The latest warning from the world's leading climate scientists is adding heat to the debate around the Albanese government's contentious Safeguard Mechanism Bill, with the Greens using it as a clarion call in their demands to stop any new coal and gas projects.
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The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued a dire assessment of the climate outlook, warning average global temperature rises were likely to surpass 1.5 degrees celsius this century.
It said existing fossil fuel projects will blow the world's carbon budget by the end if the decade without any additional emissions abatements and added there were already "increasingly irreversible losses" to vital ecosystems. It will be now or never to take drastic action to avoid disasters, the IPCC said.
The federal government is hoping to pass its key climate bill by the end of this sitting fortnight, and pressure is mounting for the Greens to find a way forward so the legislation can get through the Senate with the backing of two crossbenchers.
Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen said the IPCC report highlighted the need for urgent action to limit climate change and negotiations with the Greens were continuing "in good faith".
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But Tasmanian senator Jacquie Lambie has weighed-in and accused the Greens of putting the bill at risk of collapse, leaving the country without a starting point from which to work.
Mr Bowen said Australia would only reach 35 per cent emissions targets by 2030 if the safeguard bill failed, instead of the legislated 43 per cent. The minister said, if the bill was enacted, it would save 205 million tonnes of carbon emissions from being produced.
"The best time to move was 20 years ago. The second best time to move is now and the Parliament has an opportunity to make that move this week," he said in Parliament.
"Because if you vote against the safeguard mechanism, you are voting for a lower outcome. The Parliament can seize this opportunity or squander this opportunity. That is the choice before the Parliament this week."
Greens Leader Adam Bandt implored the federal government to heed the IPCC warnings and listen to his party's plea to put the brakes on any new fossil fuel projects.
Mr Bandt argued coal and gas emissions would continue to rise under the plan, which relies on heavy emitters being able to purchase unlimited offsets.
"The position the Greens are putting on the table is backed by the science. It's backed by the international community," Mr Bandt said.
"The message is very clear. From this report, we have a small window left open to us. The pathway is available to us but we have to make some decisions now.
"Does Labor agree with the UN Secretary General, that our only chance of stopping climate catastrophe is by stopping new coal and gas mines? Or do they think they know better?"
Senator Lambie was yet to reveal if she would support the bill, but said it represented a "starting point" and if it failed, "we've got nothing" and "then we're back to where we started".
Senator Lambie said she wanted to ensure manufacturing could continue under the legislation which aims for big polluters to cut their emissions by nearly 5 per cent a year to 2030.
"I am worried that [if] it's going fall over, it'll be the Greens' fault," Senator Lambie said.
"This is your starting point and you keep working on it, on decreasing those emissions, keep putting up bills, keep doing deals with the Labor government and keep reducing it that way.
"We just keep chipping away at them. But we need to start a point and I think this is a good start point."
