Nationals senator Matt Canavan has claimed the Coalition is “on the cusp” of abandoning its net zero emissions target, urging energy minister Sussan Ley to follow Peter Dutton’s approach from the Indigenous voice referendum. The comments come amid growing pressure from conservative voices to scrap the 2050 goal entirely.
Canavan addressed the conservative political conference Cpac, saying the Coalition could soon walk away from the emissions reduction target set under former prime minister Scott Morrison. He suggested Ley should openly campaign against net zero, drawing inspiration from Dutton’s leadership during the voice referendum.
“I think we’re on the cusp of the Liberal and National parties walking away from net zero,” Canavan said at Cpac. “The last rites are being administered right now. It may take a year, but we only needed two hours this week to oppose the emission target, so that’s a good start.”
Shadow energy minister Dan Tehan is overseeing the Coalition’s internal process to review energy policies, including net zero. Ley recently stated the party would not commit to specific timelines while refining its approach.
“We do take climate action seriously and believe Australia should reduce emissions, but not at any cost,” Ley said in a press briefing. She also indicated the Coalition would not adopt 2030 or 2035 emissions targets while in opposition, emphasizing that such pledges should only be made when the party returns to government.
Some net zero skeptics, including Canavan and former prime minister Tony Abbott, argue that bypassing short-term targets could require abandoning the 2050 goal entirely. They claim achieving the long-term net zero aspiration without interim milestones would demand extreme reforms.
At Cpac, Canavan urged colleagues to call out net zero as “the emperor with no clothes,” comparing the political strategy to Dutton’s decisive stance on the Indigenous voice referendum. “The public didn’t change their mind on the voice until Peter Dutton showed leadership. Once he took a position, the polls shifted. The same can happen with net zero,” Canavan said.
Other conservative figures joined the call to scrap net zero. Abbott, recently demoted Liberal senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, and senator Alex Antic all spoke at Cpac advocating for the 2050 target’s removal. Liberal deputy leader Ted O’Brien faced repeated heckling from attendees demanding the Coalition drop the goal.
Ley did not appear on the Cpac speaker lineup. Angus Taylor, defeated in a leadership ballot by Ley, delivered a brief video message, while Andrew Hastie, another potential leadership contender, was frequently praised. Canavan highlighted Hastie’s threat to resign from the shadow frontbench if net zero remained, receiving a standing ovation.
Energy minister Chris Bowen criticized the Nationals and other right-wing figures, accusing them of exploiting climate issues for political gain. He warned that ignoring recent climate risk assessments undermines regional Australia and spreads dangerous disinformation.
Abbott claimed Labor’s 62–70% emissions reduction target by 2035 could be politically disastrous and economically harmful, urging the Liberals to campaign on climate issues. “Every time the Coalition has run an election on climate and energy, we have succeeded. Every time we ‘me too-ed’ Labor, we did badly,” Abbott said.
Price labeled the climate target as “communism” and urged the Liberals to resist what she called freedom-eroding policies.
The internal debate within the Coalition highlights the growing tension between conservative hardliners and more centrist figures, with net zero now at the center of a high-stakes political strategy. The coming months may determine whether the party formally abandons its 2050 emissions goal or continues a cautious, measured approach while in opposition.
