Call to cancel renewable rollout, Nationals declare bush is full

New renewable energy projects in regional Australia must be stopped now, Nationals leader David Littleproud has declared as he claims the nation should downgrade its commitment under the Paris Agreement, signalling a major escalation in the political brawl over climate policy.

Regional communities and farmland cannot cope with more wind and solar farms, as well as transmission lines, Littleproud said, arguing that renewable energy should be delivered with more solar panels on the roofs of big commercial buildings.

Opposition spokesman for veterans affairs Barnaby Joyce during the rally against renewable energy.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“We have now got to a saturation point in regional Australia from these renewable projects of industrial scale,” Littleproud said.

“There is a case to constrain future renewables to simply solar panels on rooftops where the population is concentrated.”

The Nationals’ zero tolerance for renewables poses a challenge for the Liberals, with division between the Coalition partners a stumbling block at the 2022 election, where voters backed the Albanese government’s more ambitious climate policies.

The government has committed to nearly double the volume of renewable energy in the grid to 82 per cent by 2030, a key measure of its legally binding climate target to cut emissions by 43 per cent by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.

It has pledged billions of dollars to spur a massive renewable energy rollout under its Capacity Investment Scheme, which will support private companies building wind and solar farms, as well as the thousands of kilometres of transmission lines to bring electricity to population centres.

Littleproud wants the government to convene a national energy summit to develop new policies, and the Coalition is calling for discussion on the ban on nuclear energy, which they argue should be developed to replace ageing coal-fired power stations.

While some farmers are campaigning to block renewable developments, not all are opposed. Farmers for Climate Action represents 8000 members and supports clean energy development, arguing that landowners can earn tens of thousands of dollars a year under lease deals with renewables companies.

Nationals MPs spoke at an anti-renewables rally at Parliament House in Canberra on Sunday. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen.

The National Farmers Federation supports farmers’ rights to host renewable developments and transmission lines on their land but wants tougher protection measures, like blocking companies that don’t meet high standards on community consultation.

Opposition climate change and energy spokesman Ted O’Brien did not respond to requests for comment, but has previously supported renewable energy development, while arguing the pace of Labor’s rollout risks disenfranchising local communities.

The Paris Agreement requires Australia to reduce emissions even more swiftly than Labor’s climate targets to cut emissions by 43 per cent by 2030 and to keep upgrading its goals every five years. Littleproud said the target taken to the 2022 election by the Coalition, to cut emissions by 26 per cent, was more realistic and achievable.

Littleproud said Australia should target its policies at reaching net zero emissions by 2050, pointing out that some other nations were not on track to meet their Paris goals and that Australia would not be fined for falling short.

“Labor has set a target that they’re not going to achieve … Labor can’t achieve their 2030 target in any way, shape or form,” Littleproud said.

“There are penalties, financial, whether they be border adjustment mechanisms or weighted capital, for not signing up to net zero by 2050, not meeting interim targets. They can’t impose those mechanisms on Australia.”

Hundreds of anti-renewables protesters rallied on the front lawn of Parliament House on Tuesday. Opposition veterans affairs spokesman Barnaby Joyce told the crowd that renewable energy development was a “massive multinational taxpayer swindle”.

Wind turbines and solar panels are “filth that’s all over our countryside,” Joyce said.

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