Liberals Ditch Net Zero Target, Vow Energy Affordability Over Climate Goals
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The Liberal Party will abandon Australia’s net zero by 2050 emissions target and scrap legislated climate goals if elected, Deputy Leader Susan Ley announced Thursday, marking a dramatic shift in the coalition’s climate policy as power bills dominate voter concerns.
The decision reverses policy set by former Prime Minister Scott Morrison and puts the Liberals at odds with most developed nations. The party will remove the 43% emissions reduction target for 2030 and the net zero by 2050 goal from the Climate Change Act but remain in the Paris Agreement.
“The Liberal Party will remove a net zero target from our policy,” Ley said at a press conference with Shadow Energy Minister Dan Tehan and senators Anne Ruston and John O’Donoghue. “And if elected, we will remove the 43% 2030 target and its net zero by 2050 target from the Climate Change Act.”
Nationals Leader David Littleproud immediately welcomed the decision, saying the coalition will finalize a joint policy in coming days that focuses on economics rather than climate science.
“No one is challenging the science of climate change,” Littleproud said at a separate press conference on the Gold Coast. “We believe in climate change. We believe that we need to do something about it. We believe that we should do our fair share. But we shouldn’t streak ahead of the rest of the world.”
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Energy Affordability Takes Priority
Ley framed the policy shift as a response to rising power costs, saying electricity bills have increased 40% since Labor took office.
“Affordable energy must come first,” Ley said. “Under Labor, there has been this trifecta of failures. Prices up, reliability down and emissions flatlining.”
The Liberal leader accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of lying to voters about energy costs.
“Anthony Albanese lied to Australians when he said he had a plan for cheaper power prices,” Ley said. “And every bill, every month, every quarter is a reminder of that lie.”
Ley drew on personal experience to connect with struggling households.
“I know what it’s like to be a mum with the bills piling up,” she said. “I’ve sensed the anxiety that I have felt when my electricity bills were piling up on the kitchen windowsill at the farm all those years ago, and I had no idea how I was going to pay them.”
The policy sets two key objectives: affordable, reliable power and responsible emissions reductions.
“Our emissions reduction goals will never come at the expense of Australian families, and this is the principle that will guide every decision we take,” Ley said.
Nationals Claim Economic Victory
Littleproud said Labor’s net zero plan would cost Australia $9 trillion and put Medicare and the National Disability Insurance Scheme at risk. That figure represents $5,000 per Australian per year between now and 2050, he said.
“What we want to understand is can we live up to continue to reducing emissions, to continue on that pathway to do our fair share, to make sure that we do the right thing by future generations, but probably do the right thing by households and businesses today,” Littleproud said.
The Nationals leader framed the debate as moving beyond climate science to economic policy.
“We want to have a 2025 debate about the economics,” Littleproud said. “The science is settled. What isn’t settled is the economics. That is the debate we want to have.”
He argued Australia, which accounts for 1.1% of global emissions, shouldn’t reduce emissions faster than other developed nations. Between now and 2035, the Australian government expects emissions to fall 4.8% annually while the OECD average is 1.7%, Littleproud said.
“Why wouldn’t we peg ourselves to what our international emissions are and make sure that we live up to what the world’s doing?” he said.
Paris Agreement Strategy
Both leaders emphasized remaining in the Paris Agreement while abandoning specific numerical targets. Ley said the agreement focuses on global temperature reduction and emissions cuts rather than mandating specific domestic targets.
“Paris is about, yes, giving NDCs, revising them maybe, considering what the rest of the world is doing,” Ley said, referring to nationally determined contributions. “But overall, Paris is about a global agreement to bring down temperatures and reduce emissions. That’s exactly what we propose to do.”
She acknowledged potential international criticism.
“If there are reasons why people in Paris or in some United Nations organisation don’t like it, I can deal with that,” Ley said.
Littleproud noted 128 countries have not submitted 2035 interim targets, questioning why Australia should lead global emissions reduction efforts.
“We shouldn’t streak ahead of that. We shouldn’t be lagging,” he said. “So why wouldn’t we peg ourselves to what our international emissions are?”
Labor Policies Under Fire
Tehan criticized Labor’s renewable energy mandates and taxes, saying they hurt businesses and push up prices.
“Labor’s net zero policies of mandates and taxes are hurting businesses and they’re pushing up prices,” Tehan said. “Despite promises of cheaper energy, prices have increased substantially under Labor.”
He said Labor’s approach represents “not a transition at all.”
“It’s a demolition job on households, on businesses, on families and on jobs,” Tehan said.
Littleproud said over a third of Australians struggle to put dinner on the table, blaming Labor’s climate policies for contributing to cost-of-living pressures.
“Tonight, over a third of Australians will struggle to put dinner on the table,” he said. “I’m talking about a 2025 debate, not on science, but on economics.”
Coalition Negotiations Ahead
The Liberal decision sets up negotiations with the Nationals to finalize a joint coalition policy. Ley said three Liberal representatives will lead discussions: Tehan, Ruston and O’Donoghue.
“We hope and anticipate we can land, after Sunday, a joint policy that allows us all to fight the Labor Party,” Ley said.
Littleproud committed to constructive negotiations over coming days.
“I give the commitment over the coming couple of days that the National Party will work constructively with them to finalise our coalition policy,” he said.
The Nationals abandoned net zero commitments in June after what Littleproud called “a calm considered pathway” to review their position.
“What we’ll now do is sit down with our Liberal colleagues over the coming couple of days to get to a final position that I believe will give the Australian people an intelligent conversation,” Littleproud said.
Policy Process Defended
Ley thanked Tehan for leading a six-month Energy Working Group that developed the policy through consultation with party members.
“The process to get here has been important,” Ley said, noting the election is two and a half years away.
Tehan praised Ley’s leadership in establishing a thorough policy process.
“Six months ago, Susan said we are going to develop a policy process and it’s going to be a thorough policy process,” Tehan said. “And she put everything on the table.”
He described the development as the most thorough and respectful policy process he could imagine.
Grandchildren and Living Standards
Asked about her six grandchildren under age six and the planet they will inherit, Ley said Labor’s climate policies are failing to reduce emissions.
“I think of my six grandchildren aged under six every day,” Ley said. “And I know that it is vital that they have a better world to inherit.”
But she said current policies aren’t delivering environmental improvements.
“The climate change policies of Labor are failing,” Ley said. “They are completely failing. Emissions came down under us, they’re going up, if not flatlining, under Labor.”
She also raised concerns about declining living standards.
“Right now, they are set to inherit the worst standard of living since the Second World War,” Ley said. “And I don’t think that’s fair.”
Energy affordability drives everything else, Ley argued.
“If energy is unaffordable, everything is unaffordable,” she said.
When Will Bills Drop?
Asked when households would see lower power bills if the coalition wins the May 2028 election, Ley offered a qualified guarantee without specific timelines.
“I can 100% guarantee that energy prices, power bills will be lower under us,” she said. “But it’s two and a half years until the election.”
She said more details may come before the election, depending on how Labor’s energy policy develops.
“On the eve of the election, we may be able to give you some further detail, because I’m sure this government’s energy policy will have become an ever-increasing train wreck by then,” Ley said.
She compared her approach to Albanese’s promises.
“Anthony Albanese stood there and, for two elections running, said your power bills would come down,” Ley said. “Well, he clearly didn’t put anything that made any sense on that because the promise made no sense.”
Regional and Urban Divide
Asked whether abandoning net zero could hurt Liberal chances in inner-city seats, Littleproud rejected the premise that climate policy divides urban and regional Australia.
“Our policy makes sense for every Australian,” he said. “We’re not challenging the science of climate change. We’re challenging the economics and how we can do it better.”
He said energy costs affect all Australians equally regardless of location.
“It doesn’t matter whether you live on the Gold Coast, whether you live in Sydney, or in Cunnamulla,” Littleproud said. “Your energy bill is the same.”
The Nationals leader accused Albanese of trying to characterize coalition members as climate deniers.
“I believe in climate change. I believe we need to do our fair share,” Littleproud said. “I just don’t believe that net zero is the only way to achieve it. I believe there is a cheaper, better, fairer way to achieve it.”
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