PM ‘out of touch’ on climate, says NSW energy minister
The NSW government has accused the Morrison government of being out of touch on energy and climate policy and says it’s time for a change of course.
NSW
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PREMIER Gladys Berejiklian gave the green light for her energy minister to accuse the Morrison government of being out of touch on climate policy.
The NSW government has taken it upon itself to push for a new national emissions reduction obligation — essentially a rework of the dumped National Energy Guarantee in a mirror of Bill Shorten’s policy.
NSW Energy Minister Don Harwin pledged to on Wednesday urge his federal and state colleagues to agree to start work on a new target as a “circuit breaker” because “climate and energy policy must work together”.
“Today we’re putting emissions reduction back on the table where it should be. We need a circuit breaker, there’s absolutely no doubt about that,” Mr Harwin said as he walked into a meeting with his counterparts from the other states and territories at a Council of Australian Governments meeting on Wednesday.
“I’m going to argue today for work to start on the drafting of an emissions obligation to compliment the reliability obligation we’re working.”
Federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor wants the states to agree to legislate a new reliability obligation which would force energy retailers to enter into contracts with dispatchable generators — typically coal, gas or pumped hydro — to prove there was enough supply to keep the lights on.
The reliability measure was designed as one half of Malcolm Turnbull’s NEG, legislated emissions caps made up the other half which Scott Morrison dumped when he became prime minister.
Before the meeting Mr Taylor avoided discussing Mr Harwin’s intervention, simply saying he looked forward to “constructive discussions”.
But federal Resources Minister Matt Canavan hit back at the NSW government which was also pushing for zero net emissions by 2050.
“We’re all better off focusing on what’s ahead of us not what’s beyond us. I certainly don’t intend to be in the parliament in 2050. We have to make decisions right now in the interests of all Australians,” he said.
“Power prices are too high. There are thousands of jobs on the line.”
His comments follow the publication of an opinion piece Mr Harwin wrote for The Australian Financial Review, in which has suggested the federal Liberal-National coalition was out of touch on energy and climate policy.
Asked if Ms Berejiklian was aware of his intervention, Mr Harwin replied “absolutely”.
“We recognise that climate change is a scientific fact,” Mr Harwin wrote in the piece published on Wednesday.
“It is the responsibility of all governments to address greenhouse gas emissions into the future.
“We need to end the “climate wars” and put science, economics and engineering ahead of ideology.”
I couldn't have said it better myself, Gladys. pic.twitter.com/u7uleufAy5
— Bill Shorten (@billshortenmp) December 18, 2018
Mr Taylor is hoping to secure agreement at the Adelaide gathering on a policy aimed at improving the reliability of the energy grid by encouraging investment in new generation.
“I look forward to working with my COAG Energy Council colleagues to bring power prices down while ensuring the reliability of the grid,” he said. But Mr Harwin has stressed that such energy policies should be matched with efforts to grapple with climate change.
“The NSW government has consistently made it clear that we believe that there should be an integration of climate and energy policy,” he said. The Liberal-National NSW government announced a target in 2016 to achieve net- zero emissions by 2050.
Mr Harwin said he will push on Wednesday for the Energy Security Board to provide policy options to ministers to achieve that vision.
“This is the circuit breaker needed.” His comments come after the federal government dumped its flagship energy policy — the National Energy Guarantee — in August.
It was aimed at dealing with energy prices, reliability and emissions, but conservatives in the coalition took issue with its emissions targets, with their distaste contributing to Malcolm Turnbull’s downfall.
Mr Harwin said the government may have abandoned the National Energy Guarantee but it must still “confront the facts”.
“The market and industry is looking for certainty on emissions, and policy uncertainty will lead to higher wholesale prices and delayed investment decisions,” he said.
Originally published as PM ‘out of touch’ on climate, says NSW energy minister
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