Liberal candidate's climate comment drives donations

Climate 200 issued a call to arms after Gilmore candidate and former NSW Liberal minister Andrew Constance told a candidates' forum Australia would walk away from the Paris climate agreement.

Mr Constance later said his view on climate change hadn't shifted from during the Black Summer bushfires, when he ardently called for it to be taken seriously and for more action to mitigate climate risks.

The moderate Liberal affirmed a coalition government would set a 2035 emissions reduction target in line with the Paris agreement if voted into government.

"Constance's comments expose the Liberal Party's journey towards extremism," Climate 200 convenor Simon Holmes a Court wrote in an email to supporters on Thursday.

"We're seeing it across Australia, formerly reasonable Coalition candidates are aping Dutton and Trump as we approach the election."

The donations spike reflected the infuriation among voters, Mr Holmes a Court said.

"Our community's response this week to the Liberal Party's climate-wrecking agenda has surpassed my wildest dreams."

The money would go toward propping up five independent campaigns with massive advertising spends, he said in the email.

It's two more than the group was initially pushing for, with a fundraiser effort that aimed to raise about $270,000 earlier in the week.

Some $86,000 extra was needed to book advertising spots across the five electorates, the email said.

Mr Constance is the frontrunner to unseat Labor incumbent Fiona Phillips in the NSW South Coast seat, which was won on a wafer-thin 0.2 per cent margin in 2022.

The climate-focused funding group is backing Kate Dezarnaulds in Gilmore among more than 30 candidates nationwide.

Australian Associated Press