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“It’s a long-term shift,not a short-term shock.
“The world signalled its ambition when more than 190 parties committed at Paris to keep the rise in average global temperatures to below two degrees.
“This has been followed by 129 countries committing to reaching net zero emissions by 2050.
“As a result,trillions of dollars are being mobilised globally in support of the transition.”
Mr Frydenberg,who is also the deputy leader of the Liberal Party,cites public comments from the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank,Guy Debelle,about seeing climate events as a permanent change for the world economy and not a cyclical shift.
The speech,to be delivered to an Australian Industry Group forum on Friday,followscomments from Liberals including Dave Sharma,Katie Allen and Andrew Bragg about changing government policy to adopt the net zero target before the UN summit.
Labor climate spokesman Chris Bowen has accused the government of leaving Australia exposed to trade costs,economic harm and environmental damage by failing to set more ambitious targets to cut emissions.
“That lack of ambition matters for us as a country,” he said last week.
“It exposes us to climate risks like more intense bushfires,as well as transition risks like global carbon tariffs.“
Mr Morrison’s stated policy is to reach net zero “preferably” by 2050 but leaders including United States President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnsonhave urged him to commit to the target.
A statement by the US and Australian foreign and defence ministers spoke of adopting new technologies to “make achievement of net zero emissions by 2050 possible” without saying it would be merely preferable.
The government’s formal goal is to cut emissions by 26 to 28 per cent by 2030 but it is likely to upgrade this at the Glasgow summit as well as embracing net zero,provided a deal can be struck with Mr Joyce and the Nationals.
Votersstrongly back the net zero target,with 60 per cent in favour,and this includes 57 per cent support among Coalition voters,according to the Resolve Political Monitor inThe Sydney Morning Herald andThe Age this week.
A key figure at the looming Glasgow talks,United Nations official Nigel Topping,said this week that Australia would lose if it “throws good money after bad” by backing coal and other fossil fuelsrather than cutting emissions.
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Mr Frydenberg will argue that the government has reduced emissions by more than 20 per cent since 2005 and that this means it is “clearly in sight” of reaching the official 2030 target,while also repeating claims about $20 billion in federal spending on the “technology investment roadmap” that is meant to make further cuts in emissions.
At 494.2 million tonnes,the nation’s emissions in the year to March were the lowest since 1990,according to government figures released on August 31.
Environmental groups dispute the figures,which include changes to land clearing under UN agreements to allow this in Australian calculations,but Energy Minister Angus Taylor saidthe official statistics showed emissions have fallen 20.8 per cent below the levels of 2005.
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An analysis by the Climate Council found emissions saved byreductions to land clearing made up 111 million tonnes of the 122 million tonnes in reductions since 2005.
The government is yet to reveal what its emission cuts mean for different industry sectors,a sensitive issue given the argument over the cost for industry,but Mr Frydenberg argues it is wrong to assume a decline for industries like resources and agriculture.
“To the contrary,many businesses in these sectors are at the cutting-edge of innovation and technological change,” he says.
“Climate change and its impacts are not going away.
“It representsa structural and systemic shift in our financial system,which will only gain pace over time.
“For Australia,this presents risks we must manage and opportunities we must seize.
“That work is well underway,but there is still more to do.”
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