We need to trust the technology on carbon capture

A carbon capture and storage facility in Saudi Arabia. The plant can capture 500,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year.

Australia can’t afford not to be part of a global community but a reckless approach to an international challenge such as emissions reductions will have a far greater cost to your hip pocket.

Our response to the global challenge of reducing emissions is the right one for Australia. It’s pragmatic and will help to apply downward pressure on costs, protect traditional jobs and create new ones while maintaining our standing on the world stage. That’s not just the Australian way, it’s a commonsense approach.

This government will never hand over a blank cheque or dismiss the livelihoods of Australians just for the sake of global appeasement. But Australians like to make sure that we are doing our fair share and the truth is we are.

We are meeting and will exceed our emissions targets. Australians should be proud of this, and to be frank the self-loathing that goes on in some parts of this country for that should stop.

The reality is that without a commitment to net-zero emissions you could be paying much more every year on your mortgage, business or farm loan. Capital markets, both public and private, are less willing to invest capital in countries that haven’t declared a net-zero target. That could mean thousands of dollars extra a year on what you are paying now and there’s also a likelihood you’ll get less for your commodity thanks to extra tariffs imposed by net-zero committed countries.

Minority parties continue to play simplistic popular politics around the Nationals support of a net-zero target, and while I’m guessing that Clive Palmer and Pauline Hanson can probably afford to pay thousands of dollars extra a year, the real question is: can you?

That’s why the government has made this commitment. We’re helping the environment, backing technology to meet an emissions reduction target and, most important, keeping your costs down.

We will not legislate you out of a job. Instead, the protections we will put in place focus on securing Australia’s core industries and jobs while reducing emissions.

We are part of a global community whether we like it or not. Australia relies on the rest of the world and its markets. We produce enough food and fibre in this country for more than 80 million people and we use this to trade and feed the world.

Making a dollar for our exporters in return helps to ensure we can continue to enjoy the Australian way of life and our businesses can feel comfortable knowing the future of their markets is secure and will continue to grow.

In my electorate of Maranoa we have gas, plenty of agriculture and four coal-fired power stations. Those industries and the thousands of men and women who work in them can feel secure because we can clearly say: you will have a job well beyond 2030, 2040, and 2050 because we’re backing technology to maintain your job.

We can do this by trusting the smarts of the 21st century to reduce emissions.

We’ve seen time and again, when the world is focused on an issue, the market leads the way to solve the problem because capital flows go into doing just that.

Investment is pouring into technology such as carbon capture and storage, including in my electorate.

If technology such as this means we can meet international commitments with a coal-fired power station or a gas plant, well, who cares how we get there?

The important thing is that we will. If technology also provides opportunities for new jobs in a sustainable, cheap and reliable energy source, then even better.

I said in the months leading up to our commitment to net zero that if we were going to sign up we have to be able to look Australians in the eye and say to them, “This is how we are going to do it and who pays for it” – and that’s what we’ve delivered.

David Littleproud is deputy leader of the Nationals and Agriculture and Northern Australia Minister.