‘Twiggy’ Forrest-led business campaign demands Albanese go greener

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is facing one of his first major policy tests after his re-election as big firms, led by Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue, demand a 75 per cent cut to Australia’s emissions, and the government’s hand-picked climate adviser prepares to tell the government what its 2035 target should be.

Labor ducked a fight on emissions at the May election by delaying a decision on the interim target required by the Paris Agreement – the legally binding international treaty on climate change – but the government’s Climate Change Authority is expected to force its hand when it delivers long-awaited advice within weeks.

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Sources familiar with the authority’s thinking expect it to urge a cut of 65 to 75 per cent by 2035, which could add weight to calls for the prime minister to use his large parliamentary majority to legislate an ambitious target, despite the United States turning away from climate action and withdrawing from the Paris Agreement.

The Paris Agreement signed by almost 200 parties including Australia commits countries to reducing their emissions via five year targets to avoid global average temperature increases of more than 2 degrees, and ideally 1.5.

The stoush over Australia’s emissions comes amid a global reckoning on climate change agreements as many countries in Europe debate the merits of deep emissions reductions targets after years of sharp rises to the cost of living.

Big business is split on climate targets. The Business Council of Australia, which represents more than 100 of the country’s largest companies, is divided between telecommunications firms and banks happier with steeper cuts and resources companies worried about a speedier transition.

As the council debates options, a new coalition of mostly left-leaning companies, called the Business for 75 campaign that includes mining giant Fortescue, has formed to call for larger cuts.

Fortescue, whose founder Forrest accompanied Albanese on his visit to China this month, said it would continue to push the government to have higher ambitions.

Andrew Forrest in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People last week.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

“We are blazing a trail for the rest of heavy industry to follow,” Fortescue executive Dino Otranto said. “We believe the government must set a 75 per cent emissions reduction target for 2035.”

Simon Sheikh, the chief executive of a superannuation company called Future Group that is behind the campaign, said climate action was important for long-term economic strength.

Sheikh, who has been involved in Labor, ran for the Greens and once led left-wing campaign group GetUp!, argued a strong target would “drive action and investor confidence [and] strengthen Australia’s position in global supply chains”.

Business council chief executive Bran Black said the body had not landed on a preferred range as it worked with consulting firm McKinsey to model options for cutting emissions. “The BCA is undertaking work with members in relation to 2035 climate targets,” Black said in a statement.

The peak business lobby’s members have talked about requesting a target of somewhere between 55-65 per cent.

Rio Tinto, Woodside and Santos were contacted for comment. Telstra said it had clear climate goals but otherwise declined to comment, and Optus was contacted for comment.

Albanese’s first term kicked off with a big win on climate policy, legislating a 43 per cent emissions reduction target for 2030 and legislating a safeguard mechanism to encourage big emitters to curb their greenhouse gas output.

But since then, US President Donald Trump has been re-elected on a platform of “drill, baby, drill” and the emergence of artificial intelligence has put fresh pressure on national power grids.

Only one nation, the UK, has lodged a 2035 target according to Climate Action Tracker, an independent scientific project monitoring global efforts to meet the Paris Agreement.

Demonstrating the political gulf over climate action, Coalition energy spokesman Dan Tehan told this masthead that he would be shining a spotlight on the financial and social costs of Labor’s shift to green energy, which has coincided with rising household energy bills.

“We are going to be laser-focused on cost … a word that has dropped out of the government’s lexicon,” Tehan said.

Other Coalition MPs are more hardline. Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce declared he would use the new term to campaign for the scrapping of the Paris goal via a private member’s bill.

Under the Paris Agreement, signatories including Australia committed to holding warming to as close to 1.5 degrees as possible. It is now thought that the world has already warmed by 1.3 degrees since the Industrial Revolution.

The Climate Council lobby group is pushing for Labor to retain its first-term ambition as it confronts a weakened Coalition.

The council will release a report on Wednesday saying Australia must reach net zero emissions by 2035 to do its fair share to cap global heating at levels less likely to lead to overheating.

As an algal bloom catastrophe caused the mass deaths of sea life off South Australia, the council’s chief executive Amanda McKenzie argued that years of climate inaction had “real-life consequences”.

According to the Climate Council analysis, warming of between 2 and 2.2 degrees would see 99 per cent of the world’s coral reefs destroyed and 50-degree days occur in Sydney and Melbourne.

Australia’s bid to host United Nations climate talks in Adelaide next year is increasing the pressure on the government to announce more ambitious reductions.

At present, Australia remains in competition with Turkey to host the talks. Though Australia was expected to have secured the bid months ago, Turkey has declined to bow out.

Cutting Australia’s emissions by between 65 and 75 per cent would be both proportionate and practical, according to a report by EY’s Net Zero Centre. The global consulting firm said switching from fossil fuels to renewable energy in buildings and road transport could dramatically reduce business and living costs while also cutting emissions.

Teal MPs Allegra Spender and Monique Ryan are calling for a 75 per cent target.

“From the devastating floods in northern NSW, to the algae bloom wiping out marine life in South Australia, we are already feeling the effects of climate disasters,” Spender said.

Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen said his government had not yet received advice from the Climate Change Authority and added that “targets are easier set than met”, highlighting the difficulty of executing the green transition.

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