‘Not over’: Liberal MPs fearing calamity in city electorates launch rearguard action to salvage net zero policy | Liberal party

Liberal MPs have launched a rearguard action to salvage their commitment to net zero emissions, with a warning that the party will “pay dearly in urban electorates” and undermine Australia’s international reputation if the Coalition abandons the target.

South Australian senator Andrew McLachlan says the internal campaign to preserve a net zero emissions policy is “not over” despite growing expectations the Liberals will follow the Nationals in abandoning the climate target.

McLachlan and moderate Liberals Andrew Bragg, Jane Hume and Maria Kovacic were publicly resisting the right-wing faction-led push on Tuesday to scrap not just the Scott Morrison-era pledge to reach net zero emissions by 2050, but any firm commitment to carbon neutrality.

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Tim Wilson also rejected suggestions his colleagues should align with the Nationals, saying the Liberals were not the “national party slimmed down” and would determine their own position.

A special meeting of the Liberal party is expected to be called later this month as Sussan Ley attempts to reignite a political brawl that has become a major threat to her leadership.

Although abandoning net zero would avoid a leadership challenge, possibly from right-wingers Angus Taylor or Andrew Hastie, it would cause serious misgivings from the MPs who helped her win the top job.

Maintaining a commitment to net zero emissions is a line in the sand for some Liberal MPs, who would consider splitting from the Nationals if the policy was scrapped altogether.

Bragg said Liberals would be better off sticking to the Nationals, but noted “there’s a reason you have divorce laws.”

McLachlan, Canberra’s most pro-climate Liberal, has warned colleagues about the potential cost of abandoning a net-zero emissions commitment, including at the polls.

Abandoning net-zero would put the Liberals even further behind on climate policy than under Morrison and Peter Dutton, whose emissions policies – or lack thereof – were seen as major factors in the loss of municipal seats to Labor and Teal Independents in the last two elections.

“Those who want to escape our global commitments seem to have convinced themselves that they can do so at no cost,” McLachlan said.

“If we give up on reaching net zero, we will pay dearly in terms of urban voters. Our reputation as a nation that keeps its promises will be diminished. Our friends in the Pacific will be betrayed.”

Bragg, Kovacic and Hume have all cited the need to maintain Australia’s obligations under the Paris Agreement to justify maintaining net zero emissions.

“Well, the Paris agreement is the red line here. You have to be a party to the Paris agreement, because if you weren’t, then you would be in a group of countries like Iran and Libya and maybe two or three others,” Bragg told ABC News Breakfast.

Kovacic said any break with the Paris climate agreement would damage Australia’s reputation around the world and hurt the economy.

Bragg is open to a compromise in which the Coalition commits to reaching net zero emissions after 2050, noting for the second day in a row that the text of the Paris Agreement states that net zero emissions should be achieved this century.

However, this stance would be a breach of Australia’s obligations under the Paris Agreement, which requires countries not to renege on their commitments.

The Albanian government has committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2050, with interim targets of 43% by 2030 and 62% to 70% by 2035, compared to 2005 levels.

Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen said net zero emissions by 2050 was not a “political construct… it’s a scientific requirement”.

“The LNP seems to think it knows better (than scientists around the world),” Bowen said.

“They know this better than the IPCC, which said if you want to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees, you need net zero emissions by 2050. It’s not a nice to have, it’s not a nice to have, it’s essential. Now it was bipartisan in Australia.”

At a joint meeting in the party hall on Tuesday morning, Liberal and National MPs were briefed on the process to address the Coalition’s net zero position before Christmas.

Shadow energy minister Dan Tehan said the process of reviewing his policy should conclude “shortly”, paving the way for a special meeting of the Liberal party, possibly to be held on November 23, before the final sitting week of the parliamentary year.

Once Tehan’s group reports to the Liberal leadership team, Liberal members of the shadow cabinet will review the findings before all Liberals have a chance to debate the issue.

Once this process is complete, Ley and Nationals leader David Littleproud are expected to meet to finalize a common coalition policy, which is expected to see net zero emissions policies scrapped.

Conservative South Australian Liberal MP Tony Pasin told the meeting he believed the two sides of the debate “were closer than people thought”.