Labor to adopt 2050 target for emissions reductions before shorter term goals

Labor will adopt 2050 target before it assesses shorter term goals, as Anthony Albanese admits it was a ‘mistake’ to retain climate change policies after losing in 2016.

Labor will pursue a 2050 emissions reduction target before ­assessing shorter-term goals, as Anthony Albanese conceded it was a “mistake” for the party to retain its climate change policies after losing the 2016 election.

The Australian has been told Labor’s federal caucus will likely adopt a 2050 target ahead of the ALP national conference in ­Dec­ember, with climate change spokesman Mark Butler expected to push for a net-zero emissions policy.

Senior Labor sources said the party would be likely to announce a 2030 or 2035 target closer to the election. The shorter-term target would be geared around meeting the 2050 goal based on Australia’s emissions at the time of the election, likely to be 2022.

The Australian last year revealed Labor could scrap its 45 per cent 2030 target in favour of ­focusing on a “net-zero emissions by 2050” policy.

The Opposition Leader on Sunday said Labor should have revisited its 45 per cent 2030 target after losing the 2016 election.

“It was a mistake in 2019 to continue to say ‘We will do exactly what we did in 2015 as if it hadn’t changed’,” Mr Albanese told Sky News.

“What we did (in the last) six-year period was to add on policies. So everything stayed the same and we just added more on.

“We have seen how that played out. It didn’t work.”

Mr Albanese said the climate change policy would be “as ambitious as possible”, but would not be drawn on a potential target.

He noted Bill Shorten’s pre-election target — to reduce greenhouse emissions by 45 per cent of 2005 levels by 2030 — was created in 2015 and allowed a 15-year time frame to be achieved.

“That was a 2015 target established for 15 years’ time,” Mr Albanese said.

“In 2022, our 15-year target will be very different. Fifteen years from 2022 is 2037 not 2030. You can’t define your point on where you will go to the election in 2022 at January 2020 because the circumstances will change.

“We will take climate change seriously. We will determine our policy. It will be as ambitious as possible. I want to have a very strong framework. I want … it to be as strong as possible but you have got to know what your starting point is.”

Mr Albanese also left the door open to amending the party’s pre-election franking credits crackdown rather than dumping it altogether.

“Very clearly we won’t be taking the same policy to the next election,” Mr Albanese said.

The Labor leader would not say whether the negative gearing policy would be dropped.

He said Adani’s difficulty in securing finance for its coalmine in central Queensland showed there was global uncertainty about the future of the sector. “The environmental approvals have occurred. The project wasn’t able to secure finance. That says something about what the international scene saw about the financing of a new mine in a new coal basin,” he said.

“So they are self-financing the project. But it has been approved so it is going ahead.”

Resources Minister Matt Canavan said “lots” of coalmines were being expanded or built in Aus­tralia because of strong demand for coal.

“Adani’s mine was more challenging given it is in a new coal basin,” Senator Canavan said.