Australia has joined the world in promising to make the nation carbon-neutral by 2050, ahead of a global climate change summit.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Photo: AFP
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the plan to reach net zero would see more than $NZ20.9 billion invested in "low emissions technologies", by 2030.
They include soil carbon sequestration - where carbon is removed from the atmosphere and stored in soil - carbon capture and storage (CCS), production of low-emissions steel, and other ways to reduce energy use.
The plan also includes using "clean hydrogen" to lower fuel emissions and a "new priority" for the government to deliver "ultra-low-cost solar" power below $15 per megawatt-hour.
Hydrogen is seen by the government as a potentially zero-emission fuel, but getting it in a pure and useable form involves processes that can produce a lot of emissions.
Only "green" hydrogen is produced entirely through renewable power and has zero emissions. The government's plan for "clean hydrogen" will see fuel made using both renewables and energy from gas.
As for CCS, while the government believes real progress is being made on the technologies involved, many climate scientists believe it is not a serious alternative to wind and solar power.
The Climate Council has said using it would be an attempt to prolong the use of fossil fuels.
The combination of the government's selected technologies is expected to reduce emissions by 85 percent, with the remaining 15 percent to be achieved through future technologies.
"That 15 percent will come from the evolution and momentum that is generated by those earlier technological developments," Morrison said.
However, unlike the existing commitment to cut emissions by 2030, the net zero by 2050 target will not be enshrined in law.
Morrison has previously said reducing emissions relied on technology and not "political commitments".
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese criticised the plan, saying it contained no new policies.
"Scott Morrison left it to the last possible minute to outline a scam that leaves everything to the last possible minute," he said.
"The word plan doesn't constitute a plan, no matter how often [Morrison] said it.
"As always, with this Prime Minister, it is all about marketing."
Shadow Energy Minister Chris Bowen said he had "seen more detail in fortune cookies".
"It requires leadership and detailed plans but all we have today was the slides [and] slogans," he said.
On track to beat 2030 target, Morrison says
The latest projections show Australia is on track to cut emissions by 30 to 35 percent by 2030.
However, Morrison said the formal target of a 26 to 28 percent reduction would remain unchanged.
Energy Minister Angus Taylor said the jump in forecast emissions reductions was in large part because of the "rapid" uptake of solar energy.
"We are world leaders in solar," he said.
"One in four houses [have it]. No other country in the world is at that level."
"We have seen extraordinary investments, world-beating investments in renewables increasingly dominated by solar in the last couple of years, and that has played an important role."
Taylor said improving energy efficiency and changes to land use in agricultural areas were the other major factors behind the 2030 improvement.
Morrison will attend the United Nations COP26 climate conference in Glasgow next week where he will confirm the government's net zero position.
Government says jobs will be created in mining, heavy industry
The plan came after the Nationals confirmed they would give "in-principle" support to the target earlier this week, after lengthy negotiations.
The government is estimating 62,000 jobs will be created in regional mining and heavy industry jobs, as the global demand for metals used in renewable technology and natural gas - what it describes as a "critical transition fuel" - continues to increase.
As part of the deal to secure the Nationals support, the Productivity Commission will review the new plan every five years to measure the impact reducing emissions has on regional communities.
"That will monitor the impact, the socio-economic impact, of our plans into the future," Morrison said.
"So I can say to rural and regional Australians this is a good plan for you. It's a good plan for all Australians."
Taylor said the plan reflected the fact that customer and investor demands were changing and the government needed to adapt to meet those needs.
He described the plan as an "actively achievable pathway".
- ABC