ACT Opposition Leader Alistair Coe is urging the government to scrap plans to phase out household gas usage, warning it could have a "devastating impact" on low-income earners.
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Mr Coe will use a motion in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday to call on the government to dump elements of its new climate strategy, which he claimed would drive up the cost of living for Canberrans.
Climate Change Minister Shane Rattenbury has rubbished Mr Coe's push, as he insisted the ACT government's strategy would provide for an "orderly transition" to a clean energy future.
Mr Coe's motion will call on the government to ensure natural gas is available to households in the future.
The government's climate action plan, released last week, sets out plans to phase out the use of natural gas by 2045. It also proposed introducing laws removing the requirement that new suburbs were connected to gas.
Mr Coe will also demand that the government "stop penalising Canberrans for using their cars".
The climate action plan seeks to encourage Canberrans to ditch their petrol-powered cars in favour of walking, cycling, catching public transport or switching to an electric vehicle.
It has suggested linking registration fees to car usage, meaning regular drivers would pay more.
Car free days could also he held in parts of the city, as part of the climate action plan.
n Tuesday, Mr Coe claimed the government's strategy would increase cost of living pressure on Canberrans.
"It in effect raises the cost of owning a car, increases the cost of gas and electricity to .. try and spark some kind of behavioural change," he said.
"This is bad ideology, it is going to have a devastating impact on many Canberrans, particularly those who are already doing it tough in this already expensive city."
Labor and the Greens last week lambasted the Liberals' approach to climate action, with Environment Minister Mick Gentleman saying the opposition was "refusing to accept climate change was happening".
Mr Gentleman's comments came after deputy opposition leader Nicole Lawder affirmed the Liberals' support for the government's renewable energy and net zero emissions targets.
On Tuesday, Mr Coe said the party would release its own climate action plan ahead of next year's election, which would focus on "responsible" and "practical" measures, such as planting trees in new suburbs and providing a "viable" public transport service.
Mr Rattenbury again accused the Canberra Liberals of misrepresenting the climate action plan.
He said the strategy set out the path for an "orderly transition" from the use of gas and petrol-powered cars, while ensuring low-income earners weren't worse off.
"This strategy seeks to make the transition to a clean energy future in a way that was affordable.
"Cost of living is a really important part of the strategy, and the strategy well addresses that by identifying the need to make a just transition to particularly help the vulnerable in the community.
"There will be some changes that we need to make, we shouldn't shy away from making those changes - they need to happen. But we need to do it in a way that is fair to our whole community."
Meanwhile on Tuesday, Mr Rattenbury confirmed the wind and solar projects linked to the government's reverse auction scheme had returned $4.3 million in the first three months of the year.
Dan Jervis-Bardy
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
