An explainer of ScoMo’s climate policy

Australia’s commitments to climate policy have been vague, to put it mildly, Scott Morrison has been criticised over the issue and it’s caused some damage to Australia’s reputation internationally.

So let’s try and clear things up and take a look at everything that’s been going on.

October 26: ScoMo announces net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

In a press conference, Morrison announced the Federal Government’s plan to hit net zero carbon emissions by 2050, but the plan was heavily criticised as vague, and it referred to “Australia’s unique way of life” far too many times.

“Australia has already met and beaten our … 2020 targets and indeed Australia will beat and meet our 2030 targets as well,” the PM said.

“Australians want action on climate change. They’re taking action on climate change but they also want to protect their jobs and their livelihoods. They also want to keep the costs of living down,” he said. “And I also want to protect the Australian way of life, especially in rural and regional areas. The Australian way of life is unique.”

The government pledged that by 2030 Australia’s emissions levels would be 26 to 28 per cent lower than 2005 levels, but that could actually be higher.

“We believe we will be able to achieve a 35 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030: that is something we actually think we are going to achieve,” Morrison stated.

It was widely noted that all parts of the plan never actually included any specifics on how these goals would be achieved. Instead, it noted vague future technological advancements that no one has explained further, and promised not to affect the mining and agriculture industries.

TL;DR: At this point ScoMo has promised that Australia will hit net zero by 2050 but it “will not cost jobs, not in farming, mining or gas”, although everyone is confused because he didn’t explain how.

November 1: ScoMo Addresses COP26 summit

Despite news around the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow being somewhat derailed by ScoMo’s alleged lies to France about submarines, our PM did address the summit on November 1.

Despite Australia already having been criticised by Sir David Attenborough himself for their weak 2050 commitments, Morrison refused to formally ramp up Australias 2030 emissions reduction goal, even though he once again claimed that we’d likely hit a 35 per cent emissions cut by then.

The focus of Morrison’s speech was on lowering the costs of low- and no-emissions technologies, also claiming that Australia was hoping to help developing nations do the same.

“It will be our scientists, our technologists, our engineers, our entrepreneurs, our industrialists and our financiers that will actually chart the path to net-zero,” he said.

Again, he was heavily criticised for not providing an actual plan to achieve these 2030 and 2050 goals.

“First the PM tried to pull the wool over Australia’s eyes when he made a net zero by 2050 announcement without modelling, new funding or any new policy – and now he’s trying to do the same with the rest of the world,” said Chief Climate Councillor, Professor Tim Flannery, in a statement following the PM’s speech.

TL;DR: ScoMo more or less repeated the same goals and vague ‘plans’.

November 2: Australia’s Minister for emissions reduction gave a COP26 speech spruiking fossil fuels

A day later, our Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction — Angus Taylor — also gave speech at COP26, that essentially promoted how Australia would be investing even more into fossil fuels. At a climate change conference.

“Let me tell you why this is so important, why a seemingly arcane topic like carbon credits really matters and why our Plan is for net-zero, not zero,” he said. “Australia is the world’s fourth-largest energy exporter — we’ve specialised in the production of energy and emissions-intensive commodities across sectors like mining and agriculture.

“Today, those exports are worth around a quarter of Gross National Income, and they are growing fast … and those exports are a big deal in our Indo-Pacific region, too, with Australia being one of the largest and most reliable suppliers of energy, resources and agricultural products.”

It’s also worth noting that, on top of this, Australia’s pavilion at the conference was sponsored one of the leading oil and gas producers in the APAC region, Santos.

TL;DR: Australia’s Minister for emissions reduction also flew to COP26 to tell people why our country would be investing more into fossil fuels, instead of less.

November 10: Australia ranked last for our climate action policies.

Despite ScoMo’s 2050 net zero carbon emissions commitment, Australia ranked last in the latest Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI), with a mark of zero.

Published by German-based group Germanwatch, the CCPI scores 63 countries on their climate action, based on greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy infrastructure, and climate policy.

While we score “very low” in all categories and ranked 55th overall, we were absolutely dead last (and the only country to score zero) in the climate policy category.

The report stated that the “government does not have any policies on phasing out coal or gas, but CCUS [carbon capture, utilisation and storage] and hydrogen are being promoted as low-emissions technologies.

“Even though the renewables electricity is growing, the experts believe that Australia has failed to take advantage of its potential, and other countries have outpaced it.”

While ScoMo may have talked a lot about renewable technologies in his speeches, the report only placed Australia at 49th for the renewable energy category.

“The country’s lack of domestic ambition and action has made its way to the international stage,” the report continued.

“The experts describe that the country’s international standing has been damaged by climate denialism by politicians, refusal to increase ambition, and refusal to recommit to international green finance mechanisms.

“Australia has fallen behind its allies and its inaction even attracted public criticism in the run-up to COP26.”

TL;DR: the latest Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) ranked Australia 55 out of 63 countries for our overall climate actions, and dead last with a score of zero for our climate policy.

November 12: Federal government releases net-zero modelling plan.

After pressure to explain how the government planned to reach its climate goals, the modelling on which Australia’s long-term emissions reduction plan is based was released on a Friday afternoon.

Once again using the catchphrase “the Australian way”, the modelling plan shows that Morrison is taking a “technology not taxes” approach that means Australia will be relying on offsets and unknown technology breakthroughs. At the same time, the gas sector will grow.

However, this technology plan still falls 215 megatonnes short of the 2050 net-zero plan, only reaching an 85 per cent reduction. The remaining cuts will be achieved by buying offsets. and from unexplained “further technology breakthroughs”.

Understandably, the response from climate experts is still less than impressed. Senior researcher at the Climate Council, Tim Bater, says the report “may as well have been written in crayon”.

“The most striking thing about this modelling is that it predicts the government won’t reach its own net zero by 2050 goal,” he continued.

“This is pure spin. A document that has the singular purpose of attempting to legitimise the federal government’s do-nothing approach.”

TL;DR: Morrison releases the modelling for Australia’s net-zero by 2050 plan, but it outlines a plan relying on technology that falls 215Mt short of the goal. The rest of the emission cuts rely on unexplained technology breakthroughs.

November 15: Barnaby Joyce openly mocked COP26 president for getting emotional about climate change.

After COP26 president Alok Sharma had a tearful breakdown during his speech on the final day of the summit, Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce openly mocked him, and accused him of faking his concern.

Sharma was announcing that the global climate agreement would be softened due to India’s protest of the original wording when his voice broke.

“May I just say to all delegates, I apologise for the way this process has unfolded and I am deeply sorry,” Mr Sharma told the summit.

“I also understand the deep disappointment but, I think as you have noted, it’s also vital that we protect this package.”

Joyce was asked about the incident on the ABC, and he responded with zero empathy.

“It annoys me that, what is that guy’s name? Chairman Sharma with his gavel – ‘I am crying, I can’t do it’ – he wants to talk about shutting down the coal industry but he never talks about shutting down the oilfields the North Sea,” Mr Joyce said.

“All the corporate billionaires and all the movie stars and chairman Sharma and all the tears as they shut down our industries. But they don’t want to touch their own.”

In the same interview, Joyce said he and the federal government are “happy with our targets, with the negotiations the Nationals had with the Liberals. We said we wouldn’t be changing our 2030 targets.”

TL;DR: Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister mocked the COP26 president for getting emotional during an interview with the ABC, claiming he was faking it.

Also November 15: ScoMo confirms he won’t change Australia’s climate policy.

The COP26 specifically named Australia for our poor climate policies in a final communiqué, and urged us (among other countries) to “revisit and strengthen the 2030 targets in their nationally determined contributions, as necessary to align with the Paris Agreement temperature goal by the end of 2022”.

While the communiqué is worded as a request, the intent is a commitment to doing better for our planet, and Australia signed it.

Yet, over the weekend of November 13-14, Health Minister Greg Hunt, Foreign Minister Marise Payne, and emissions reduction Minister Angus Taylor all stuck to Australia’s previously stated 2030 goals. The latter two issued a statement claiming Australia’s target was “fixed”.

Speaking the following Monday (November 15), Morrison answered questions about Australia’s confusing position on climate policy by saying the final communiqué was just a “request” and that Australia would be sticking with its original targets of cutting 26-28 per cent of emissions by 2030.

In the same press conference, Morrison once again claimed that despite these official targets, “we are going to achieve a 35 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030 … That’s what we’re going to achieve and that’s what actually matters”.

When asked why he wouldn’t just make that the official target, he responded “Because our policy is to meet and beat – that’s what we do.”

TL;DR: As it stands, despite urging from COP26 to do better and unclear modelling for the plan, Australia will be sticking with the original climate policy.