Anthony Albanese pragmatic on climate fight

Anthony Albanese has set the right tone on how Labor will respond to demands by the Greens and special-interest independents for greater climate action when federal parliament resumes next week. The Prime Minister’s point that stopping coal and gas production in Australia would cost local jobs and the domestic economy for no global environmental benefit is a fact that cannot be overstated. The truth is, Australian liquefied natural gas exports have helped to limit greenhouse gas emissions across Asia by replacing more polluting fossil fuels. The same is true for Australian coal exports, which are less polluting than many of the coal deposits in China, Indonesia and elsewhere that would be burned if high-quality Australian coal were not available.

Mr Albanese is to be commended for maintaining the position Labor took to the election that future coal and gas developments will be determined by the market. He says the new government is not going to engage in policies that create sovereign risk and will concentrate on reducing our emissions while creating jobs in the new economy.

Mr Albanese must stand his ground as the issue of climate change targets and future fossil fuel development become the focus of attention in the new parliament. The Greens and many independents will be eager to be heard on an issue they claim has delivered them their place in the national capital. The message from government is that everyone will get their say and constructive debate will be welcome. “If people have sensible amendments, we’ll look at it,” Mr Albanese said. “But we are not going to look at a figure. We’re going to have the figure that we have a mandate for. That’s what people want.” Allowing independents the opportunity to speak on the issue is good politics as well as good manners. But it will be a mistake for Mr Albanese to think it will be possible to engage in good-faith negotiations with the Greens, who have made clear their desire to exercise a blocking role in the Senate. Greens leader Adam Bandt has set out four key areas of concern for the government on climate, including a higher emissions reduction target than the 43 per cent reduction on 2005 levels by 2030 that Labor took to the election and a stop to future gas and coal developments. The Greens want legislation that prohibits any future government from walking back the legislated target and to make the government responsible for delivering what it promises. Attempts to tie the hands of future governments regardless of how circumstances may change is undemocratic. All governments ultimately are held accountable at the ballot box for the policies they sponsor.

The starting point for Labor’s negotiations must be that a legislated target is a preference, not a necessity. The ALP must remember the role played by the Greens in derailing the climate ambitions of the Rudd and Gillard governments, diluting efforts to introduce a cap-and-trade carbon trading scheme and then overreaching with a carbon tax that voters had been told was not an option. As governments everywhere reassess the cost of climate action and the role of fossil fuels in energy and national security, Mr Albanese must work hard to contain the inflated egos and demands that will be a fact of life with the roll call of climate-focused minor parties and independents in the new parliament.

He must continue to be guided by what is possible to achieve and in the best interests of taxpayers who inevitably will be called on to foot the bill.