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Scott Morrison tours a Volvo factory in Wacol, west of Brisbane, on
Friday. Picture: Jono Searle
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The Prime Minister, while accepting there is no longer any question about the need to work towards net-zero emissions, is in no rush sign up to a target to achieve it by 2050.
In an interview with The Weekend Australian, Mr Morrison said his priority was to take action on climate change through developing technology rather than committing to new goals.
“It is now about the how, not the if … That is what I’m saying in G20; that is what I’m saying in G7,” the Prime Minister said.
“They are the conversations that I have, whether it is with the Europeans, or with the Japanese or whoever else … We all want to get there. It is not about the politics anymore, it is about the technology.”
The government will face pressure to sign up to the 2050 goal and unveil ambitious medium-term targets before the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in December, where countries will provide updates on how they will lower emissions and take action on climate change.
Mr Morrison said there would be no update to medium-term targets ahead of Glasgow because there was not a requirement under the Paris Agreement to commit to a 2035 target this year.
Mr Morrison’s refusal to budge on medium-term climate goals is likely to open an election battle with Labor on climate change, with the opposition to unveil a 2035 target ahead of the poll due to be held between this August and May next year.
The Coalition spent its first two terms in government bitterly divided on climate change policies. Internal divisions sparked the creation of a pro-coal ginger group, the Monash Forum, which undermined Malcolm Turnbull’s prime ministership by pushing for Australia to leave Paris and build a taxpayer-funded coal-fired power station.
The government’s only formal climate change target is to lower emissions by 26-28 per cent of 2005 levels by 2030.
“There is no requirement to make a 2035 commitment this year, 2035 commitments don’t come up for some years,” Mr Morrison said.
A report released in December by the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources forecast Australia was on track to lower emissions by 29 per cent of 2005 levels by 2030, taking into account the government’s Technology Investment Roadmap released last year.
Energy Minister Angus Taylor has claimed a zero-net emissions by 2050 target would require a 2030 target of 42 per cent.
Lauding US President Joe Biden’s decision to re-enter the Paris Agreement, Mr Morrison said there was no longer any question about the need to work towards a zero-net emissions future.
But he said he was more interested in how to achieve it, than making pledges.
“It is about whether you can produce hydrogen at the right cost, it is about whether (carbon capture and storage) can be done at the right cost, it is whether we can produce low emissions steel and aluminium at the right cost,” the Prime Minister said.
“That is how you actually get to net zero. You don’t get there by just having some commitment.
“That is where the discussion has to go and I think the Biden administration provides an opportunity to really pursue that with some enthusiasm.”
The Prime Minister said the timeline for signing up to a zero-net-emissions target would be dependent on “where the science is at and where our assessment is based on the technologies”.
“When we are in a position to have a better understanding of the timetable for that, then we will talk about one,” Mr Morrison said. “But we are talking about being in a generation now which is the transition generation on energy. And how long that goes for, we will have to wait and see … technology will be the biggest determinant of that.”
Announcing a deal to secure cheaper domestic gas this week, Mr Morrison said the technology for batteries and storage was not yet ready to provide dispatchable power on a large scale.
On managing the economy this year, Mr Morrison said he would be focused on rolling out announced plans for his JobMaker program, including reforms in the sectors of energy, industrial relations, skills and manufacturing.
Mr Morrison will not move to lower the corporate tax rate further, as he called for by business groups to bolster economic growth in the aftermath of the pandemic.
“I don’t think there is support for that in the parliament, no,” Mr Morrison said. “We have been there they said no. So we will focus on the things we can get done. In the recent budget, what we have done is ensure that the tax reductions are targeted towards the investments that we are seeking to drive the economy.
“The tax rate for those businesses (with a turnover of) under $50m is already coming down. And then for larger businesses I think what you will see is, through the other incentives we have put in, whether it is (research and development), or these other measures, you will see that bring down their effective tax rate.”
Mr Morrison rejected accusations that his government was going slow on structural reform.
“I think there is bit of a view that the only structural reform that has ever existed in Australia is putting up the GST,” he said.
“That is just putting up a tax.”
Links
- Australia PM Says No Timeline To Achieve Zero Carbon Emissions
- (AU) US Under Biden To Test Morrison Government's Do-Little Climate Stance
- Climate Action Tracker: Australia
- Climate Active: Australia's Collective Action
- Projections: Australia's future greenhouse gas emissions
- Australia cannot shirk ‘moral obligation’ to tackle climate change: Brian Schmidt
- Australia burns as government resists calls for climate action
- Australia faces more fires, drought as climate continues to heat
- Making sense of Australia’s climate exceptionalism
- Oil’s time up: hydrogen will power the future
- Climate challenge needs a very different approach
- Winds of change to put us under pressure
- Down to earth on carbon
- Morrison has no choice but to commit to net zero by 2050
- Fitzgibbon fuels ALP carbon fire
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