Chris Bowen and Ted O’Brien at the National Press Club on 10 April. The Coalition has wavered in its support for the Paris Climate Change Agreement. Photo: Screenshot.
The Coalition is wavering on its commitment to the Paris climate agreement, with shadow energy minister Ted O’Brien refusing to rule out a Peter Dutton-led federal government walking away from it.
Australia is a signatory to the Paris deal and has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 43 per cent by 2030, compared to 2005 levels.
During a National Press Club federal election climate change and energy debate on Thursday (10 April), Mr O’Brien was asked if a Coalition government would remain a signatory to the Paris Agreement.
His answer was noncommittal.
“Our commitment is this: when it comes to establishing future targets, we need to account for three things,” he said.
“One, the trajectory of emissions; two, the state of the Australian economy; and three, the suite of our policies, not Labor’s policies.
“That will allow us to then understand the art of the possible. We want to ensure that we are growing this country.
“Decarbonising it is good. De-industrialising it like Labor is, is bad.”
When pressed further by the media and asked again if the Coalition would stay committed to Australia’s legislated Paris commitments, Mr O’Brien would not rule out quitting the agreement.
“I can commit that we will always act in the national interest, and we’ll be upfront with the Australian people,” he said.
Just a few hours after the debate, Mr O’Brien was forced to release a clarifying statement confirming the Coalition’s continued commitment to the Paris Agreement.
“To be clear, we are committed to the Paris Agreement, including net zero by 2050,” his statement said.
“But under Labor’s trajectory, Australia’s chances of hitting the 43 per cent target by 2030 is pure fantasy.
“Unlike Labor, we’ll be upfront with Australians about how we assess these factors and how they shape our targets.”
That statement, however, came after fellow shadow ministers Jane Hume and Michaelia Cash both, separately, publicly contradicted their colleague’s press club comments and each stated the Coalition remained committed to the Paris global pact.
The Press Club debate between Mr O’Brien and Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen allowed each an opportunity to present their respective parties’ energy plans and credentials.
Mr Bowen pointed out the stark differences between Labor’s plan and that of the Coalition, which includes the establishment of seven nuclear power plants.
“No one could accurately say that both parties have the same positions when it comes to energy. We do have very different plans,” the Minister said.
“On the one hand, our plan, backed by the experts of the CSIRO and our energy operators and regulators. Our plan stays the course with an appropriate mix of more renewable energy backed by storage, backed by gas peaking and firming, backed by household batteries, transmission and a stable system.
“And the good news is that this is not a trade-off. The same plan, our plan, is the right plan that delivers the cheapest, most reliable form of energy and reduces emissions in this, the critical decade for our planet.
“They want a radical change in direction. They propose the biggest change in our electricity generation ever.
“They dismiss the advice of the CSIRO, the Energy Market Operator and the other experts.
“That’s the essential difference of approach – we listen to the experts. Mr Dutton and Mr O’Brien think they know better than the experts, and that’s why their plan is so risky for our country.”
Mr O’Brien said the Coalition’s plan was based on “engineering and economics” and a balanced energy mix.
“Under our plan, in the short term, one, we do not believe that we should be closing our baseload power stations prematurely – unlike Labor, which is happy to close one system without having another one ready to go,” the shadow minister said.
“Two, we believe we need to pour more gas into the market, more gas and a lot of it, and get it to where it needs to be. Australian gas for Australians first.
“And three, we believe that we need to continue with renewables and storage, but in a sensible way, one that doesn’t fight against regional communities but carries them with us.
“Then, in the near term, our plan is to replace retiring coal plants with zero emissions nuclear energy, bringing us back to where we should be, lined up with other advanced economies around the world. And unlike Labor, we’ve done the work, we’ve done the modelling, and we have a plan.
“And under our plan, in the short term, we will see gas prices coming down for industry by 15 per cent, households 7 per cent, and for wholesale electricity 8 per cent, or for your bill at home, electricity [down] 3 per cent.”
