“Climate Deniers Win” as Liberal Party Dumps Net Zero Commitment, says Energy Minister Chris Bowen
News article A.Ritenis /Image provided by AAP
Sydney,14 november,2025
The Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, has strongly condemned the Liberal Party’s decision to abandon its commitment to net zero, stating that the “climate deniers have won the battle” within the Coalition.
Speaking on RN Breakfast, Minister Bowen labelled the policy shift as a “blancmange of contradictory, internally inconsistent statements” and an “alibi to avoid action on the greatest environmental challenge and economic opportunity of our time.”
Key Takeaway Points and Minister Bowen’s Stance
1. Liberal Party’s Climate Stance: Irrelevant and Denier-Led
Minister Bowen asserted that the Liberal Party has effectively declared itself “completely irrelevant” to the core issues of Australia’s future by bowing to its internal climate denial movement.
“What we saw yesterday was a blancmange of contradictory, internally inconsistent statements and claims. All an alibi to avoid action on the greatest environmental challenge and economic opportunity of our time.”
He went on to claim that the National Party is now dictating the Opposition’s policy:
“David Littleproud is now effectively the leader of the Opposition and Barnaby Joyce is calling the shots and dragging the party to the climate denial right.”
2. Paris Agreement Compatibility Questioned
Bowen challenged the feasibility of the Liberal Party’s claim that they could remain in the Paris Agreement while removing current emissions reduction targets from national legislation.
He stressed that the Paris Agreement requires nations to set five-yearly targets that must represent the “maximum level of possible ambition” and allow for “no backsliding.”1
“Well, effectively not, because the Paris Agreement requires countries to set five yearly targets and for those targets to be the maximum level of possible ambition and for each target to be stronger than the last and allows no backsliding.”2
3. Defending Energy Price Promises
The Minister defended the government against criticisms regarding its previous election promise to lower power prices, stating that the public was fully aware of the challenges and had backed Labor’s program in the election.
He highlighted recent data to show that prices are moving in the right direction:
- Wholesale energy prices have come down 27% year on year in the last quarter.
- Wholesale energy prices, which were $317 at the time of the 2022 election, were $67 in October.Minster bowen said :”We were clear with the Australian people we’d face challenges. We were clear with the Australian people what those challenges were and what we were doing about it. And the people told us in May to keep going.”
4. Strong Support for Climate Action in Regional Australia
Minister Bowen strongly rejected the notion that rural and regional Australians do not support climate action or renewable energy projects, describing the argument as “simplistic.”
He noted that regional communities live with the effects of climate change daily and that farmers are a key part of the movement:”I think it’s arguable that Farmers for Climate Action has more members than the National Party… People in regional Australia see climate change every day. They live it. And as the National Risk Assessment outlined a month or so ago, people in regional Australia, as well as the outer suburbs, have the most at stake.”
While acknowledging the need for continuous improvement in community consultation and benefits for landholders, he rejected the premise of widespread regional climate denial.”I reject utterly this simplistic notion that somehow people in regional Australia and rural Australia engage in climate denial or don’t support climate action. Sally, show me the evidence for that. It does not exist because it isn’t true.
Update on Australia’s COP31 Bid
Minister Bowen also provided an update on Australia’s bid to host the COP31 climate conference, stating that Australia has “overwhelming support from the world.”
However, the bid’s success still hinges on achieving unanimous agreement, including from the rival bidder, Turkey.”The COP rules are not as I would have designed them in a perfect world where you must get agreement from the country that also has bid… it’s got to be unanimous, including the country that that hasn’t got the support of the rest of the world, and that, in this case, is Turkey.”
