Climate Minister Chris Bowen says no point in emissions targets without a plan for cuts

Climate Minister Chris Bowen has rubbished proposals from the Greens to more than double the level of emissions cuts in five years, saying whatever is set must be both ambitious and achievable.

The minister has pledged that Australia’s next target for cutting emissions will come with a plan for achieving it.

Without a plan, there was no point naming a number, he told The West in a sit-down interview.

Under the Paris Agreement rules, countries must submit their updated targets for cutting emissions out to 2035 by February 10 next year.

Australia has to promise to go further than its existing 43 per cent cut by 2030.

The timing of this deadline means any fight over where the level should be set will likely be caught up in the election campaign, although Mr Bowen dodged a question about how that would impact his thinking by saying he didn’t know when the election would be.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton won’t include either 2030 or 2035 targets in his pitch to voters.

The Greens want Australia to reach net zero emissions — or a 100 per cent cut — by 2035 while independent Zali Steggall this week said she wanted a 75 per cent target.

Mr Bowen said many figures were floated but no one yet had a plan for how to achieve the cuts.

“I can put 75 or 100 or, you know, 80, but until and unless you can explain how you’ve got to achieve it… it’s not going to happen just by accident,” he said.

“There’s no point having a 100 per cent target by 2035 if you’ve got no idea how you’re going to do it.

“There’s also no point having a target which is pretty much business as usual, don’t need to change any behaviour, don’t need to do anything.”

An intense focus on electricity wasn’t the answer either, he said.

“You can have the best plan in the world to get electricity emissions down but unless you’re dealing with industry and transport and agriculture and the built environment and the resources sector, you’re not going to get anywhere near some of those figures that I’ve seen.”

The latest quarterly emissions data showed an uptick in pollution in Australia, but Mr Bowen insisted the nation was still ont ract to reach the legislated 43 per cent in cuts by 2030.

The Climate Change Authority, now led by former NSW Liberal minister Matt Kean, will give the Government advice by the end of December on where Australia should set its sights for the next step in emissions reductions.

Earlier this year, its chief executive Brad Archer said the evidence suggested a target between 65 per cent and 75 per cent would be ambitious but achievable if governments, businesses, households and investors stepped up.

Mr Bowen has to consider the CCA’s advice and then persuade cabinet to agree to his recommendation.

He is also talking to international counterparts to work out where other countries will land.

His watchwords are ambitious and achievable, robust and responsible.

“These targets are pretty important for the country because they send the message to investors that we’re serious,” he said.

Mr Bowen acknowledged there would be “lumpiness” in WA’s track to cutting pollution, with the State’s emissions expected to increase before they go down because of the expansion in mining and processing of critical minerals needed for the world’s energy transition.

While many people focuses on energy, Mr Bown said there was significant work to be done in helping households cut their emissions while agriculture would be the hardest sector to shift.

Industry was close to “cracking the answer” in dealing with methane from sheep and cows at a technical level, but the practicalities of implementing that at scale would be challenging.

“Electrifying farms is hard work. We have a big job to roll out EV chargers let alone helping farmers with electric tractors, et cetera,” Mr Bowen said.

“There’s no sort of magic bullet waiting there to be fired on agriculture.”