‘Recipe for chaos’: Chris Bowen criticises Liberal Party move to abandon net zero policy

Energy Minister Chris Bowen has again ridiculed the ‘out of touch’ Coalition ahead of his travels to Brazil for the COP30 climate summit.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen said he believed Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce was ‘calling the shots’. Picture: NewsWire / Damian Shaw

Energy Minister Chris Bowen has sharply criticised the Liberal Party’s decision to abandon its net zero policy this week, labelling it a “recipe for chaos” and “higher prices”.

At a press conference on Saturday morning in Sydney before he travels to Brazil for the COP30 climate summit, Mr Bowen described the Liberal Party’s move to dump its policy to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 as “out of touch”, saying it had walked “away from science and economics”.

“As we continue to fight for Australians, the Coalition fights themselves,” he said. “This week we’ve seen a spectacle.

“The Coalition’s grand plan is to put more pressure on prices by sweating the assets longer … So their plan is a recipe for chaos, it’s a recipe for higher emissions … and a recipe for higher prices.”

The Coalition’s announcement that it would scrap its net zero by 2050 policy came after a three-hour shadow ministry meeting on Thursday.

The move marks one of the most significant shifts in the party’s climate policy since then prime minister Tony Abbott committed Australia to the Paris Agreement in 2015.

But despite the move, the Liberals will remain committed to the Paris accord, a legally binding treaty that aims to keep global average temperatures “well below 2C above pre-industrial levels” and strives for a limit of 1.5C.

Tony Abbott has argued Australia should abandon the Paris Agreement. Picture: Ian Forsyth/Getty Images

The focus is on lowering power costs, says Opposition Leader Sussan Ley. Picture: NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone

Opposition leader Sussan Ley on Thursday announced the party would abandon any net zero target, but declared meeting that goal would be a “welcome outcome” if it was delivered through technology and choice.

Instead, Ms Ley said the opposition’s focus would be on lowering electricity prices.

“I can 100 per cent guarantee that energy prices, power bills will be lower under us,” she said. “Make no mistake, we are not pursuing net zero; we are pursuing energy affordability and emissions reduction.”

But, speaking on Saturday, Mr Bowen branded the Coalition’s plan as “a recipe for higher prices” and said he believed Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce was “calling the shots”.

“The National Party is calling the shots,” he said. “And within the National Party, Barnaby Joyce is calling the shots.”

Mr Bowen added that Mr Joyce was “very effective at setting the agenda of the Coalition”.

“And today we’ve seen the unbelievable spectacle of the National Party saying we think the Liberals have gone too far (and) their policy is a bit extreme.

“That says it all – the fact the Liberal Party is so out of touch.”