“We’ve got to be in the debate because if we’re not in the debate then the solutions will be imposed on us,either from the left or from overseas,” he said.
“This isn’t about whether we get to net zero by 2050,it’s about how we get there.”
Fellow Liberal Trent Zimmerman,who represents North Sydney,said Australia should back the target because it was vital for lowering global emissions and important to Australia’s international standing.
“If we were left behind,the sector that would suffer as much as any other would be agriculture,” he said.
Victorian Liberal Tim Wilson said he wanted to “go further” on climate.
“The Coalition was elected on a commitment on net zero in the second half of the century... and I’m looking forward to driving that further through technology,not taxes,” he said.
Mr Joyce warned in February that the Nationals would “cease to be a party that could credibly represent farmers” if it endorsed net zero emissions,but he has not declared his policy since beingrestored to the leadership on Monday.
With no decisions announced on who will be promoted to cabinet or when the Coalition agreement may be signed,most Nationals avoided public comment and side-stepped questions on policy.
Sources close to Mr Morrison believe the Nationals will negotiate on net zero rather than block the target.
The argument over the Coalition debate comes as Labor displays its divisions on another climate issue,with outspoken backbencher Joel Fitzgibbonslamming a party decision to vote against government rules to change the Australian Renewable Investment Agency.
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Mr Fitzgibbon said it was “ideological craziness” for Labor to join with the Greens to block the changes,which seek to add $192 million to the ARENA budget but also expand its investment remit so it can put money into carbon capture and storage projects.
Labor and the Greens joined forces in the Senate on Tuesday night toveto the changes,with Greens leader Adam Bandt criticising the plan to use the renewable agency to support carbon capture,which he regards as an unproven technology that supports coal and gas projects.
Energy Minister Angus Taylor said the increased investment in new technology would help reduce emissions. He is expected to issue similar changes within a week,a move that dares the Senate to try to disallow the regulations again.
Mr Entsch said Australia should back the stronger target before the United Nations climate summit in Glasgow in early November.
“The Nationals might prefer net zero just went away,but the reality is that serious policy decisions need to happen before November,” he said,in an opinion piece published inThe Sydney Morning Herald andThe Age.
“Australia will have to front up on the world stage and announce our long-term emissions reduction strategy along with strengthened 2030 interim targets and a net zero 2050 target at a minimum.”
The remarks heighten the debate over the government policy to cut emissions by 26 to 28 per cent by 2030 when the United States has a target of 52 per cent by the same year.
Mr Entsch warned of international action,through policies like carbon tariffs to raise the price of Australian exports,if the government did not join other countries in setting higher targets.
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“There’s no doubt in my mind the fossil fuel industry has had a free ride on emissions,it is high time they got their boot off the neck of farmers and started pulling their own weight,” Mr Entsch said.
“The question that Barnaby and the Nationals need to answer is:when the chips are down,who do they actually support and listen to? Their farming constituencies or mining and gas executives?”
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