Politicians who cannot accept climate change is humanity’s greatest threat should have no place in the Australian parliament. 

So the deed is done, midst much sound and fury signifying nothing other than the fact that the Federal Coalition remain firmly in the climate denialist camp, as the Liberal Party has finally joined the National Party in dumping the Net Zero 2050 (NZE2050) emissions target. Ironically the right decision — made for entirely the wrong reasons — as it was clear years ago that NZE2050 was far too late; it must be reached as soon as possible, ideally by 2030-35.

Why? Because the risks of climate change even then were rapidly accelerating and today are far worse. As the authoritative State of the Climate 2025 report summarised last month:

“We are hurtling toward climate chaos. The planet’s vital signs are flashing red. The consequences of human-driven alterations of the climate are no longer future threats but are here now. This unfolding emergency stems from failed foresight, political inaction, unsustainable economic systems and misinformation. Almost every corner of the biosphere is reeling from intensifying heat, storms, floods, droughts or fires. The window to prevent the worst outcomes is rapidly closing. —-”

The 1.5oC temperature increase relative to pre-industrial conditions — the lower band of the Paris objective — is to all intents and purposes, already here. Australia’s increase last year was already 1.68oC. Key changes are occurring 15-20 years earlier than previously envisaged. 2oC will now likely occur well before 2040, and 3oC by 2050 unless emergency action is taken to reduce emissions. Other key parameters are heading in the same direction.

The impact will be catastrophic, particularly in the rural and regional areas which are supposedly of such great concern to the Coalition. The evidence is blindingly obvious for anyone prepared to honestly face facts, as climate-driven fires, floods, storms, death and destruction intensify, along with the related economic and social impacts.

This is the result of a massive global market and leadership failure to accept the science and act accordingly. A failure which has been particularly pronounced in Australia under governments of both persuasions.

The reason we must address climate change is to avoid and minimise climate risk which, left unchecked, has the potential to destroy humanity as we know it. This is the greatest threat facing Australia, and the world, today, and will be for the foreseeable future. Credible climate policy can only be based on a sound understanding of those risks, an understanding clearly lacking in our two main political parties and in the mainstream media.

Risk was not even mentioned during the Coalition pantomime, or in media commentary surrounding it. The incoherent statements since the decision focus on reducing energy costs whilst reducing emissions every year using market mechanisms and all possible energy sources but particularly coal and gas, with renewables playing a minor role. Rather divorced from reality, given that coal is unreliable and becoming more expensive, the gas cartel have been ripping off Australian consumers for years with excessive pricing, market mechanisms have singularly failed because of the hysterical rejection of carbon pricing, whereas renewables are the primary source of energy cost reduction and increased reliability. And of course carbon capture and storage re-appears as the panacea for all, irrespective of the fact that it has never worked at scale and is certainly not Dan Tehan’s “breakthrough technology.”

Net Zero by 2050 never had any scientific justification. It was political hypocrisy, allowing leaders to kick the climate can down the road, beyond their tenure, for later generations to sort out. Now the Coalition are determined to make their task even harder.

The Albanese government finally published the National Climate Risk Assessment in September 2025. This has been put together professionally and is long overdue. But as with so many politically-expedient climate reports, the summary badly downplays the risks involved, allowing the government to continue its suicidal expansion of gas and coal at the behest of the fossil fuel industry.

The immediate imperative is to reduce emissions extremely rapidly. This will be painful, but is the outcome of years of political and business leadership failure and procrastination. It can no longer be avoided if humanity as we know it is to survive. The solution has to centre around massive solar, wind and related energy storage implementation, with some temporary gas, but re-directed from export markets, not expansion. This will deliver the lowest cost and maximum reliability to both community and industry. Forget nuclear and coal.

As the Coalition is wont to remind us, Australia domestically produces only 1.1 per cent of global emissions. However, it becomes a very substantial 5 per cent if exports are included, which they must be given this is a global problem. Our per capita emissions are amongst the world’s highest. What Australia does in terms of emission reduction matters. Of course climate change can only be solved with global co-operation, but Australia has played an extremely negative denialist role since the 1990s, particularly under conservative governments. Time for that to change.

Australia is in urgent need of a credible and forceful opposition to focus on demanding emergency action, akin to wartime, from a complacent Albanese government, to create a genuinely renewable future as fast as possible — and to co-operate with government to achieve it. The Coalition has now confirmed that it has neither the leadership skills, courage, honesty, imagination nor intellectual capacity to undertake that task.

The priority of any government is to ensure the security of the people. Politicians who cannot accept that climate change is the greatest threat to that security have no place in any Australian parliament. They should resign, clearing the way for those who can.

The views expressed in this article may or may not reflect those of Pearls and Irritations.