Coalition Proposes Abolishing Net Zero Targets to Lower Power Bills

The Coalition announced a new energy and climate policy package on Wednesday, pledging to introduce a bill within 30 days if it wins the upcoming election. The plan seeks to lower power bills by abolishing several existing environmental policies, including the mid-century net zero emissions goal, the vehicle efficiency standard for new cars, and the safeguard mechanism used to limit industrial pollution.

As part of the proposal, the Coalition intends to repeal the current ban on nuclear energy. It also plans to replace the Labor government's capacity investment scheme with a new model that would permit public funding for nuclear generation and fossil fuels. Coalition representatives Angus Taylor and Matt Canavan argued that current renewable energy targets have driven up electricity costs.

Critics and experts disputed these claims, suggesting that recent price hikes resulted from domestic coal outages and global gas price surges following the Russian invasion of Ukraine rather than domestic climate policy.