Former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has launched a scathing attack on his own party after it abandoned its 2050 net zero emissions target, accusing the opposition of running "a Trumpian campaign against renewables" that shows it doesn't take climate change seriously.
Internal Party Divisions Exposed
The dramatic policy reversal has exposed deep rifts within the Liberal Party, with conservative MPs celebrating the decision while moderates fear it will damage their chances of winning back urban electorates. The party has also committed to unwinding Labor's 2035 emissions reduction targets and renewable energy pledges if returned to power.
Turnbull, who was unseated by right-wing MPs in a 2018 party room coup partly over energy and climate policy, didn't mince words in his criticism. "This is what happens when you outsource your policy development to Sky News and the right wing media echo chamber," he told Guardian Australia.
The former PM warned that "no amount of nuance or qualifying footnotes" would change the public perception that the parliamentary party has abandoned climate action, describing his colleagues as having "the memory of goldfish and the dining habits of piranhas."
Mixed Reactions Across Political Spectrum
The policy shift has been warmly welcomed by right-wing campaign group Advance, which had been pushing the Coalition to ditch net zero. The group's director Matthew Sheahan emailed supporters calling the change "a major victory in the fight to take back the country from the activists and elites."
Nationals leader David Littleproud claimed the Liberal policy "mirrors" his own party's position and expressed optimism about upcoming negotiations to settle a unified Coalition stance. "We believe in climate change. We believe that we need to do something about it. That we should do our fair share," he stated.
Within Liberal ranks, conservative Queensland MP Garth Hamilton called the move a "great win from the backbench," while fellow MP Leon Rebello suggested the Coalition believed it had social licence to abandon the targets.
Environmental and Economic Concerns
Environmental groups reacted with alarm to the policy change. The Australian Conservation Foundation accused the Liberals of having "given up on climate action, caved to global fossil fuel giants" and condemned Australians to more extreme weather events.
The Climate Council warned that "walking away from net zero aligns with more than 3°C of global heating and would spell disaster for Australia's climate, economy and household bills," despite deputy leader Sussan Ley's claims that the Liberals still backed the Paris agreement's intent.
Tony Wood, energy and climate change senior fellow at the Grattan Institute, raised concerns about investor confidence, noting that "business groups have been consistently calling for predictability and clarity around climate policy." He questioned how the proposed approach would reduce emissions or lower prices.
The policy shift represents a significant victory for right-wing Liberal MPs over the moderate faction, with key moderates including Tim Wilson, Andrew Bragg, Maria Kovacic and Dave Sharma having previously raised alarms about the electoral repercussions of dumping the target.
