Will we always have Paris? Coalition forced to clarify climate commitment

The federal opposition has been forced to clarify its support for the Paris climate agreement after finance spokeswoman Jane Hume and climate spokesman Ted O’Brien appeared to contradict each other on the emissions reduction pact.

While the Albanese government signed Australia up to a 43 per cent emissions reduction target by 2030 soon after it won government in 2022, the opposition has repeatedly sent mixed signals about the global commitment.

Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen (left) and Coalition climate and energy spokesman Ted O’Brien (right) during a debate at the National Press Club on Thursday.Credit: AAP

Nationals leader David Littleproud last year would not commit to Australia’s 43 per cent target while some members of the backbench have called for Australia to quit the Paris Agreement.

During a debate with Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen on Thursday, O’Brien hedged his bets about Australia remaining in the Paris emissions reduction deal if the opposition was able to form government.

Asked if Australia would leave the Paris Agreement, as the United States has done under President Donald Trump, O’Brien said: “I can commit that we will always act in the national interest, and we will be up front with the Australian people.”

Should the Coalition win government, O’Brien would undertake analysis on what trajectory Australia’s emission reductions were on, and on the economic impact of those reductions. He championed the Coalition’s policy of negotiating with major players in the gas industry to free up more supply on the east coast to force down prices in the short term and replace coal-fired power stations with nuclear power in the long term.

But in an interview on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing program, Hume said point-blank that a Coalition government would remain signed up to the Paris deal.

“Yes. There is no doubt about that, but on Labor’s current trajectory, the idea of getting to 43 per cent is an absolute fantasy and I think that’s exactly what it was Ted was alluding to,” she said.

“Labor’s policies are not working. They promised $275 off your energy bills, they failed to deliver it and they have no solutions.”

“That’s why the Coalition government has said we will inject more gas into the system in the short term and deliver in the longer term when those coal-fired power stations retire.”

Hume is one of the Liberal Party’s leading members of the moderate faction, a group that fought for the former Morrison government to sign up to Paris deal in the lead-up to the last election, but then moderate numbers were reduced when teal candidates seized Liberal seats in 2022.

Following Hume’s comments, a spokesman for O’Brien contacted this masthead to clarify that the opposition remained committed to the Paris deal.

“To be clear, we are committed to the Paris Agreement, including net zero by 2050. But under Labor’s trajectory, Australia’s chances of hitting the 43 per cent target by 2030 is pure fantasy,” O’Brien’s spokesman said.

“Unlike Labor, we’ll be upfront with Australians about how we assess these factors and how they shape our targets.”

Bowen said that signing up to, and remaining in, the Paris deal was in Australia’s national interest.

“It is important for the planet but also important because we believe that is the best way we can future-proof the Australian economy and create the jobs of the future.”

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