‘Can-do capitalism’ will solve climate change, Scott Morrison declares

Scott Morrison declared that climate change will be solved by “can-do capitalism” and not “don’t-do governments seeking to control people’s lives”.

Scott Morrison believes climate change will be solved by “can-do capitalism, not don’t-do governments”, arguing the Glasgow summit should pave the way for private enterprise to take over from politicians.

COP26 negotiators were due to publish an interim draft of their agreement on Wednesday night as summit president Alok Sharma said they still had “a mountain to climb” by the end of this week.

But having returned from Glasgow last week, the Prime Minister spoke out against “governments seeking to control people’s lives”, in a major speech which he also used to set out the terms of his re-election strategy.

Mr Morrison said critics of his view should “follow the money”, with governments putting $100bn into climate finance and private capital delivering as much as $100 trillion to reduce emissions.

Scott Morrison addresses the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Crosling

“In many respects, Glasgow has marked the passing of the baton from political diktats of targets and timetables, which have had their place and are necessary, to private enterprise and the millions of dispersed decisions, choices and flashes of inspiration that make up consumer-led technological progress,” he said.

“Of course, summits have their place … But we believe climate change will ultimately be solved by can-do capitalism, not don’t-do governments seeking to control people’s lives and tell them what to do, with interventionist regulation and taxes.”

“I think that’s a good motto for us to follow not just in this area, but right across the spectrum of economic policy in this country. We’ve got a bit used to governments telling us what to do over the last couple of years, I think we have to break that habit.”

Mr Morrison said that the world did not “need to be punished for climate change” and instead needed to fix it with the innovation of entrepreneurs, scientists, technologists, financiers and industrialists.

Anthony Albanese accused him of returning from Glasgow and going “into a spin cycle”.

“Australians will know that nothing credible will come out in the wash of this spin cycle,” the Labor leader said.

Mr Sharma, speaking prior to the release of COP26’s “cover decision”, said the collective commitments of world leaders went “some way but certainly not all the way” to keeping global warming within 1.5C this century.

“The time has now come to find political consensus on the areas of divergence, and we have only a few days left,” he said.

“The gap in ambition has narrowed. Now the world needs confidence that we will shift immediately into implementation, that the pledges made here will be delivered, and that the policies and investment will swiftly follow.”