Morrison tells Liberals he wants binding 2050 net zero target at Glasgow summit

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has told Liberal MPs he intends to take a binding commitment to net zero emissions by 2050 to the Glasgow climate summit,revealing to colleagues it will be more than a general statement of policy.

But he confirmed to a Liberal party room meeting on Monday morning he has no intention of upgrading Australia’s 2030 emissions target,which was set under former prime minister Tony Abbott in 2015.

The Nationals party room will meet again today to discuss an interim climate change target.

The Nationals party room will meet again today to discuss an interim climate change target.Alex Ellinghausen

Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce has warned of a “ripple effect” through the Coalition if his party is put under pressure to endorse a cut in carbon emissions to net zero by 2050 as some of his colleagues warn against the goal.

The Deputy Prime Minister said the Nationals would reject the net zero target if his colleagues felt threatened to make a rapid decision after they emerged from a four-hour meeting on Sunday without agreement.

Asked if he and others would have to quit cabinet if they could not agree with government policy,Mr Joyce said this was a “statement of the bleeding obvious” but he warned that this should not be pushed too far.

“The process is quite clear - everybody is in cabinet at the behest of the Prime Minister and that includes me,” he told the ABC on Monday morning.

“But of course,hand in glove goes with that the ripple effect through the Coalition,and everything comes with rights and comes with consequences and everybody is aware of that.”

Mr Morrison is waiting on the Nationals to decide their stance after the Liberal Party room backed him on Monday morning in a debate on the net-zero target.

Mr Morrison told the meeting he intended to go to the Glasgow climate summit with net zero by 2050 as a Nationally Determined Contribution,the formal term for a target rather than a non-binding statement of policy.

Mr Morrison told the Liberals,however,that he would not upgrade the government’s NDC for 2030 and would stand by the target he took to the last election,cutting emissions by 26 to 28 per cent by 2030 on 2005 levels.

“He said it was an issue at the last election and the government would honour that,” said one Liberal in the room.

Energy Minister Angus Taylor gave a presentation to the Liberal meeting but it was described as “high level” and did not include projections for 2030 and 2050 or details on what might be offered to the Nationals to win their support.

Mr Morrison and Mr Taylor both emphasised that Australia would suffer economically if it did not go ahead with a net zero 2050 target,with the Prime Minister pointing to changes in Japan and South Korea that could impact Australian energy exports over time.

But Mr Morrison did not ask for a decision or vote from colleagues because he reminded Liberals the policy was a matter for federal cabinet and did not require legislation in Parliament.

While Queensland Liberal Senator Gerard Rennick told the meeting he rejected the need for a net zero pledge,other conservatives accepted the policy and moderates backed the outcome.

Everything comes with rights and comes with consequences and everybody is aware of that.

Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce

NSW Liberal Senator Hollie Hughes,who is from the inland town of Moree,expressed frustration with the Nationals and said the Liberals represented more people in regional Australia.

“She gave the Nats a serve,” said one of her colleagues. But there was no stronger criticism of the Nationals or Mr Joyce and most Liberals are seeking to avoid a clash.

With Nationals such as Queensland Senator Matt Canavan campaigning to stop net zero by 2050,the Nationals party room cannot reach a consensus and could take days to decide a majority view.

Labor MP Joel Fitzgibbon suggested on Monday the government could put a motion to the lower house to endorse net zero by 2050,given it would have majority support from Labor and most Liberals.

The scenario would force a split in federal cabinet because the Nationals have four positions in cabinet and have chosen not to make a cabinet decision on net zero until their party room considers the question.

While the net zero 2050 target was discussed in federal cabinet last week,with policy details set out to Mr Joyce and his Nationals colleagues,a final decision is not expected until after the debates in the Nationals and Liberal party rooms.

In a warning against taking the issue to the brink within the Coalition,Mr Joyce said the Nationals were not “chained to a script” and could go their own way on the climate change policy.

“At times we have a variance of views,we have divergent views,we have different views,and that is our right,” he said,in his first substantial remarks since the Sunday meeting ended without a decision.

“And we are absolutely fervent about the exercise of that right and if we ever believe that we are being threatened or pushed or stood over,I know what the outcome of that position is – people just say no.“

A story 300 million years in the making,from its beginnings as prehistoric rotting plants to the world's dirtiest little fuel.

Nationals MPs said the meeting of 21 federal MPs was a good discussion without heated argument but also without a consensus. Some estimate that while one-third of the group is strongly against net zero by 2050,at least one-third support the goal.

The party room meets again on Monday for the usual discussion when Parliament is sitting. The Liberal party room is also meeting on Monday for a debate about climate policy,ahead of a Coalition party room meeting on Tuesday morning.

Mr Joyce confirmed a statement he made on Sunday that hedid not expect the Nationals party room to accept a higher Australian emissions target for 2030,standing by a cut of 26 to 28 per cent while United Nations leaders have called for a 45 per cent cut.

“We just don’t agree with it,” he said of a higher target on the ABC on Monday morning.

Nationals deputy leader and Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said on Sunday night the party room meeting was not asked to make a decision on a higher 2030 target.

Mr Littleproud said the Nationals would need “the coming days” to consider the detail of the decision on net zero.

“We’ll work through it as quickly as we can just to make sure that regional and rural Australia is protected.”

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David Crowe is chief political correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

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