Australia sets 2050 target for net-zero carbon emissions

SYDNEY • Australia, one of the world's top per-capita polluters, yesterday finally agreed to a plan to zero out its carbon emissions by 2050. Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the target days before he is scheduled to head to Europe for Group of 20 talks and then the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

It follows a new round of fractious domestic debate on climate policy, an issue that has riven Australia's politics for over a decade and comes after pressure from allies including the United States on Canberra to show more urgency in action to limit global warming.

"We will set a target to achieve net zero by 2050, and have a clear plan for achieving it," Mr Morrison said in an e-mailed statement. "We won't be lectured by others who do not understand Australia. The Australian Way is all about how you do it, and not if you do it. It's about getting it done."

The government will stick with 2030 goals that have been criticised by activists and business leaders alike as too weak, adding to the sense that timid pledges from developed nations are stifling prospects for major progress at the climate talks.

Mr Morrison yesterday reiterated that Australia was on track to "meet and beat" its target and that he would provide an update on progress in Glasgow.

Australia is a top supplier of fossil fuels, and the sector accounts for almost a quarter of its export earnings. The nation is being looked at to help show leadership that will encourage developing countries to step up their efforts. Saudi Arabia, the biggest oil exporter, last Saturday pledged to hit net zero by 2060.

Mr Morrison has often ruled out taxes for polluters, and backed the country's top emitters to devise the best solutions to help Australia hit net zero. His government has not ruled out subsidising new coal-fired power stations, with the fuel still responsible for the bulk of the nation's electricity generation. That is a blow for COP president Alok Sharma, who has struggled to win momentum to "consign coal to history".

Nations like Australia and China, which is lifting coal output to ease an energy crisis, have resisted calls to phase out more quickly their fuel consumption.

While every Australian state and territory - and key trading partners China, Japan and South Korea - have committed to net-zero emissions, a national target is politically complicated for Mr Morrison, who must hold elections by May and whose coalition trails behind the main Labor opposition in opinion polls.

Lawmakers within the National Party, the junior member of Australia's governing coalition, have raised concerns over the threat to rural jobs, particularly in coal-mining communities, from an energy transition and demanded a series of concessions in return for their support.

BLOOMBERG