New Aussie gov’t to ditch climate target plans
AUSTRALIA’S new prime minister will not revive plans to embed carbon emissions targets in law, a thorny issue that triggered the ousting of his predecessor in a party coup.
Scott Morrison won a Liberal Party ballot to replace Malcolm Turnbull – a moderate who struggled to get his conservative colleagues to support the National Energy Guarantee (NEG) – as leader in late August.
Australia is considered one of the world’s worst per capita greenhouse gas polluters, and is a heavy user of coal-fired power.
Morrison, who is to the right of Turn- bull, said the proposal to help the government meet its Paris Agreement pledge was “dead” and his government would focus instead on lowering soaring electricity prices.
“The NEG is dead, long live reliability guarantee, long live default prices, long live backing new power generation,” he told a local media on Saturday.
“Next week we will be putting to rest the issue of the legislation . . . it won’t be proceeding.”
Canberra said it would still work to reduce Australia’s emissions despite a lack of laws to enforce the Paris target.
The ruling Liberal-National coalition – as well as previous Labor governments – have struggled to introduce climate policies over the past decade amid political turbulence.
The flagship carbon-trading scheme of former Labor PM Kevin Rudd, whose second term lasted less than three months, aimed to cut emissions by between five and 25 per cent of 2000 levels by 2020, was shelved in 2010.
Rudd’s Labor successor Ju l ia Gi llard, faced wit h a hung parliament, later i nt roduced a ca rbon pr ici ng scheme in exchange for support from t wo independents.
The Liberals’ Tony Abbott, who defeated her in national elections in 2013 and who famously called climate change “absolute crap”, repealed the scheme a year later.
Abbott’s government later agreed to cut emissions by 26 per cent by 2030 as part of the Paris Agreement, although he has since railed against the commitment he made.
Abbott was a lso a major critic of his successor Turnbull, who in mid-Aug ust was forced to shelve pla ns to enshrine the NEG in law to appease t he r ig ht, but was st i l l ousted days later.