Australia last among wealthy developed countries for emission reduction pledges, Climate Council report says

Even if the Morrison government reaches an agreement on a net zero target, Australia will still be the worst developed nation when it comes to cutting emissions.

THE Nationals will hand their demands to Scott Morrison on Thursday to safeguard regional Australia in the transition to net zero, with one cabinet minister warning it “will be ugly” if the Prime Minister ignores their concerns.

Deputy Nationals leader David Littleproud said that while he “aspirationally” supported Mr Morrison’s plan to take a 2050 target to next month’s Glasgow climate summit, his colleagues wanted to prevent any “unintended consequences”.

But even if the 2050 target is locked in, Australia will still rank last among wealthy developed countries for its emission reduction pledges and performance, according to a new report from the Climate Council.

Former United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said Australia was “falling behind its own states and territories, its trading partners and other comparable nations”.

“The world is now looking to Australia to take its place amongst the international community and lift its national ambition on climate,” he said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Picture: Gary Ramage / NCA NewsWire

Mr Littleproud said the Nationals would ask for technology upgrades and regulatory reforms to boost regional areas instead of demanding “billions upon billions upon billions of dollars”.

“That’s not responsible. We think we can achieve it by being smarter than that,” the Agriculture Minister said.

Regionalisation Minister Bridget McKenzie, who is one of four ministers along with Mr Littleproud, Kevin Hogan and Keith Pitt tasked with co-ordinating the party’s response to Mr Morrison’s plan, said they were “carefully considering” it.

She warned Mr Morrison against moving without the support of the Nationals. Asked about her comments, Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce said they were not “grandstanding” and wanted “the best outcome for regional people”.

Mr Morrison vowed to protect jobs in the regions, adding that there was “no mystery at all” about Australia maintaining its existing 2030 emissions reduction target.

Chief Climate Councillor and former Australian of the Year Tim Flannery said net zero by 2050 was “last year’s story” and Australia’s allies were now focused the “scale and pace of action” this decade.

Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama agreed, saying failure at Glasgow “could spell the loss of entire low-lying Pacific nations”.

But Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor said the Climate Council report was “misleading and complete rubbish” because it ignored reductions through land use changes.

“Excluding sources of emissions reductions to suit a politically-motivated narrative, as the Climate Council does, shows a lack of respect for the Paris Agreement or climate science,” he said.

“Australia’s emissions accounting is the global gold standard. No other country offers more comprehensive or timely reporting. We prepare our accounts according to IPCC guidelines and they are reviewed annually by expert teams assembled by the UN.”

“We will continue to account for all sources of emissions and reductions for our 2030 Paris target, as other major developed parties including the European Union do.”

New analysis from the Clean Energy Council, which will also be released on Friday, shows Australia could deliver a 44.5 per cent cut to emissions by 2030 if it committed to an energy sector completely powered by renewable technology by the end of the decade.

Council chief Kane Thornton said this was “the low hanging fruit” on the path to net zero.

“It must be the biggest no-brainer of the century, and Australia is set to squander it,” he said.