Liberal MPs left a three-hour meeting on Friday broadly united in favour of reducing emissions while abandoning an iron-clad legislated pledge to get to net zero by 2050, but divided on whether to retain the “net zero” terminology.

Energy spokesman Dan Tehan insisted after the meeting to thrash out the party’s differences that it could unite behind a final policy, clearing the path for opposition leader Sussan Ley to water down the net zero target as recommended by former prime minister Scott Morrison.

Tehan is leading a policy review on energy policy and net zero, which was commissioned amid a contentious debate within the Coalition following its historic loss at the May election, with Liberal moderates calling for an ongoing commitment to net zero.

Ley has said she wants to return to the centre of the political landscape and challenge teal MPs for the seats they have won from the Liberals. She and her allies are pushing for a compromise position that would retain a goal for net zero but remove the target from legislation.

However, a relatively small group of right-faction Liberal MPs and some Nationals are calling for the Coalition to ditch net zero altogether.

Tehan did not say the words “net zero” in a press conference after the meeting in parliament, but he did cite the need to reduce emissions as the first point of consensus.

“The discussion we had today can come up with a policy that will work for everyone,” Tehan said. “This will give us a pretty good go at being able to reach a position which unifies the majority of the policy.”

He said the Liberals could reach unity on climate and energy policy with their regional partners in the Nationals. Tehan will address the Nationals next week and set up a process to try and harmonise an energy policy.

The Nationals party conference on Saturday will probably adopt a motion calling on the party to ditch a net zero “mandate”. It will be nearly identical to the Queensland LNP motion passed a few months ago; this set of words was agreed upon by Ley, Nationals leader David Littleproud and LNP president Lawrence Springborg to give the Coalition wriggle room to retain a loose aspiration to net zero.

About 30 MPs attended the meeting, where phones were forbidden.

Morrison negotiated for the Coalition to support net zero emissions by 2050 in 2021. The Albanese government legislated that target in 2022 at a time when the Biden administration was championing a green energy transition.

Five MPs, all speaking on the condition of anonymity, said it was clear the warring factions held many of the same views on the cost of the energy transition and Labor’s renewables-focused policy, creating a sense of optimism that they could come together.

“The message from the meeting is: watch out Labor,” one MP said.

A key sticking point remains the term “net zero”. Conservatives in the room said that the aspiration should be dumped entirely along with the terminology. WA MP Ben Small argued most strongly for a definitive anti-net zero position.

Others argued for the net zero target to remain because voters could view its dumping as a signal that the Coalition does not take emissions reduction seriously. Some MPs made the point that the Coalition could retain net zero and still put more focus on coal and gas, as state governments, including NSW and Queensland, are doing.

Frontbencher Julian Leeser said the room was unanimous that “climate change is real” and the party’s policy must reduce emissions.

“I support the net zero target, but I think we should consider some sort of price target and some sort of target around reliability,” he said, adding that the burden of the renewables rollout needed to be shifted from the regions to the cities.

Tehan said the Liberals do not expect to finalise their position until next year. The Nationals are conducting a separate review of net zero, led by outspoken fossil fuel advocate Senator Matt Canavan.

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley did not attend the meeting, instead travelling to the beleaguered Tomago aluminium smelter, which is at risk of closure due to rising energy costs.

Shadow housing minister Andrew Bragg, who was not at the meeting, said retaining net zero was non-negotiable, but there were a “million different ways” to design the policy.

“It is a totally fungible concept. Any nation wanting to cut pollution can craft their policies to suit their own situation,” Bragg said.

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