The Nationals leader David Littleproud has been urged by the Climate Council to listen to climate scientists after making extraordinary comments about climate mitigation and adaption on Friday.
Littleproud told Radio National listens that there is a “way to tackle climate change rather than net zero”, and suggested Australia focus more on adapting to climate change rather than doing anything about it.
The comments by Littleproud, who is being urged by the likes of Barnaby Joyce, Matt Canavan and Michael McCormack and others to drop net zero, astonished and infuriated climate scientists .
Climate Council CEO Amanda McKenzie urged Littleproud to accept briefings from leading climate scientists and emergency service experts, as a matter of urgency. She said climate scientists had made clear that cutting climate pollution is “literally the only solution” to the climate crisis.
“Climate experts are ready and willing to brief Mr Littleproud on this issue anywhere, anytime,” McKenzie said in a statement.
“Cutting climate pollution is the only way to solve the climate crisis. The burning of coal, oil and gas is driving the problem – there is no other magical solution than cutting the source of the problem.”
“At this stage this is weaponised incompetence. Deliberately ignoring reality for political points and peddling climate denial.
“If we don’t continue to cut climate pollution the flooding in Taree, Grafton and Lismore will become more and more frequent and damaging. Marine heatwaves will cause the terminal decline of the Great Barrier Reef.”
Despite its heavy losses at the recent election, and the increasingly dire climate outcomes, the federal Coalition appears to be going backwards, inspired by Donald Trump’s war on renewables and science.
State councils are voting to oppose net zero, and the Coalition, Murdoch media, and radio shock jocks are persisting with extraordinary attacks on the rollout of wind, solar and storage – despite the need to replace Australia’s ageing and increasingly unreliable coal generators.
The suggestion by the Climate Council follows news this week that Climate 200 founder Simon Holmes à Court paid $15,000 to win a charity auction at Parliament’s Midwinter Ball and secure a mystery flight with Coalition leader Sussan Ley – and put a climate scientist and a young climate organiser on the plane.
The flight, and lunch with the opposition leader at a country pub, was offered in the auction organised by the Canberra press gallery for the annual event, the Guardian reported.
Littleproud told Radio National that cutting emissions was not the only solution to tackling climate change.
“So there’s ways to reduce emissions and there’s a way to tackle climate change rather than net zero,” he said.
That’s not the only solution. And I think as a nation we should pause and have a conversation about how we do this — to make sure you can afford your electricity bill, that families can afford to put dinner on the table. We’re a smart nation. We have sovereignty over all our resources. Why wouldn’t we do that?
“That’s what leadership is. That’s what political leadership is. And as a Coalition, we’re going to get it right. And we’re going to make sure that every voice is heard. That’s what a strong, robust democracy should be about — not kowtowing to what the Prime Minister says to your own party. Otherwise, you’re out.”
Later, when asked what Australia’s 2035 emissions reduction target should be, Littleproud said:
“It’s also about adaptation. And when we’re only about one and a percent of total emissions, if China and India and the rest of the world aren’t doing anything, we’re doing a lot of mitigation and not a lot of adaptation.”
“And we’re leaving a lot of families destitute and behind. So let’s show some leadership and actually look at this through the lens of making sure Australians can afford to live.”
For the record, China’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions fell by 1% year-on-year in the first half of 2025, extending a declining trend that started in March 2024,” Carbon Brief reports.
That compares to Australia’s 1.4 per cent fall in the 12 months to March 31, with most of that coming from controversial land use calculations.
Carbon Brief says the CO2 output of the nation’s power sector – its dominant source of emissions – fell by 3% in the first half of the year, as growth in solar power alone matched the rise in electricity demand.
