The Liberal Party has officially dumped its commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050 and opened the door to nuclear energy, building new coal power stations and extending the life of existing ones.
After weeks of internal turmoil and a tense five-hour meeting between all 51 Liberal MPs and senators on Wednesday, leader Sussan Ley announced the party will abandon its policy commitment to achieve net zero emissions by mid-century.
‘If elected, we will remove the 43 per cent 2030 target and its net zero by 2050 target from the Climate Change Act,’ she said.
‘Australians deserve affordable energy and responsible emissions reduction. And the Liberal Party believes we can do both – but affordable energy must come first,’ Ley said.
‘Under Labor, there has been this trifecta of failures: prices up, reliability down, and emissions flatlining.
‘Labor’s net zero policies of mandates and taxes are hurting businesses, and they’re pushing up prices.
‘Despite promises of cheaper energy, prices have increased substantially under Labor.’
Energy spokesman Dan Tehan said the party was not opposed to opening new coal power plants.
‘We will take a technology agnostic approach. So we will let the market determine how we go about that approach.
The Liberal party room had an ‘excellent meeting’ on energy and climate policy, Sussan Ley says
Andrew Hastie and fellow conservatives presented a united front before the party room meeting, but Anthony Albanese criticised it as a ‘clown show’
The party will also support existing coal power plants.
‘We will support the state governments… who are already sweating their coal assets,’ Tehan said.
‘We have to make sure we keep capacity in the system.
‘We will use all our natural resources to bring downward pressure on energy prices.
‘Getting capacity into the system is an absolute priority.
‘We will be the only party – or the only two parties, as a coalition – that is saying to the Australian people, when it comes to energy abundance, we will use all our resources, and when it comes to reducing emissions we will also use all of the available technology.’
Senator Anne Ruston warned that removing coal too quickly risked destabilising the grid.
‘State governments are already extending the life of coal-fired power stations because they have to keep the lights on,’ she said.
Anthony Albanese has declared the Coalition’s plans to dump net zero a ‘clown show’
Andrew Hastie and James Paterson shake hands after the meeting
‘It demonstrates that you need baseload power… it is what keeps the lights on.’
Despite the backdown, the party will maintain its support for staying within the international Paris agreement, signed in 2015, which requires members to increase their emissions targets every five years.
Championed by the conservative faction, the party’s climate shift hits Liberal moderates who see their chances of winning back vital inner-city electorates diminished as a result.
The Liberals will now take the new policy to the Nationals to negotiate a shared position on Sunday.
‘We hope and anticipate we can land after Sunday a joint policy that allows us all to fight the Labor Party,’ Ley said.
Nationals Leader David Littleproud said the ‘technology agnostic approach’ opened the door to nuclear energy.
‘We’ve always said we’re technology agnostic, and (we) understand whether that be coal, gas with carbon capture storage … or whether that’s nuclear energy.
‘There is no country of the industrial scale (and) the size of Australia that has gone (through with) an all renewables approach.
‘We’re saying: let’s invest in all the technologies, spread our risk, reduce our emissions, live up to our international commitments, do our fair share, but not not put you on a $9 trillion bill that will put Medicare and the NDIS at risk when there are alternatives.’
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the opposition dropping net-zero would take Australia backwards.
‘They’re walking away from climate action because they fundamentally do not believe in the science of climate change,’ he told reporters in Sydney.
‘Australians cannot afford to keep paying the price of coalition infighting when it comes to climate policy and energy policy.’
Climate Council chief executive Amanda McKenzie said the decision will push up power prices.
‘After a decade of denial, distraction and delay, the Coalition still doesn’t get it: You can’t win elections by ignoring voters who want meaningful climate action,’ she said in a statement.
‘If the Coalition keeps undermining the environment and the economy, they’re heading for net zero seats.’
Achieving net zero means balancing the amount of greenhouse gases produced by humans with the amount being removed from the atmosphere.
The Labor government has legislated a 2050 deadline for the goal, while it has also set an interim target under the Paris Agreement of achieving between 62 and 70 per cent emissions reductions by 2035 compared to 2005 levels.
