Business and energy industry leaders have delivered a stark warning to the Coalition that abandoning Australia's net zero emissions target will fail to reduce power bills, directly challenging the core justification for the opposition's dramatic climate policy shift.
Industry Leaders Demand Policy Clarity
The chief executive of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Andrew McKellar, described the Coalition's new approach as "a bit of a plan not to have a plan", highlighting significant scepticism from the business community traditionally aligned with conservative politics.
Opposition leader Sussan Ley spent Monday promoting the strategy that includes completely abandoning any net zero target, dismantling the government's existing climate policies, increasing gas supply to the market, and extending the operational life of coal-fired power stations.
In a move that has angered moderate Liberals, the Coalition would permit the capacity investment scheme - currently limited to renewable energy and storage projects - to use taxpayer money to underwrite coal-fired power generation.
Power Price Promises Questioned
Ley insisted the "technology neutral" approach would deliver lower electricity costs, maintaining that Labor's policies remain responsible for current high energy bills.
"Power prices will come down under us, because downward pressure will be put on power prices," Ley told 2GB radio. "Now, I know people are going to ask me how much, but from where they will be when we get into government, if we're fortunate enough to be elected, you will see downward pressure from that point on."
However, Clean Energy Council chief executive Jackie Trad immediately challenged these claims, stating that abandoning net zero emissions targets "won't cut power bills or improve energy security."
"It simply undermines Australia as a stable investment environment and frustrates the credible plan to replace the coal units that are already shutting down," said Trad, a former Queensland state Labor minister.
Investment Reality Check
The Australian Energy Council released survey findings from chief executives of leading energy retailers, generators and investors that reaffirmed their commitment to net zero targets. The survey concluded that the "least cost, lowest impact pathway is an energy system dominated by renewables and firmed by battery storage, gas and pumped hydro."
Council chief executive Louisa Kinnear emphasised that renewable energy with appropriate backup would ultimately prove cheaper than investing in existing or new coal-fired power, though she stressed the transition required careful management.
McKellar identified several problems with the opposition's proposal, particularly the apparent contradiction with its stated support for the 2015 Paris agreement. The Coalition's pledge to eliminate climate targets would breach Australia's international obligations under the pact.
Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox told ABC's RN Breakfast that his organisation required "a lot more detail" about the policy.
"From conversations with a range of people over the past week, it seems that they're opening their way back up to more coal into the system," Willox observed. "If you were to go down that path, they take a long time to develop and there's been no investor appetite for new coal-fired powered stations now for a very long time because of the trajectory that we're on, and the pure economics of it."
He confirmed that industry had "by and large signed up to" achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
The Minerals Council of Australia's chief executive, Tania Constable, stated that the mining industry maintained "an ambition" to reach net zero emissions by 2050, though she described this as a "huge challenge" that required all technological options to remain available.
