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The 2022 federal election campaign will not feature climate change and reducing carbon emissions. But, after years of poor national climate policy, it is now urgent that sensible, long-term actions are taken.
The first task of the government in Australia’s 47th parliament must be to increase the national emissions target for 2030. This is only the first step. Australia urgently needs a proper policy framework to get the nation on a lower emissions path – systematically and for the long term.
The new government and the ones that follow have a long list of tasks to complete on climate policy. The issues before us cannot be left to political point-scoring and ideological zealotry.
Dan Himbrechts/AAP
The to-do list
Years of climate policy inaction have left a lot of behind Low-hanging fruitGet ready for the next government harvest.
On Australia’s emissions reduction out to 2030, the Coalition already expects to do better than the existing 26-28% target. If returned to government, the Coalition could formally raise the target – but presumably there would be no appetite to raise it by much.
Labor has pledged 43% emissions reduction by 2030 – a target, like the Coalition, based on 2005 emissions levels. This is still far short of the target. 46-50%The Business Council of Australia has urged a cut that is much lower than the pledges of many other countries.
A meaningful target is needed to bolster confidence to low-carbon investors and signal to our international peers that we’re playing our part.
The next government must ensure that private investment continues in renewable energy generation and help to bring power infrastructure online quickly. That requires significant reforms in the national electric market and constructive cooperation with the states.
And however much it may go against political instinct, the next government must face up to the coal industry’s coming decline. It will need to manage closures of coal plants, without delaying the renewables transition and plan for the inevitable falloffs in coal and gas import demand.
Changes will occur in the economies of central Queensland and New South Wales’ Hunter Valley. In collaboration with the states, the federal government can help prepare for these changes.
Importantly, the next federal government must push Australia’s industrial sector to get more energy efficient and shift to renewables. This will ensure that energy-intensive industries remain competitive globally in the long-term.
Daniel Munoz/AAP
Making the existing “safeguards mechanism” effective is the obvious way to start. It should become a “Credit and baseline” scheme covering all medium and large industrial polluters, with financial penalties for being above an emissions threshold and financial incentives for being below.
This would create a quasicarbon price, which can be used as a steppingstone to a comprehensive carbon-pricing scheme. Emission trading and carbon taxes have been used in many other countries around the globe and are an integral part of a comprehensive climate policy package.
The next government must help ensure the transition to electric cars, trucks and trains is smooth, speedy and fair – including through Road tax reform. It should also adjust policies and regulations to further decentralize the energy system, including electric vehicles providing power to the grid where and when it is needed.
We need to establish national energy efficiency standards in the building sector. We also need to have low-carbon construction requirements. And we must stop using gas for heating.
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But what about the cost? Many politicians create fear by claiming that strong climate action is synonymous with economic doom. In reality, Many carbon-saving investments can pay for themselvesIn the form of lower energy prices over time. While these options are more expensive, they offer benefits such as cleaner air or more secure energy supply.
Australia will be economically hurt by the decline in fossil fuel exports, but we cannot control this. This is why it is important to encourage economic diversification. This should be a central part of national industry policy.
Beyond the question of lower emissions, it’s high time the federal government got serious about adapting to climate damage that’s already happening and will worsen.
The task for the next government, then, is to help make happen the large investments that will safeguards Australia’s future. This message should appeal to politicians who desire to be considered leaders.
Lukas Coch/AAP
Making it happen
There is still much to be done to understand the pathways to cleaner economics in Australia, the problems that we face, as well as the opportunities that are available to us.
Just one example: Properly funded science will help Australian agriculture move towards net-zero emission goals. It would also help the industry better understand how to address challenges such as changing growing conditions and more frequent, severe floods or bushfires.
We as a nation must be serious about identifying the areas and ways that Australia could become a major international supplier of energy and commodities in a low-carbon future. Australia could be an important international supplier Clean energy and zero-carbon commodities.
To get there, trust must be built and everyone must be involved.
Net-zero is a rallying point
Where do we begin? A good place to start is to convene an inclusive process towards a properly, long-term strategyAustralia should reduce its emissions.
The goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 is a rare point of general agreement on climate policy – both across the political spectrum and among the main lobby groups.
But how can we get there What does it mean for different industries? Where are the economic upsides and downsides? What are the social pressures? Finding answers to these questions should be the basis for a real national conversation – one that includes businesses, unions, communities, non-government organisations, the research sector and the media.
This would be a very different process from the one described in the Document accompanying the Coalition government’s net-zero announcement late last year. Whoever becomes the next government minister has the opportunity to lead an inclusive process that fully maps the implications and options of net-zero.
AAP
A new politics
The next government will have to deal climate policy, no matter how much they like it. Evidently, the election outcome will determine how far the next administration is willing to go.
A Labor government would plan to do more than a Coalition government. Either of them is likely to do more if they are governed in a parliamentary minority supported by proclimate independents.
But to be strong, wholehearted federal action would require a sea shift in politics that is currently not possible. The root problem is still the climate wars from years ago.
However, Australia must make a complete change in its climate policy at some point in the next decade. In a world that must act Urgently and deeplyThe political debate on climate change should focus on how to do more.
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