Nationals abandon net zero by 2050, testing Coalition unity

The National Party voted on Saturday to abandon its formal commitment to reaching net zero emissions by 2050, a decision that increases pressure on the Liberal Party as it prepares separate meetings to settle its energy and climate position. The move by delegates at the Nationals Federal Council in Canberra compels the party’s parliamentary wing to consider the same position and sets up a potential rupture in the Coalition unless the Liberals agree a compromise.

Nationals leader David Littleproud said the party would pursue what he described as a “cheaper, better, fairer” approach to reducing emissions, tied to shorter term international benchmarks and focused on protecting jobs and lowering energy costs. The new platform endorses flexible measures including reviving an Emissions Reduction Fund, underwriting existing coal and gas plants through a capacity investment scheme, lifting the moratorium on nuclear power and tying Australia’s cuts to the OECD average. A report cited by the party suggested such an approach would deliver a roughly 30 percent emissions reduction by 2035, compared with the Albanese government’s 62 to 70 percent 2035 target.