Dutton to pull Australia out of Paris Agreement if elected

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has signalled he will scrap the nation’s legally binding 2030 climate target and risk Australia’s membership of the Paris Agreement on climate change, following his vow to deploy nuclear energy to reach net zero by 2050.

Dutton declared on Saturday that a Coalition government would not pursue Australia’s legally binding climate target to cut emissions by 43 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030 – a significant escalation of Australia’s long-running climate policy war ahead of the next federal election due by May next year.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton in Canberra this week.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Dutton told The Australian on Saturday that the government’s renewable goal was unattainable and “there’s no sense in signing up to targets you don’t have any prospect of achieving”.

The opposition has said if it forms government it would build up to seven emissions-free nuclear power plants to replace the energy supply from Australia’s dirty coal plants, which have begun to shut down across the country. He would also pause the rollout of wind and solar farms.

The CSIRO found Australia could not build a nuclear plant until 2040 and Dutton has said the Coalition would boost the role of gas power to fill gaps in the energy grid until his reactors are built.

This plan is at odds with findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – the United Nations expert science body – that fossil fuels must be rapidly phased out to meet the Paris Agreement, which the Abbott government signed Australia up to in 2015.

The Paris Agreement commits nations to contributing to action that limits global warming to under 2 degrees – and as close to 1.5 degrees as possible – to avoid the worst damage.

Climate scientists say reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 is not enough to achieve this goal and countries must start reducing emissions rapidly now to have any hope of limiting warming to below 2 degrees, rather than waiting until later decades to deliver deep reductions in greenhouse gases.

Currently, 194 nations are signatories to this deal including all developed nations and Australia’s major trade and security partners including the US, UK, Japan, Korea, China and India.

Dutton’s rejection of Australia’s 2030 goal would put Australia outside the bounds of the Paris Agreement along with Iran, Yemen and Libya.

That’s because the Paris Agreement demands its members increase their emissions goal every five years.

“They’re walking away from the Paris Agreement … saying that Australia will join Libya, Yemen and Iran outside the Paris Accord,” said Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen.

“Being inside the Paris Accord is important for Australia’s leadership and vital for investment in the jobs of the future, to tell the world’s investors that they can invest in Australia. Not being in the Paris Accord would mean that Australia becomes an international pariah.”

An increased emissions goal for 2035 is due by February and the Albanese government has pledged to increase its commitment.

The Albanese government is currently committed to more than double the amount of renewable energy to 82 per cent of the grid by 2030 as the key measure to reach its climate target.

It is rolling out policies such as underwriting renewable energy and transmission lines, backed by billions of dollars, to encourage industry to invest in the energy transition.

Dutton pointed to the delayed renewable rollout and said nuclear power must be deployed to replace fossil fuels.

“You can’t have the prime minister saying we aren’t going to have coal, we aren’t going to have gas and were not going to have ­nuclear power and we are going to keep the lights on – that’s just fantasy. We now have a debate about energy which I think we can win,” he told The Australian.

Nationals Leader David Littleproud in April would not commit to the government’s 2030 commitment, saying “there is not a linear pathway to net zero, and trying to achieve one will have a detrimental impact on the economy”.

The government’s renewable plans have been hamstrung by slow development approvals for wind and solar farms, and new transmission lines are running years behind schedule.

To avoid potential energy supply shortfalls the Victorian government cut deals with the operators of the Yallourn and Loy Yang A coal plants to supplement their profits and keep them running for longer. The NSW government did the same last month with the owner of the Eraring coal plant.

The federal environment department found last year that Australia was on track to cut its emissions by 42 per cent by 2030.

Opposition climate change spokesman Ted O’ Brien rejected the department’s projections. “The government has failed to deliver on any of its promises,” he said. “Every single time the government falls short.”

The Climate Council rallied against Dutton’s proposal.

“Dutton’s climate policy is a disaster, and the consequence for Australians would be more extreme heat, fires and floods,” said Climate Council chief Amanda McKenzie.

“Instead of ripping up Australia’s 2030 climate targets, Peter Dutton must listen to the communities already ravaged by worsening climate disasters.”

However, the Australian Industry Group representing the nation’s manufacturers said interim targets like the 2030 goal “don’t mean much if we’re not going to reach them”.

“We need to remain open-minded on technology, but we need to ensure power is both affordable and reliable,” said the group’s chief executive, Innes Willox.

Get to the heart of what’s happening with climate change and the environment. Sign up for our fortnightly Environment newsletter.