COP’s coal ‘phase down’ a green light for more mining: Canavan

The Glasgow COP26 climate summit has agreed to a watered-down version of the pledge against fossil fuels. Here’s what it means for Queensland mines.

THE Glasgow climate summit was not the “death knell” for coal, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said, while Barnaby Joyce compared tougher 2030 emissions reductions targets to “choosing to be poor”.

It follows Queensland Senator Matt Canavan saying the agreement to “phase down” instead of “phase out” at the COP26 summit was a”green light to keep digging up coal”, after India and China succeeded in watering down the pledge from the almost 200 countries represented at the summit from phasing out coal, to “phasing down” its use.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the agreement was the “death knell” for coal.

But Mr Morrison said he did not agree with the position.

“I don’t believe it did and for all those working in the industry in Australia, they will continue to work, industry for decades to come,” he said.

“There will be a transition that will occur over a long period of time and I make no apologies for Australia standing up for our national interest.

“We have a balanced plan to achieve net zero by 2050. But we’re not to make rule and regional Australians to pay for that.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the Glasgow climate summit was not the death knell for coal. Picture Gary Ramage

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said Australia phasing out coal and a stronger 2030 emissions reduction target would be akin to “choosing to be poor”.

“That (National party) have said quite clearly that we’re not starting to change targets for 2030 because we’ve got to earn a buck,” he said.

“If people want to be poor, if that’s the goal, if you want to be poor, you don’t like your standard of living, then stop exporting the stuff that makes you the dollars and you can be poor.

“Being poor is a very easy policy to follow. It’s a very hard one to fix.”

Senator Canavan earlier said the decision meant Australia has been “given the green light to keep digging up coal”.

Senator Canavan said it was clear India still wanted Australia’s product and more coal mines should be approved.

LNP Senator Matt Canavan said the COP26 agreement gives the green light for more coal mining. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

“We should put the green light out for more coal mines to be approved,” he said.

“It says phase down … there’s nothing in the agreement that stops us from building new coal-fired power stations.”

It is despite the government’s own net zero modelling predicting the value of coal production will halve by 2050, regardless of what Australia does, due to falling global demand.

Australia also accepted in the COP agreement countries being requested to increase their 2030 emissions reduction targets when the summit meets again next year, this time in Egypt.

In a statement, Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor did not address the coal pledge, but said the government’s 2030 target of reducing emissions by 26-28 per cent remained fixed.

“A focus on reducing the cost of low emissions technologies to parity with existing approaches is the only way to make net zero practically achievable for all countries,” he said.

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese said the government needed to say whether it had signed up to deliver an increased target in 2022.

“If the Australian government has signed up to an increased target for 2022, they need to tell the Australian people before the next election what that target is,” he said.

But Mr Albanese continued to refuse to say whether Labor would set a more ambitious 2030 target itself, having previously committed to do so some time after the summit.

“We will have more to say this year about our positive plans we’ve already outlined net zero by 2050,” Mr Albanese said.

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese is yet to set a 2030 target for emissions reduction. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone

“But this decision by Australia to sign up to a higher target in 2022 for 2030 is something that the Prime Minister must explain.”

While Mr Taylor has said Australia’s target remains fixed, projections how it is on track to reach emissions reduction of 35 per cent.

There were 197 countries that signed the Glasgow agreement, after about two weeks of negotiations.

But it faced criticism from some groups, such as Greenpeace, that it would not do enough to limit average global temperature rises to 1.5C.