2030 target key issue for federal election

AUSTRALIA will be pressured to increase interim targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions next year after the final statement from the COP26 conference in Glasgow called on countries to “revisit and strengthen” their nationally determined contributions for 2030.

The clause almost ensures the 2030 target will be an issue in next year’s federal election.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced in Glasgow Australia would achieve net zero by 2050, but offered no increase on the 2030 target of cutting emissions by 26-28 per cent. Instead the PM provided projections showing Australia was on track to reduce its emissions by between 30-35 per cent by 2030.

The requirement to announce an increased 2030 target at the COP27 summit in Egypt in November next year is a headache for the government, which had expressed doubt the clause would make its way into the final version of the COP26 statement.

Another clause invited the secretary-general of the UN to convene a meeting of world leaders in 2023 to further consider 2030 targets.

The final COP26 declaration also made a first reference to coal and fossil fuel subsidies, although these clauses were watered down in the final draft after lobbying from China and India.

Countries are encouraged to “accelerate” efforts towards the “phase-down of unabated coal power and inefficient fossil fuel subsidies”, the final statement read.

Coal is Australia’s second most valuable export, with figures showing earnings from the September quarter were $16.3bn, up 80 per cent on the same period in 2020.

The modelling that underpins the government’s netzero strategy, released on Friday, presumed coal would remain a strong industry in 2050, albeit at half the value it is today.

In a joint statement, Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor said the government “will always stand up for and make decisions in Australia’s national interest, and we will do what’s right for rural and regional communities”.

“Australia’s economy is almost unique amongst developed countries, with an economy specialised in the production of energy and emissions-intensive commodities. We are the world’s fourth largest energy exporter, after Saudi Arabia, Russia and the US,” the ministers said.

They stressed Australia’s emissions were falling faster than the OECD average.

Asked whether the government would increase its 2030 emissions targets, Health Minister Greg Hunt told the Insiders program: “We’ll continue to update our projections.”