Donald Trump withdrawing the US from the Paris climate pact won’t halt the investment dollars fuelling the shift to net zero, according to a senior Labor minister.
Health Minister Mark Butler even believes the country could benefit if green energy investors choose to re-direct funding from Trump’s America to Australia.
Mr Trump pulled the US out of the Paris Agreement in his first term as President and is reportedly poised to do so again after regaining the White House.
Such a move would be seen as a major blow to the global effort to limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees, given the US is the world’s second largest polluter behind China.
US President Joe Biden re-established America as an international leader on climate action, with his signature Inflation Reduction Act unlocking hundreds of billions of dollars to accelerate the transition to renewables.
Mr Butler, a former shadow climate change minister, said it would not be a surprise if Mr Trump withdrew from Paris but played down the implications for the green energy shift.
“It won’t stop the global investment shift, which is very much in the direction of net zero technology, whether that’s in energy or in vehicles,” Mr Butler told Sky News on Sunday.
“We’ll continue our case for global investment to come to Australia because we have some of the best solar resources on the planet, some of the best wind resources on the planet, and some of the best scientists as well.
“So, perhaps there’s an upside for us in terms of the investment shifting a bit more away from the US than it has under Joe Biden’s term.”
The implications of Trump’s re-election on global climate action are set to be a major point of discussion as world leaders – including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese – gather for the G20 and APEC summits in South America in the coming fortnight.
Amid the uncertainty, the Federal Government has hinted it could delay submitting a 2035 emission reduction target until after a February deadline.
Mr Albanese last week repeated Labor’s focus was on its 43 per cent 2030 target, fuelling speculation the 2035 goal won’t be announced until after the next Federal election, due in May.
