Net Zero hides a truth the mining giants understand perfectly: nothing has to change

Like the term ‘housing affordability’, ‘net zero’ has become one of those phrases that politicians are expected to commit to, even if no real action follows. And while it’s easy to see the damage the Liberals are doing to themselves over their reluctance to commit to this two word slogan, they could simply copy Labor: promise the slogan and change nothing. The fossil fuel expansionists in Labor can’t believe their luck.

Labor’s support for net zero has not stood in the way of them simultaneously supporting new coal mines, new gas projects, a new gas fired power station , and spending billions per year subsiding the mining industries enormous thirst for diesel fuel.

To be clear, I’m all for climate action. I’m desperate to see Australia stop expanding fossil fuel exports, stop subsiding enormous utes, stop native forest logging and start taking climate action seriously. But Labor faces no pressure while the Coalition fights over the symbolism of a slogan.

The reason Labor loves terms like housing affordability and net zero is that, like beauty, the definition is in the eye of the beholder. And while many Australians may sincerely see ‘net zero’ as shorthand for ambitious climate action, Labor Minsters clearly do not.

For example:

Tanya Plibersek supports net zero and approved seven new coal projects. And as Environment Minister, never once asked the Parliament to give her stronger laws if she felt she lacked the power to stop them.

Her successor Murray Watt supports net zero, and even though he has only been in the job since May, he has already approved Glencore’s Ulan coal project and the enormous North West Shelf gas extension to 2070. He has also ruled out a climate trigger that would give him the power to stop such projects, but why ask for powers you have no intention of using.

Needless to say the Climate Minister, Chis Bowen supports net zero even though he has spent more time defending Australia’s carbon offset schemes than criticising the fossil fuel industry. He has even mocked calls for no new gas or coal mines as ‘a slogan not a policy’ despite it being the UN’s recommended approach and Colombia hosting an international summit for countries to discuss that exact policy.

And then there is Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Despite a huge parliamentary majority and strong public support, our net zero supporting Prime Minister hasn’t criticised a single fossil fuel project, proposed a single fossil fuel subsidy be abolished or even just called for the end to the logging of Australia’s beautiful and unique native forests.

Supporting net zero is a lot easier than defining it. The maths behind net zero is easy; in theory, if carbon removals from tree growth or carbon capture and storage match emissions, then net zero works.

But the problem isn’t the maths. It’s the biology, the economics and the bullshit. Let’s start with the biology: if we don’t start rapidly reducing fossil fuel use there simply isn’t enough land on the planet to plant enough trees to absorb all the coal and gas that as Environment Ministers, Murray Watt and Tanya Plibersek have approved for export.

Then there’s the cost. No one has invented a cheaper way to collect CO2 and bury it than a tree, but the best place to grow lots of trees is where we currently grow food. So if we turn over all of our best agricultural land to sequester carbon, where will the food be grown and how much more will it cost? (And did I mention we are still logging native forests in Australia?)

And then there’s the bullshit. So-called carbon offset projects have been found to overstate the amount of carbon they store or to be just outright fraud countless times. But needless to say all the net zero fans in the Albanese Government are 100 percent confident in Australian carbon offsets even though Chris Bowen’s ClimateActive review is a year overdue.

In short, just like the meaningless pursuit of housing affordability by politicians who don’t actually want house prices to fall, for our political class ‘net zero’ is a slogan not a policy. And while Labor’s support for net zero creates no danger for the fossil fuel industry, it creates significant danger for our democracy as millions of voters are tricked into believing that they are voting to tackle climate change, when in reality they are voting for fossil fuel expansion.

But the longer the Liberals tear themselves to pieces over the symbolism of net zero, the longer Labor will avoid scrutiny over the disparity between what they say, and what they actually do.

Richard Denniss is co-chief executive of think-tank, the Australia Institute.