Mr Fitzgibbon called last week for the party to wind back its 45 per cent emission reduction target to match the Coalition's policy of a 26 per cent to 28 per cent cut by 2030.
But his own ally from the NSW Right Mike Freelander challenged him on Monday by circulating a motion that rejected his argument on climate change and said he did not speak on behalf of the faction.
The move came amid wider debates within the Left and Right factions on Monday that appeared to strengthen the resolve of MPs on the climate targets ahead of the full caucus meeting in Parliament House on Tuesday.
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Dr Freelander,who represents the electorate of Macarthur in south-western Sydney,emailed his NSW Right colleagues ahead of their Monday meeting to propose a formal motion criticising Mr Fitzgibbon's comments on emissions targets.
The first part of the motion stipulated that"Joel Fitzgibbon does not speak for the NSW Right"and the second part said Labor should reach a climate policy based on consensus and with"ambitious"targets to reduce emissions,adding that this meant doing better than the government.
The motion triggered an energetic debate in which Mr Fitzgibbon and others sought to stop the formal motion being escalated to the national meeting of the Right faction later on Monday,arguing that formal motions of this kind were not put to the faction meeting.