Finally, Scomo is going on the attack. Rather than pandering to the climate lefties, good to see he is finally taking it up to them.
As reported in today's Australian.Scott Morrison has highlighted flaws in the Paris Agreement and argued it endorses “massive increases in emissions from some of the world’s largest and growing economies”, rebuffing calls to increase Australia’s climate targets in the wake of the bushfires.
In his first major speech of the year, the Prime Minister said there were obvious limitations in relation to what Australia could achieve in reducing carbon pollution as he defended the action being taken by his government.
Speaking at the National Press Club on Wednesday, Mr Morrison said developing nations — including China and India — could continue to increase emissions and the “only thing that matters is the cumulative impact of all countries”.
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Mr Morrison, who renewed pressure on the states to unlock gas reserves and endorsed the adoption of new technologies by the government to drive down emissions, said the climate gap between nations must be addressed.
“This tests the patience of people in countries like Australia, particularly in regional areas, who ask the question, why do their jobs have to be exported and their incomes exported to other countries while global emissions under those arrangements are allowed to rise for so many,” he said.
“You will also not reduce the number of coal-fired stations in the world today by forcing the shutdown of Australian coalmines and Australian jobs that go with them. Other countries will just buy the coal from somewhere else, often poorer quality with greater environmental and climate impacts.”
Mr Morrison, who delivered the speech in front of wife Jenny, cabinet ministers and corporate heavyweights, said “you won’t get emissions down in large developing countries through arbitrary target setting”.
“Quite rightly, they’re getting people out of poverty. The pathway to making meaningful impacts on global emissions reductions with these countries is through partnering with them on technological development, making it scalable, making it commercial, making it achievable.”
Reiterating his government’s Paris target commitment, reducing emissions by 26-28 per cent on 2005 levels by 2030, Mr Morrison said “getting access to our domestic gas supplies” was central to his focus on driving down prices and pollution.
The Australian understands a series of bilateral agreements on energy and emissions reductions with states and territories, headlined by a deal with the NSW government, would focus heavily on gas production and new power sources.
Victoria and NSW have applied restrictions on gas production in recent years, putting pressure on the east coast gas market and triggering a move towards implementing a domestic gas reservation policy.
Mr Morrison said “we need to get the gas from under our feet”.
“There is no credible energy transition plan for an economy like Australia, in particular, that does not involve the greater use of gas as an important transition fuel,” he said.
“There are plenty of other medium or long-term alternative fuel arrangements and prospects, but they will not be commercially scalable and available for at least a decade, is our advice.
“Gas has a critical role to play, as a backstop to our record investment in renewable energy generation. It helps ensure we can keep the lights on when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining. Sweating our existing coal-fired power generation assets will only take us so far.”
Mr Morrison said gas would help the nation “bridge the gap” while the commonwealth’s investments in batteries, hydrogen and pumped hydro-energy storage bring those technologies to “economic parity to traditional energy sources”.
He also singled out the US for achieving higher rates of emissions reduction than “many of the nations who are signatories to the Paris Agreement”.
“Between 2005 and 2017, US emissions fell by about 13 per cent. That’s just a click over what we have achieved, which is 12.8 per cent. This compared to about 2.4 per cent for Canada, 4.3 per cent for Japan.
“US firms are already building in climate risk and managing for it just as they are here in Australia. The US … substantially reduced their emissions in a large part because they have opened up their gas resources.
“Our economies will adjust. The market signals are already there. We have to give them the room to adjust and not cut off response options like in gas exploration and development that help them move forward.”
Asked about the budget impact of climate change disasters and the government’s pledge to deliver a surplus in May, Mr Morrison said investment in adaptation and resilience measures would mean the overall costs would be lower.
“It is taking out insurance for the climate in which we are living. It is a wise investment. Two per cent of your economy being invested in defence is a wise investment because it keeps Australia’s strategic interests secure and safe.
“We need to lay down the longer term investments, whether it is in how technology is being undertaken, the systems and process we have in place to manage the risk.”
Opposition climate change spokesman Mark Butler said Mr Morrison’s policies would lead to “three degrees of global warming”.
“Scott Morrison was again loose with the truth, repeating that his government is meeting and beating their climate targets,” Mr Butler said.
“Australians have seen through the course of this summer the damage that climate change is causing. Scott Morrison’s speech today confirms he has no plan to keep Australians safe from those impacts now or into the future.”
