencher, but by the chair of the coalition's energy policy committee."
Al Gore meets state ministers, July 13. Source: Twitter
'Community consent'
The federal opposition believes the development of gas should be up for discussion at Friday's energy COAG meeting, however it wants the government to take a more tactile approach.
"You need to put in place a framework that nurtures community consent to these developments. Not simply tries to lecture it away," Mr Butler told the ABC.
Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg wants Victoria and the Northern Territory to lift their bans on onshore gas development, and will call for all states to agree to 49 of the 50 recommendation outlined by Chief Scientist Alan Finkel.
“Given the size of their resources, Victoria alone could alleviate gas and electricity prices by allowing more exploration,” Minister Frydenberg told News Corp.
There's a considerable amount of gas reserves which remain untapped in Victoria and the Northern Territory which the Coalition argues could be critical to lowering electricity prices across the country.
Mr Butler said the biggest hurdle is community opposition to gas exploration, and the "political attacks" from Canberra are not helping the situation.
"We need to try to nurture a framework that gives community confidence that these developments can proceed in a way that doesn't damage their water supply in particular," he said.
The Australian Energy Market Operator will discuss the energy challenges the nation faces, particularly on days of extreme conditions during the summer months.
The Australian Energy Market Commission, the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission are also planning to brief the COAG meeting.
-with AAP
