Tony Abbott Says He Would Not Have Adopted Net Zero

‘Politics is about creating a contest, and that’s what we’ve got to do,’ the former prime minister said.

An aerial view of of wind turbines in Port Augusta, South Australia on Feb. 25, 2025. Brook Mitchell/Getty Images

Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott has revealed he would never have backed net zero if he were leader of the Liberal Party.

Abbott told the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) Deputy Executive Director Daniel Wild he did not believe the Coalition should have adopted net zero.

“Had I been in the parliament, and certainly had I been leading the Liberal Party, there would have been no adoption of net zero back in 2021 I think it was,” Abbott said on the IPA podcast.

In October 2021, former Prime Minister Scott Morrison released a plan to deliver net zero by 2050.

“I don’t believe it should have been done because the truth is that we aren’t going to get to net zero anytime soon and trying to get to net zero anytime soon is going to cause massive damage to our economy, massive harm to our jobs, to our industries and the people’s cost of living,” Abbott said.

He added that while he isn’t opposed to the concept of net zero, he is “utterly opposed” to what the Labor government is doing to achieve it.

“I think the important thing is for the Coalition to develop a much better policy on these things than the Albanese government,” Abbott said.

He had fought against former Labor Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s carbon tax ahead of the 2013 election and, as prime minister, formally repealed it in 2014.

Cost Estimates Needed

Abbott said he would also be asking the government to provide cost estimates for achieving emissions targets for 2030.

He pointed out there had been all sorts of credible estimates, including a 2023 tri-University study (pdf), estimating Australia’s progress toward net zero would cost $1.5 trillion (US$979 billion) by 2030. That number increases to $7 to $9 trillion by 2060.

“These are mind boggling figures on top of the expense that we have already had,” Abbott said.

Politics Is About Creating a Contest: Abbott

Abbott noted that every time the Coalition had contested Labor on climate and energy policy, they had done well, and when there was little contest, they had done “very badly.”

“So on energy—no more coal-powered power stations can close until there is a reliable alternative. We’ve got to get more gas out of the ground with absolute express speed,” he said.

Abbott said if renewables really were cheap they would not need subsidies. He also said the nuclear ban needed to end.

Labor has legislated net zero emissions by 2050 and is promising 82 percent renewables by 2030.

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen is continuing to announce new government funding for renewable energy initiatives since the election.

In his most recent announcement, he revealed $18 million of joint federal and NSW government funding to upgrade social housing homes with solar panels, energy-efficient hot water systems and more.

Before that, Bowen announced $34.5 million to Tindo Solar to scale up panel production in Adelaide.

Meanwhile, the Coalition is undertaking a net zero review following the federal election defeat. A few Coalition members including Andrew Hastie, Matt Canavan, Barnaby Joyce, and Alex Antic have publicly spoken out against net zero since the election.

Hastie told Sky News Australia on Aug. 10 he would not be doing his job if he did not fight for a better deal for the Australian people in relation to net zero.