Grassroots push to include climate change in Labor’s revamp of national conservation laws

The Albanese government must address the pace of land-clearing, which is contributing to ‘the disintegration of our native animals’, Labor’s environment action group says. Photograph: Rob Blakers

The Albanese government will face internal pressure to include climate change in its promised revamp of national conservation laws, with the Labor Environment Action Network (Lean) saying greenhouse gas emissions must be considered when development proposals are assessed.

The warning from the grassroots of the ALP follows the release of the latest state of the environment report, which found Australia’s natural heritage was in poor and deteriorating health due to the combined impact of climate change, habitat destruction for development and logging, invasive species, pollution and mining.