Nationals leader David Littleproud says 2030 emissions target would wreck economy

A 2030 target to reduce emissions would destroy the economy and will not be achieved Nationals leader David Littleproud says.

The Coalition has come out against the government’s 43 per cent emissions reduction target by the end of the decade, with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton under pressure to reveal his target before the next election.

Mr Dutton has said any coalition targets for 2030 would be revealed only after winning the next election.

Mr Littleproud said Australia would not opt out of the Paris climate agreement, signed by the former coalition government in 2015, but the current 2030 target was unsustainable.

“There’s never been any country asked to achieve the reductions by 2030, that would destroy any economy, and that’s happening to our economy at the moment,” he told ABC TV on Wednesday.

“The 2030 target is a moot point ... Australians need to understand that Australia will not achieve that.”

Opposition energy spokesman Ted O’Brien said the federal government target of 43 per cent was unlikely to be met.

“Right now, there is Buckley’s chance we can achieve 43 per cent,” he told Sydney radio station 2GB.

“Are we committed to Paris? Yes. Are we committed to net zero? Yes. But the question is, how we get there.”

Forecasts released by the Climate Change Authority in December showed Australia remained on track for a 42 per cent reduction in emissions.

Subsequent policies such as production tax credits for critical minerals are expected to make up the remaining one per cent needed to meet the target.

Mr O’Brien said the approach to meeting 2030 targets by the government had led to higher power prices.

“Labor have this all eggs in one basket, renewables only approach, (energy) prices now are among the highest now paid by Australians, they won’‘t achieve their targets,” he said.

“There’s a different way to do it, and that is a balanced energy mix, it’s renewables, it’s gas, and as coal comes out of the system, we need to replace it with zero-emissions, nuclear energy.”

The Coalition had been under fire for not revealing the locations of its proposed nuclear power plants, despite previously indicating they would be unveiled before May’s federal budget.

There has been speculation the plants would be built in communities where there are already coal and gas plants.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said any future coalition target to reduce emissions by 2030 would take Australia backwards.

“There’s no detail with any of the policy proposals they’ve put forward, just we’ll have some nuclear fantasy by 2040, and in the meantime, no plan to ensure energy security,” he told ABC Radio.

“If you don’t have a 2030 target, then you are pulling out of Paris, and you’re with Yemen, with Libya and you’re with Iran, now that is a cohort I do not want Australia to be with.”

Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said Australians were looking to move on from further climate wars.

“The science of climate change is accepted and the thing we need to do now is think about not only how we do the right thing by the planet, but how we do the right thing by the economy,” she told Seven’s Sunrise program.