Scott Morrison attacks New Zealand’s climate change policy

Scott Morrison has attacked New Zealand’s climate change policy in response to questions about setting Australia as a goal of net zero emissions.

Australia’s prime minister faces mounting pressure to set the target following the election of Joe Biden as president of the United States.

When asked by journalists if he would change Australia’s approach to climate change policies in the wake of Biden’s victory, Morrison noted that New Zealand’s net zero emissions target for 2050 only refers to carbon and leaves out methane, a greenhouse gas that traps 30 times more. heat like CO2, the Daily Mail reported.

“There are many countries that have made commitments in this area, but they have also made them with qualifications,” he told reporters today.

“For example, in New Zealand, their commitment to 2050 excludes methane. So they basically exclude agriculture and forestry, which are about half of their emissions.”

New Zealand’s Zero Carbon Bill was passed last year with the support of nearly all of Parliament, led by the coalition government of Jacinda Ardern.

The bill aimed to reduce methane emissions between 24 and 47 percent of 2017 levels by 2050.

Methane emissions from animals such as sheep and cattle account for about a third of New Zealand’s total emissions. The agricultural sector has been critical of measures to restrict methane emissions, saying it will hurt the economy.

Morrison has refused to follow other countries, including China, South Korea, Japan, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and the European Union in setting a net zero carbon emissions target to combat global warming.

Biden has said he favors a net zero goal by 2050, leaving Australia even more isolated on the issue.

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese said he would adopt a zero net goal if Labor became the government.

“Australia is now isolated among our main trading partners,” Albanese said.

Morrison said he would not give in to international pressure.

“Australia will always set its policies based on Australia’s interests,” he said.

He said he wanted to achieve net zero emissions, but he feared a goal could hurt the economy and threaten thousands of jobs in the fossil fuel industries.

“I owe it to the Australians that if we make those commitments, I have to be able to explain how we got there and how much it would cost,” he said.

“Our goal is to achieve [net-zero] as soon as I can, but we will do so on the basis of a technology roadmap. “