If we want strong climate action, we need to get the moderate Liberals on board

Extract from The Guardian

Opinion

Climate change

Erwin Jackson

Let’s bring the less conservative parts of the party closer to where most Australians and business have already arrived

@ErwinJackson1

Mon 27 Aug 2018 16.57 AEST Last modified on Mon 27 Aug 2018 17.02 AEST

Prime minister Scott Morrison, right, and deputy leader of the Liberal party, Josh Frydenberg, on Friday. Photograph: Andrew Taylor/AP

The inability of the federal Coalition to do more on climate change is not simply a failure of politics. It is partly a reflection on those of us who want more action to cut emissions. The political events over the last week have again reinforced the need for business and civil society to work with and strengthen the moderates in the Liberal party to deliver more effective long-term climate action.
The more conservative parts of the Coalition have made a public sport of railing against any action on climate change. Having spent time talking to the Coalition membership base, I can understand why the people in the party who want action on climate change struggle so much. The deep ideological views of some conservatives will never be bridged by any logical or rational argument.

However, in the long-term this is not the core issue. To deliver an effective and enduring centre-right policy on climate change, we cannot simply bludgeon the more conservative parts of the Coalition into submission. We need to bring the moderate parts of the party closer to where most Australians and business have already arrived.

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In June, the Lowy Institute released their annual poll on community attitudes, which found that around 60% of the population agreed that global warming is a serious problem and we should begin taking immediate action even if it involves significant costs. This number of Australians holding this view has risen over 20 percent points since 2012. Similarly, even with the Coalition’s scare campaigns on renewable energy, Lowy also found over the last year support for renewables has increased (and support for coal has decreased).

Mainstream business also knows that investment in new coal plants in Australia, without a $25-$45 billion subsidy from the government, will not happen. Even with a subsidy on this scale, mainstream investors are unlikely to touch a new coal plant with a barge pole.

"We cannot simply bludgeon the more conservative parts of the Coalition into submission"

This reflects the growing mood of global capital. In 2017, global investment in renewable energy easily outstripped investment in coal, gas and nuclear power combined. Early this year, nearly 300 investors with nearly US$30tn in assets under management, began to engage with the companies they own to improve governance on climate change, curb pollution and strengthen climate-related financial disclosures. These investors manage capital equivalent to 25 times the size of the Australian economy.
Fueled by community experience of growing drought, bushfires and heatwaves it is clear that attitudes toward climate action are also changing on the ground. The recent concern about climate change and the benefits of renewable energy voiced by the farming community is already having an impact on the positioning on parts of the National Party.
Despite all this, the majority of moderate Liberals still remain largely silent at best (though earlier in the year Josh Frydenberg did point out to his colleagues that we live in a carbon constrained world). At worst, these moderates simply mimic the language of the more conservative factions of the party.

A deep understanding of the implications of failing to address climate change has not penetrated the Liberal party. In the electricity sector the costs of inaction are acute, but it is just the tip of the iceberg. Whether it is our response to drought or other climate extremes through to the trade implications of not doing our part under the Paris agreement, climate change will impact all of our lives in a very profound way.
Those of us who want strong climate action need to work more with the moderates so their positions better reflect what both the broader community and informed business want on this issue.
Assuming a real generational change can occur in the Liberal party, the results of last week are an opportunity to address this. This does not mean we don’t hold them to account for weak and damaging policies, but it does also mean we need to work harder with the moderates to build their power in the party so we can have a lasting and durable approach to climate action in this country.

• Erwin Jackson is senior climate change and energy advisor, Environment Victoria