Albanese parrots a pro-coal talking point as Ampol offers ‘carbon neutral’ petrol

Anthony Albanese extolled the virtues of Australia’s coal in the same week his government put a bill before parliament to legislate its 2030 emissions reductions target. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Supporters of Australia’s coal export industry have been arguing for the past decade that global greenhouse gas emissions would go up if overseas customers had to source coal from another country.

The rationale is that Australia’s coal exports are higher quality and cause fewer emissions.