Scott Morrison says Australia won’t be pressured on coal deadline ahead of COP26

A day before the COP26 summit is set to take place in Glasgow, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his government would not be pushed on a timeline to phase out the use of coal-fired power.

Mr Morrison is in Rome for the Group of 20 leaders’ summit which comes as Scotland prepares to host the COP26 climate talks on Sunday.

A draft communique from the G20 leaders notes: “We acknowledge the key relevance of achieving global net-zero greenhouse gas emissions or carbon neutrality by 2050”.

It comes as French President Emmanuel Macron encouraged Mr Morrison to adopt emission reduction measures “commensurate with the climate challenge” and cease production and consumption of coal.

Mr Morrison said Australia’s policy was “very clear” in that it would “not be engaged in those sort of mandates and bans” on coal.

“It won’t be the Australian government’s policy. All countries are coming at this task from different places, their economies are different. And as a global community, we’ve got to understand that,” he said after arriving in Rome on Friday evening.

“Developing countries have different challenges to those in Europe. Indeed, Australia’s economy in the shape and form of our economy is very different to many of those as well.”

The remarks follow a phone conversation with the French leader earlier in the week, the first since the diplomatic spat over a scrapped submarine deal.

Mr Morrison also rejected a call by his former colleague and now OECD secretary-general Mathias Cormann for the pricing of emissions to be adopted in a way that is “both effective and fair”.

“He’s there to represent the broader views of all the various members of the OECD there. He’s not there representing Australia’s interests. That’s my job,” the prime minister said of the speech by Mr Cormann, a former carbon tax sceptic.

“He’s focused on the policies and the measures that are considered within the forums of the OECD. It’s my job to represent Australia’s national interest, and I’m sure he has a deep understanding and appreciation of it.”

The Morrison government this week unveiled its plan to achieve net-zero emission by 2050 but will not be lifting its 2030 target of a pollution reduction of 26 to 28 per cent on 2005 levels.

“I’m sure the final communique will be worked through over the next few days and Australia’s policy on these issues are crystal clear,” the prime minister said.

On Friday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned global leaders that the climate talks could fail without renewed trust among G20 leaders, calling for “more ambition and more action”.

The comments came as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the host of the UN talks, gave a dire warning of what could happen if the world failed.

“We are not going to stop global warming in Rome or in this meeting in COP,” he told reporters aboard his plane to Rome.

“The most we can hope to do is slow the increase.”

Mr Morrison argues his plan will not put jobs or industries at risk or reduce the competitiveness of Australia’s exports, including agriculture.

However, he said the government was not blind to the fact some regional communities would face “challenges” as the world transitions to a low-carbon future.

The G20 nations represent more than 80 per cent of the world’s gross domestic product and three-quarters of global greenhouse gas emissions.

But leaders differ in approaches to the phasing out of fossil fuel subsidies, the use of coal and gas for power and how to tackle methane emissions.

Mr Morrison said COVID-19 continued to weigh on the world’s economies.

“When you’re talking about hitting net-zero emissions, it’s the same sort of challenge the world faced when you’re looking for a vaccine,” he said.

“It’s only through those solutions that all around the world will ultimately address this very big (climate) challenge.”

Leaders are expected to make a statement on climate financing for developing nations but the strength of the statement is yet to be resolved.

Mr Morrison plans to tell the summit Australia will play a role in sharing clean energy technologies with developing nations, especially in the Indo-Pacific region.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, Japan’s Fumio Kishida and Russian leader Vladimir Putin are expected to appear via video.

Mr Morrison will also discuss with G20 colleagues the issue of regulating social media, which he said can “be a tool that is used to harass and bully and cause great harm to others”.

“That is really our challenge as countries, to set out what our expectations are of digital platforms to ensure they are providing a safe environment for those who are using them.”

He will also take part in talks on how to help developing nations tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source: sbs.com.au