Peter Dutton has signalled a Coalition government would not follow Donald Trump in withdrawing Australia from the Paris Climate Accords, despite internal pressure to do so.
The Opposition Leader’s approach to some issues has been likened to the US President’s.
But on climate, the two men seem to take different views, with Mr Dutton saying that honouring Australia’s commitments under the Paris Agreement was important for the country’s economic future.
“We produce more than we can consume, and farmers and manufacturers rely on markets in Asia, Europe, in America, to export our products,” he told Sydney-based 2GB.
“We’ve signed up to an international agreement, which I think will have continuing relevance for countries in Europe.
“The future dynamics can change, but we have to act in our country’s best interest.
“To have European countries, for example, but not exclusively, applying tariffs to our exports would mean a loss of economic activity here, a loss of jobs.
“So we have to have a sensible balance.”
Rebel Coalition MPs have urged Mr Dutton to dump the Paris Agreement after Mr Trump’s decision,
South Australian Senator Alex Antic and Queensland Nationals Senator Matt Canavan
told news.com.au that it was “encouraging” to see the US President dump the Paris agreement in one of his acts.
“The cost to us of maintaining our obsession with net zero emissions is only going to grow after today,’’ Senator Canavan, a long-time opponent of the Paris accord, told news.com.au.
“It’s already costing us a bomb.
“But with the US, the most vibrant, biggest economy in the world, being outside that agreement will just be a massive magnet for investment in jobs that could only make Australia poorer.”
Former Liberal prime minister Tony Abbott signed Australia up to the Paris Agreement in 2013.
It committed Australia to, among other things, reduce emissions in a bid to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius.
Withdrawing the US from the accords was among the first executive orders Mr Trump signed after getting sworn in this week.
He has also vowed to massively boost American oil output.
Mr Dutton also spruiked the Coalition’s plan to add nuclear energy to Australia’s power grid as good for the environment.
The plan proposes a mix of renewable and nuclear power, but most experts have warned it would be costly and take decades.
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