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Tougher curbs on greenhouse emissions are needed to deliver on Australia’s commitment to the Paris Agreement goal of halting global warming at 1.5 degrees, says Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen, who used a major speech to defend progress to date.

In an address to the Lowy Institute on Tuesday night, Bowen said the nation’s climate goals would extend beyond its renewable energy ambitions to other sectors of the economy.

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen says Australia will be supportive of strong COP outcomes at the UN’s climate summit in Dubai in December.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“We are developing our sectoral plans to set us on the journey to net-zero emissions,” he said.

Bowen said the rallying cry of “Keep 1.5 Alive” from the United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP) climate summit in 2021 must not be forgotten. That was why Australia would be supportive of strong outcomes at the UN’s climate summit in Dubai in December, he said.

Labor has ruled out any changes to its legislated target of cutting emissions 43 per cent by 2030, even though its goal is consistent with global action that misses the Paris target and delivers global warming of 2 degrees or more.

However, under its Paris Agreement obligations, Australia must in the next two years declare a more ambitious emissions reduction target for 2035.

Bowen is already squeezing the energy sector to boost renewables’ share of electricity generation to 82 per cent, which means further cuts must come from politically sensitive sectors such as manufacturers, commuters, farmers and property developers.

The Greens are calling for drastic action, including a ban on fossil fuels and a 75 per cent emissions cut by 2030.

But in a veiled swipe at the minor party, Bowen declared that incremental change could deliver a viable pathway to reach the Paris Agreement’s goal.

“The fact is that change is hard. Even incremental change can still make substantial progress,” he said.

“Before the Paris accord was struck, the world was on track for close to 4 degrees of warming.

“Current global pledges to 2030 have brought this estimate down to around 3 degrees, and closer to 2 degrees if longer-term net-zero pledges are realised.”

Bowen rejected Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s claim that the government’s “renewables-only policy” is driving up power bills.

“We know renewable energy is cheaper,” Bowen told the Lowy Institute.

He also recently gave his most enthusiastic endorsement of gas for electricity generation and as an export commodity since Labor came to power last May.

“New sources [of gas] are going to be required to underpin reliability and security,” he told an energy summit last week.

Dutton says nuclear power, in the form of small modular reactors – which experts say will take at least 20 years to develop in Australia – should be used to supplement renewables.

But Bowen positioned himself in the centre of the debate by challenging the Greens’ rejection of all fossil fuels.

“Unlike coal-fired power stations (or, for that matter nuclear power stations), gas-fired power stations can be turned on and off at very short notice, making them vital,” he said last week.

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