Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has criticised the Liberal Party for its failure to act on climate change, saying it has proven 'incapable' of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In an interview with The Australian, Turnbull said his biggest regret as prime minister was the rejection of his national energy policy.
Turnbull blamed climate change scepticism from a group of denialists within his party for the policy's failure, which he said led to higher power bills and increased emissions. 'The Liberal Party has just proved itself incapable of dealing with the reduction of greenhouse gases in any sort of systemic way,' he said.
Turnbull's national energy policy aimed to create a framework for mixing traditional generators and renewable energy sources, but it was scrapped after he was ousted as prime minister in August 2018. He argued that Australia needs effective rules to govern its energy market and ensure a low-cost transition from fossil fuels to renewables.
In contrast, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has insisted his government is on track to meet its Paris agreement commitments, despite total emissions rising year on year since 2015. At the UN General Assembly last month, Morrison rejected criticism of his government's climate action, saying Australia is 'successfully balancing our global responsibilities with sensible and practical policies'.
Turnbull called for the science behind climate change to be recognised, stating that denying it is 'just denying reality'. He warned that without a national energy policy, Australians are paying higher electricity prices and producing more emissions, describing the situation as a 'lose-lose'.
