Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor and Prime Minister Scott Morrison on their way to the G20 in Rome.

Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor and Prime Minister Scott Morrison on their way to the G20 in Rome.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The stance puts Australia on side with other big resource economies to prevent a G20 outcome that endorses a call from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for advanced economies to stop using coal by 2030 and for other countries to follow by 2040.

French President Emmanuel Macron revived the issue on Thursday nightin a phone conversation with Mr Morrison where he rebuked the Prime Minister for cancelling a $90 billion submarine contract and named coal as a key concern in climate policy.

A statement from Mr Macron’s office said he encouraged Mr Morrison to adopt ambitious climate policies including a plan to “cease production and consumption of coal” at the national level and abroad.

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Mr Morrison firmly rejected that idea after arriving in Rome,telling reporters that his government would not impose the sort of mandates other leaders were proposing.

“Our policy is very clear:we’re not engaged in those sorts of mandates and bans,that’s not the Australian government’s policy,it won’t be the Australian government’s policy,” he said.

“All countries are coming at this task from different places,their economies are different and as a global community we’ve got to understand that.”

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The Prime Minister landed in Rome on Friday night(AEDT) and was welcomed by uniformed guards before making brief remarks on climate change,the economic recovery from the pandemic and the regulation of social media giants.

While some of the strongest objections to the proposal to phase out coal have come from China,India and Russia,the proposal is in direct conflict with Mr Morrison’s argument that Australia will not mandate an end to coal,will not force coal-fired power stations to close andexpects coal exports to continue for as long as there is a market.

Asked in September whether he would agree to phase out coal,Mr Morrison said the mining industry was critical to Australia’s future.

“We will keep mining the resources that we’re able to sell on the world market,he said.

A draft message from the G20 leaders,the basis for a final communiqué to be released on Sunday,says the leaders of the world’s 20 largest economies commit to tackling the “existential threat” of climate change but does not set a deadline on coal or gas.

“We recognise that the impacts of climate change at 1.5 degrees are much lower than at 2 degrees and that immediate action must be taken to keep 1.5 degrees within reach,” says a leaked copy of the draft reported by Reuters on Friday.

“We acknowledge the key relevance of achieving global net zero greenhouse gas emissions or carbon neutrality by 2050,” the statement said,referring to a recommendation by UN climate experts who say the mid-century deadline is crucial to meet the 1.5-degree warming limit.

The 2050 deadline is not an agreed position at the G20 and may be removed from the draft,given there is no pledge from Russia to cut greenhouse gas emissions to net zero levels by that year and China has restated its 2060 goal.

The chances of a G20 outcome on net zero by 2050 dimmed further in recent days when reports emerged India would not commit to a 2050 goal for itself but would ask wealthier countries to set the deadline.

“You cannot expect every country to go for ‘net zero’ goal by 2050 for the world to hit carbon-neutrality by mid-century,” said an Indian government official quoted inThe Times of India.

WhileMr Morrison has committed to net zero by 2050 after weeks of wrangling within the government,he has warned against calls from overseas for a decision to phase out coal exports.

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G20 member states produce about 80 per cent of the world’s economic output and 80 per cent of its carbon emissions. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be in Rome but will join some sessions online,while Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida cannot attend because he goes to a general election on Sunday.

The draft communiqué says G20 nations would end public finance for overseas coal plants,something China has recently agreed to and other nations have already done.

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It also sets out a goal of making substantial cuts to methane emissions,an area of dispute becauseMr Morrison will not agree to a proposed 2030 deadline to achieve the cuts due to concern it would be too big an impost for dairy and cattle farmers and the agriculture sector.

G20 energy ministers hit a stalemate in July in a meeting that canvassed phasing out coal,with the move resisted by China,Russia,India,Turkey and Saudi Arabia. One of the strongest advocates for the change,British cabinet minister Alok Sharma,said unabated coal power was “incompatible” with keeping the increase in global temperature below 1.5 degrees. Mr Sharma is the president of the UN climate talks in Glasgow.

Australia is also being asked to commit more funds to a global climate fund that was agreed by wealthier countries in 2009 but has fallen short of the promised size of $100 billion in spending every year on projects in the developing world.

Another potential issue for Mr Morrison is the support among G20 leaders for policies that put a price on carbon when he has told Australians that “technology not taxes” will be enough to reduce emissions.

G20 finance leaders agreed in a formal statement in July that carbon pricing was a potential tool to address climate change,the first time they had done so.

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