The incredible shrinking ambition of Peter Dutton

Last week, Peter Dutton’s Liberal-National Coalition formally abandoned Australia’s legislated 2030 emissions reduction target.

When Scott Morrison was prime minister, the stated plan was for a 26-28 per cent reduction of 2005 level emissions by 2030. After Mr Morrison lost government (and a series of blue ribbon seats) over inadequate climate policies, amongst other things, new leader Peter Dutton spoke about a 35 per cent reduction, as opposed to Labor’s vaunted 43 per cent.

Now… nothing. Apparently Australia is going to magically reach net zero in 2050 without slowing down decades earlier. This flies in the face of science, economics and reality.

Respected climate scientist Dr Joelle Gergis has recently warned that on current trends we will breach 1.5 degrees Celsius as soon as 2028, with a further two degrees of warming expected to be reached in the following decade.

‘The consequences of such high levels of warming on the Australian way of life and on our national security, health and unique ecosystems are profound and immeasurable,’ says Dr Gergis.

‘Australia is in peril, and yet the consequences of a warming planet on our sunburnt country are still poorly understood by most people outside of the scientific community, let alone by our government.

‘What happens every single month during the next handful of years is crucial.’

Cold calculation

For Peter Dutton and his colleagues, their latest edging away from the Paris Agreement is a cold calculation that future catastrophe can be ignored in favour of political short-termism.

With large swathes of the country becoming uninsurable due to the climate crisis, and famine, war and chaos on the horizon for those alive now, and even worse in store for generations to come, Dutton and friends are going to talk up their nuclear fig leaf while fossil fuelled business as usual continues, and renewable energy initiatives are thrown back into uncertainty.

Instead of doing the job of opposition, and forcing the ALP to raise its own inadequate targets (a 56 per cent reduction by 2030 is actually required as a minimum), it seems we are going to return to the absurd climate wars, and pretend Australians are facing a choice between cost of living issues and doing something real about the climate emergency.

Unachievable?

The Coalition claims that 43 per cent is unachievable, which may be true, but significant progress has already been made, despite the stranglehold of old energy industries on the Australian political system and media.

Recent data shows that Australia’s emissions have fallen 29 per cent on 2005 levels, thanks largely to national renewable energy targets, and the investments of ordinary Australians in rooftop solar.

Peter Dutton’s argument that doing more would destroy the economy is unfounded, and hypocritical.

Is it okay to destroy the economy to save the climate in 2050, but not now? Does he really believe Australians will accept and fund nuclear power stations all over the country within the short time frame required? Or is the Coalition planning to abandon net zero as well in its next announcement? Perhaps when Barnaby Joyce gets control of the energy portfolio?

Australia’s international reputation is under threat as we potentially join countries like Libya, Yemen and Iran in their rejection of the Paris Agreement, which is what this backsliding amounts to, no matter how the opposition dresses it up.

Will fear or science win?

With rationality being abandoned with each new announcement, Peter Dutton appears to be gambling everything on a belief that Australians are as small in their ambition and understanding as himself.

He has proven himself entirely unfit to lead a major political party, let alone this extraordinary country.

Originally from Canberra, David Lowe is an award-winning film-maker, writer and photographer with particular interests in the environment and politics. He’s known for his campaigning work with Cloudcatcher Media.