Peter Garrett urges Bill Shorten to declare climate emergency if Labor wins

Exclusive: Former environment minister calls for creation of 'war' cabinet committee to plot transition to zero carbon

The former environment minister Peter Garrett has urged an incoming Labor government to convene a climate emergency summit to plot a transition to zero carbon, and create a super department aligned to Treasury, like the Department of Post War Reconstruction after the second world war, to implement the transition.

In a speech overnight at the Carbon Market Institute summit gala dinner in Melbourne, Garrett - a former environment minister in the Rudd and Gillard governments - said Bill Shorten should create a standalone "war" cabinet committee, charged with the responsibility of overseeing the new initiatives and ensuring Australia meets its emission-reduction goals.