The coalition’s energy policy to keep coal plants open and sideline renewables has been likened to fighting against gravity and reverting to the horse and buggy.
Liberal leader Sussan Ley and Nationals counterpart David Littleproud outlined the coalition’s new policy on Sunday, focusing on affordability rather than emissions reductions.
Shifting away from renewable energy by keeping coal plants open and underwriting energy investments including coal and gas with taxpayer funds are key planks of the coalition’s policy after dumping a net-zero emissions target.
The energy policy shift comes as new opinion polling shows coalition supporters jumping ship to One Nation and Labor and Ms Ley’s popularity plummeting to a record low.
“Our plan secures Australia’s energy future by putting affordability first,” Ms Ley told reporters in Sydney.
The coalition still sought to reduce carbon emissions but not at the expense of family or business budgets, she said.
Griffith University Associate Professor Joel Gilmore, an energy systems expert and member of the pro-renewables Climate Council, said net zero was the best way to reduce energy costs.
“It’s very clear that relying on coal and gas is going to be more expensive than renewables,” he told AAP.
“To fight against net zero is fighting against gravity.”
Under the coalition’s policy, interim emissions reduction targets are also opposed along with various Labor policies to bring down emissions.
These include a safeguard mechanism capping big polluters’ emissions and a scheme designed to encourage uptake of electric vehicles.
Australia was competing with many international markets for investment, so anything that damaged investment certainty was going to push up costs, Prof Gilmore said.
The coalition’s support for coal was concerning in terms of damaging climate change impacts and was not consistent with Australia’s commitments to the Paris climate accords, he said.
“It’s a nonsensical position to say we can turn back to coal any more than we would turn back to the horse and buggy,” Prof Gilmore said.
Household instalment of solar roof panels and batteries and the purchase of electric vehicles were already showing the benefits of those technologies in cutting costs, he said.
Polling published by the Australian Financial Review on Sunday night found the coalition’s primary vote fell five percentage points in a month to a poll-record low of 24 per cent, while One Nation rose four points to 18 per cent and Labor also gained four points to 38 per cent.
The poll of 1011 voters also shows Ms Ley with just 10 per cent of voters preferring her as prime minister, compared with 40 per cent for Anthony Albanese.
Mr Albanese says the coalition’s “uncertainty” on energy and climate policy will put increased pressure on power prices.
“If anyone thinks that there is certainty in the coalition going forward, then they’re not paying any attention to the rabble and clown show that the coalition have become when it comes to energy policy and climate policy,” he told reporters in Melbourne.
At the last two federal elections, the Liberal Party lost inner-city seats to independent candidates focused on climate action.