Coal mining could continue beyond 2050 even if
Australia adopts a net zero emissions target, Opposition Leader Anthony
Albanese says.
Key points
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It is the same overarching target Labor took to the last election.
Mr Albanese is opposed to government investment in new thermal coal mining — the type of coal that is used in coal-fired power stations.
But under questioning by Insiders host David Speers, he agreed there was still likely to be coal mining in Australia post-2050.
"I suspect we will," Mr Albanese said.
"[The target is] net, that's the point."
He argued there was no replacement for metallurgical coal, which is used to make steel and is a major export out of Queensland.
The Labor leader also agreed thermal coal mining for export could continue under the commitment.
"Yes, we could," he said.
"It will be determined by global action."
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Mr Albanese said exported coal was not counted in Australia's greenhouse gas budget.
"You don't measure the emissions where the original product comes from. I mean Japan isn't responsible for the emissions of every vehicle that's built in Japan," he said.
Albanese: Net zero will be 'economy wide'
He told Insiders transport and agriculture would not have any special considerations.
That's different to the position taken by his predecessor, Bill Shorten, before the last election.
"Emissions are about energy, they're about transport," Mr Albanese said.He said the net-zero target was not just about driving down emissions, but also compensating for them.
"You can do that through agriculture, through forestry, through a range of measures."
Mr Albanese was pressed repeatedly to confirm whether Labor would be open to a price on carbon as a way to incentivise industries to reduce emissions.
"We don't believe that is necessary," Mr Albanese replied.
"We didn't go to the last election with that commitment."
Labor is yet to confirm whether it will ditch the shorter-term, 2030 climate-change target the party took to last year's election.
Privately, many opposition MPs expect it to be changed and pushed back.
Mr Albanese said Labor was committed to "interim" measures ahead of 2050, but he said the timeframe and details of those measures were yet to be settled.
Links
- Anthony Albanese backs Labor's 2050 emissions target (ABC News- video)
- Labor to keep net zero emissions target for 2050
- The tiresome climate wars are back again, but it's not business as usual
- Bushfires won’t change climate policy overnight. But Morrison can shift the Coalition without losing face
- Morrison’s roadmap to emissions reduction could turn out to be pap – but it’s not a terrible idea
- Australia's bushfire royal commission to focus on preparing for future emergencies, but not climate change policy
- Fires and climate fears rattle Australia's giant coal lobby
- Australia locked in climate policy 'paralysis' despite summer of fire
- Australia Says Climate Change Targets Can’t Risk Economy, Jobs
- Government to take ‘technology over taxation’ approach to climate change
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