AP

Australia PM: Technology best way to achieve climate target

Oct 18, 2021, 10:58 AM | Updated: 11:01 pm

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks during Question Time in Parliament House in Canberr...

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks during Question Time in Parliament House in Canberra, Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021. A net zero carbon emissions target by 2050 would be a "great positive" for Australia if it can be achieved through technology and not a carbon price, the prime minister said as he pressures government colleagues to commit to more ambitious climate change action ahead of the Glasgow summit. (Lukas Coch/AAP Image via AP)

(Lukas Coch/AAP Image via AP)


              Nationals party Senator Matt Canavan sits in the chamber at Parliament House in Canberra, Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021. A net zero carbon emissions target by 2050 would be a "great positive" for Australia if it can be achieved through technology and not a carbon price, the prime minister said as he pressures government colleagues to commit to more ambitious climate change action ahead of the Glasgow summit. Canavan was among the lawmakers who did not believe the modeling. (Mick Tsikas/AAP Image via AP)
            
              Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks during Question Time in Parliament House in Canberra, Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021. A net zero carbon emissions target by 2050 would be a "great positive" for Australia if it can be achieved through technology and not a carbon price, the prime minister said as he pressures government colleagues to commit to more ambitious climate change action ahead of the Glasgow summit. (Lukas Coch/AAP Image via AP)

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A net zero carbon emissions target by 2050 would be a “great positive” for Australia if it can be achieved through technology and not a carbon price, the prime minister said on Tuesday as he pressures government colleagues to commit to more ambitious action ahead of a climate summit.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison last week agreed to attend next month’s climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, but his government colleagues have yet to approve the commitment he wants to net zero.

“If you have a credible plan … with the proper transparencies Australia’s well known for, then it can be a great positive for Australia,” Morrison told Parliament, referring to the net zero target.

“If you have the right plan, … if you have technology, not taxes,” Morrison added.

Morrison was a minister in the conservative coalition government that in 2014 repealed a carbon tax introduced by a center-left Labor Party government. The coalition continues to oppose any measures that would penalize polluters through a carbon price or tax.

The rural-based junior coalition partner, the Nationals party, are the major obstacle to Australia adopting net zero.

Nationals lawmakers have debated Cabinet’s draft climate policy for the past three days but remained bitterly divided by Tuesday.

They were shown government modeling on Tuesday that predicted the economic impacts of more ambitious climate targets.

Nationals Sen. Matt Canavan was among the lawmakers who did not believe the modeling.

“The party room here is being gaslighted and that’s kind of ironic given it’s being gaslighted by people who want to end the use of fossil fuels,” Canavan said.

The government rejected opposition calls to make the modeling public.

Morrison said the world’s responses would have “significant impacts on rural and regional Australia, but they also present significant opportunities.”

“The plans that the government are considering will ensure that we can deal with both the costs and the benefits, because we understand there are impacts, that this is not a road that is only … where you’ll find opportunities,” Morrison said.

Morrison said he would make his government’s plans public before the next election, which is due by May.

Australia has not budged from its 2015 pledge at the Paris climate conference to reduce emissions by 26% to 28% below 2005 levels by 2030, despite many countries adopting far more ambitious targets.

Morrison is unlikely to persuade his colleagues to agree to a new 2030 target before he goes to Glasgow.

Reducing emissions is a politically fraught issue in Australia, which is one of the world’s largest exporters of coal and liquified natural gas. The nation is also one of the world’s worst greenhouse gas emitters per capita because of its heavy reliance on coal-fired power.

The conservative government’s lack of ambition on climate change is regarded as a reason behind the government’s surprise reelection in 2019 and strong voter support in coal-rich Queensland state.

Morrison had argued that the Labor opposition’s pledge to reduce Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030 and achieve zero emissions by 2050 would wreck the economy.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Image: A cargo ship is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after ...

Associated Press

Authorities identify 2 bodies recovered at site of Baltimore bridge collapse

A major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below.

11 hours ago

Photo: Mountaineer Jim Whittaker has died at 95....

Gene Johnson, The Associated Press

Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95

Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, has died at age 95.

12 hours ago

File photo: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman speaks in Washington on Jan. 18, 2024....

Associated Press

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP pick in 2000, dead at 82

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in 2000, has died.

12 hours ago

islamic state attack...

Vanessa Gera, The Associated Press

What we know after the Islamic State group claims responsibility for Moscow massacre

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed at least 133 people.

4 days ago

Moscow shooting...

The Associated Press

Russia: 60 dead, 145 injured in concert hall raid; Islamic State group claims responsibility

Assailants burst into a concert hall in Moscow on Friday and sprayed the crowd with gunfire, killing over 60 people, injuring more than 100.

6 days ago

Photo: Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge visits 282 (East Ham) Squadron, RAF Air Cadets, Cornwel...

Associated Press

Kate Middleton announces she has cancer, is undergoing chemotherapy

Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, says she is undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer. She has been out of view since Christmas.

6 days ago

Australia PM: Technology best way to achieve climate target