Barnaby Joyce won’t back PM’s net zero plan without changes
Barnaby Joyce has said Scott Morrison’s net zero plan won’t get support from the Nationals as he warned they will not be threatened or pushed into it.
Environment
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Time is running out for Scott Morrison to land his plan to reach net zero emissions by 2050, with Nationals MPs still on the fence about whether to support the deal.
The Nationals met for four hours on Sunday and are set to hold further talks on Monday, with the Liberal party room also gathering to consider the Prime Minister’s emissions reduction plan.
Mr Morrison is due to head to Europe at the end of next week to attend the G20 meeting in Rome then the critical UN climate change summit in Glasgow.
But Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said on Monday morning that if the plan went forward without changes, the Nationals would not support it.
“Otherwise the meeting would be over and we would have said yes,” the Nationals leader said.
“I don’t think we are giving anything away there, it is a statement of what is quite evident.”
Amid mounting frustration among some Liberal MPs, especially over Mr Joyce’s decision to block a stronger 2030 emissions reduction target, the Nationals leader said his party would not be “chained to a script”.
“At times we have a variance of views, we have divergent views, we have different views, and that is our right,” he said.
“We are absolutely fervent about the exercise of that right and if we ever believe that we are being threatened or pushed or stood over, I know what the outcome of that position is – people just say no.”
Resources Minister Keith Pitt, an opponent of the net zero push, said his colleagues would “take their time”.
“Right now, it’s a no, but discussions are ongoing,” he said.
“The devil is in the detail.”
While Nationals MPs described Sunday’s meeting as positive, some who supported signing off on a 2050 net zero target indicated it was unlikely the junior coalition party reached an agreement this week.
Mr Morrison had been hoping to finalise the plan he takes to Glasgow by the end of this week.
Nationals deputy leader David Littleproud said the process would “take as long as it takes”.
“We’re not walking away from this,” he said.
“We understand this is an important issue to solve, but we want to make sure we get it right and that’s what we’re going to take the time to do.”
He said the 2050 target was his “aspiration” but that the Nationals would not “sell out regional and rural Australia”.
Mr Littleproud also said that the Nationals had not been asked to consider upgrading Australia’s 2030 target of a 26-28 per cent cut on emissions based on 2005 levels.
“That’s not on the table,” he said.
The Herald Sun understands government projections show Australia is already set to exceed this target by 2030.
Liberal MP Dave Sharma said on Monday that he supported a stronger mid-term target, perhaps to be set for 2035.
The row in Canberra comes as mining tycoon Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest is declaring confidence that Mr Joyce will steer an embrace of renewable energy and a net zero emissions target, branding him a practical leader who would soon realise the move is about jobs for future generations.
In an exclusive interview, Dr Forrest unveiled the first products of his multi-billion dollar vision to spearhead a global revolution in green hydrogen energy, which produces only water as exhaust.
In just months, his Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) firm developed a giant mining truck powered only by green hydrogen and transformed an old locomotive from the bush to run on a half-mix of diesel and green ammonia (produced from hydrogen) – with the aim of having it run only on ammonia soon.
Dr Forrest, who has committed to making Fortescue entirely green by 2030, declared his confidence that Australia would adopt a net-zero emission target because “Mum and Dad on Struggle Street believe that brings a much brighter future”.
Mr Joyce has said “keeping the confidence of our people” was vital in delivering practical climate change ambitions.
It is understood Dr Forrest has been lobbying Mr Joyce ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), starting in Glasgow on October 31.
“I think Mr Joyce is a practical leader. And when he sees that the voters for the National Party are much better off, and the Australian economy is much better off, not being held back by these tired old slogans that if you’re against the fossil fuel industry you’re against people’s careers is completely wrong,” Dr Forrest said.
“And. in fact, that if you’re for renewable electricity if you’re for sustainable energy, then you’re for your voters, and you’re for the National Party voters, and you’re for their careers you’re for their children. You’re for their jobs. You’re for their futures. Then, as a practical leader, I think Mr Joyce will support that.”
Fortescue Future Industries, which is funded with 10 per cent of Fortescue Metals Group revenue, is gearing up to produce 15m tonnes per year of renewable green hydrogen by 2030, increasing to 50m tonnes a year in the next decade thereafter – energy production equivalent to today’s largest oil and gas companies.
Dr Forrest declared his confidence that Australia would agree, in the national interest, to set a zero-emission target ahead of COP 26.
“The time has come for people throughout the country, and in the country, to really be excited by the new future of sustainable energy and sustainable products which come from it, and to really enjoy that,” he said.
“They don’t have to say, well, we’re giving up fossil fuels, we’re taking a huge risk.
“No, they’re just embracing an industry which they will be very good at.”
Dr Forrest led company expeditions to 47 countries last year at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, securing agreements to develop about 300GW of renewable energy sources, such as hydro-electric and wind power, to produce green hydrogen. Australia has about 70GW of grid-connected power.
He has vowed to “aggressively pursue projects across Australia and develop renewable energy at an unprecedented scale”.
Fortescue Future Industries was allocated $US1bn ($1.38bn) in the 2020/21 financial year and spent $US122m ($168m). Between $US400m ($552m) and $US600m ($829m) is planned to be spent this financial year.
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Originally published as Barnaby Joyce won’t back PM’s net zero plan without changes
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