Photo by Matti Rusch on Unsplash
By Mark Kenny
A version of this article was originally published by The Canberra Times.
Among the many things absent from the Liberal Party's about-face on net zero was a mea culpa for pushing it under Scott Morrison's prime ministership in Glasgow in 2021.
Don't forget, the Coalition then took the 2050 commitment to the next two federal elections, the latest of which was this very year.
In fact, had Peter Dutton's oddly configured tilt prevailed in May, coalitionists might be feverishly delivering on their solemn green pledge right now.
Six unhappy months later, however, they insist "Labor's" 2050 target is ruinous for households and an affront to the national interest.
The cynicism of this reversal will do nothing to restore conservative credibility with voters, especially younger ones.
As someone noted earlier in the day, they haven't just lost the next election, they've probably lost a generation.
A favourite justification for pulling back is that Australia shouldn't move to cut emissions because other countries aren't doing so. This is wrong.
As academics with climate, environmental and mathematical expertise noted on Thursday: "...our new global snapshot of carbon dioxide emissions and carbon sinks shows at least 35 countries have a plan to decarbonise," Canadell, et al. wrote for The Conversation.
"Australia, Germany, New Zealand and many others have shown statistically significant declines in fossil carbon emissions during the past decade, while their economies have continued to grow ... many countries that have submitted new emissions commitments to 2035 have shown increased ambition."
But Thursday's announcement wasn't really about facts or the intricate interplay between climate and energy policy, it was about right-wing politics. More specifically, it was about internal competition and the perceived need for differentiation from Labor. To hardliners, net-zero translates to Labor-lite.
As it had on the Voice and on nuclear energy, the senior party in the Coalition, the Liberal Party, has fallen into line with the junior Nationals.
Yet even its leader, David Littleproud, seems beholden to forces beneath him because, on trenchant opposition to net zero, Littleproud was falling into line with recalcitrants like Barnaby Joyce.
That's right, the guy who warned of $100 roasts under Labor's carbon price more than a decade ago, still swings more lead on the right than the leader of the opposition.
Sussan Ley had little choice. She survives to fight another day, but as for her hopes of "meeting Australian voters where they are", well, that looks more doomed than ever.
Mark Kenny is the Director of the ANU Australian Studies Institute and host of the Democracy Sausage podcast.