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The Nationals are expected to ditch support for net zero after grassroots members voted to remove the emissions-reduction target.
A motion backing the move was passed at the party’s annual federal council meeting in Canberra on Saturday, paving the way for the policy to be dumped at a party room meeting on Sunday.
A subsequent motion to walk away from the Paris Agreement, the global pact to limit warming to 1.5C above industrial levels, was withdrawn.
Nationals leader David Littleproud said his party believed in reducing emissions “but not at any cost”.
“We’re not walking away from reducing emissions, but we can do it a better, fairer, cheaper way,” he said.
In a recent statement from Canberra, a government official emphasized Australia’s commitment to navigating the complexities of achieving net-zero emissions. “We aim to ensure that as the global community grapples with the challenges of reaching net-zero, Australia remains competitive,” he assured the press.
Federal council meetings allow grassroots members to outline the rural party’s policy vision, which is then taken to the party room.
While the net-zero vote is non-binding for Nationals MPs, they look set to follow suit, with a party room meeting on Sunday to discuss climate and energy policy.
The motion called on the National Party to “abandon its support for a net-zero mandate” while backing a policy framework that allows emissions reductions.
This would be done by protecting key industries such as mining, agriculture and manufacturing through a “balanced” energy mix of coal, gas and renewable energy sources.
It also called for the lifting of a federal moratorium on nuclear energy, which was introduced by former prime minister John Howard in 1998.
The net-zero target has remained a key sticking point within the Coalition as the Liberal Party undertakes an energy policy review following its disastrous May election defeat.
Under the Paris Agreement, signed in 2015, the world needs to be drawing down and storing greenhouse gas emissions at the same rate it is producing them by 2050, known as net zero.
Members must also set interim emissions cuts that are renewed every five years and cannot water them down.
Liberals yet to finalise position
Opposition energy spokesperson Dan Tehan said the Liberals were likely to finalise their position six to nine months after the federal election, meaning a decision would likely come between November and January.
Opposition leader Sussan Ley said the Coalition’s energy policy would not simply prioritise an emissions target.
“As I have said from the beginning … we’re not going to accept the government’s net zero at any cost,” she said on Friday.
Speaking from South Korea, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government was getting on with the transition to net zero unperturbed by Coalition ructions.
“I’ll allow people to watch that circus and to make their own decisions,” he told reporters.
The Labor government remains committed to net zero and is chasing an interim target of 62-70 per cent emissions cuts by 2035.
A target of 82 per cent of electricity sourced from renewables by 2030 is key to meeting climate goals.
