TRANSCRIPT:
"The Liberal Party will remove a net zero target from our policy, and if elected, we will remove the 2030 target and its net zero by 2050 target from the Climate Change Act."
That was Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, announcing the Liberal Party's long-awaited position after a party room meeting in Canberra - and weeks of discussion over the issue.
But the vote wasn't a clean sweep.
In the party room, 28 people came out swinging against the net zero target, including some senior members within opposition leader Sussan Ley's shadow cabinet like Michaelia Cash, James Patterson, Melissa McIntosh, Ted O'Brien and even Ms Ley's leadership rivals Angus Taylor and Andrew Hastie.
Senator McIntosh says dropping the target is the right thing for her constituents.
"This morning I went into the party room yesterday really strong in my conviction on behalf of my community when it comes to dropping net zero and it was never about anti climate or anti environment ..it was pro reality... and people in the suburbs... it's literally survival in the suburbs, they are dying under the Albanese government's mistargets when it comes to emission reduction."
Meanwhile, senior moderates such as Andrew Bragg, Maria Kovacic, Angie Bell and Paul Scar were in favour of net zero.
On Sunday, Andrew Bragg told ABC's David Speers he'd leave the shadow cabinet if the commitment to net zero emissions by 2050 was ditched.
"Well, sure, but I don't imagine that we would ever leave Paris. I mean, we're a party of government, right? We're not a fringe party. We're not fringe dwellers. Most Australians want us to play our fair role in terms of emissions reduction."
Tim Wilson has also been vocal about his support for the 2050 target.
"We just end up being the national party lite, or we can define the future of the country. We can fight for hope and opportunity and building out and re-industrialising our country with the energy sources that we need. Setting a sovereign target for our emissoins and of course building out our clean industrial future."
South Australian senator Andrew McLachlan
has been asked what he would say to his colleagues who felt that dropping Net Zero was electorally advantageous.
Mr McLachlan, known as a vocal advocate for climate action, gave this response.
"You're wrong. What more can I say? I try to argue the case. I don't think I'm alone in in the community, not only from a grassroots level, but also, for example, the National Farmers Federation, certain business councils. I mean, if you're going to argue that we're going to abandon Net Zero, you're going to be very alone in the community, and also the business community."
So will Liberal frontbenchers like Andrew Bragg quit?
And what does it mean for the party?
The shadow ministry is maintaining its support for staying in the Paris Agreement, and wants to set Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which are five-year targets that are not legally binding under the internationally enforceable commitments.
The opposition leader has also tasked energy spokesman Dan Tehan, moderate Anne Ruston and conservative Jonno Duniam to negotiate with the Nationals on a joint coalition position on net zero.
They will enter discussions with Nationals senators Matt Canavan, Ross Cadell and Susan McDonald over coming days before a joint partyroom meeting on Sunday to rubber-stamp a policy.
Liberal moderates have argued their chances of winning back vital inner-city electorates will be diminished as a result of scrapping their net zero commitment.
But frontbencher Alex Hawke disagrees.
"I've got no doubt a lot of people in the left, led by Labor and others, will make political claims about those sorts of things. The reality of net zero is the government has failed to put forward policies that will even achieve its own objectives."
Meanwhile, teal independent MP Sophie Scamps has told Channel Nine's Today Show that the net zero debate shows the party has been influenced by Barnaby Joyce and Gina Rinehart for way too long.
"So they've been led around by the nose by the Nationals for way too long. And I think what we see now, if the Liberals really wanted, did want to have their own policies, then they should have stayed separate from the Nationals, but they didn't. They knew they've joined them. They're joining their policies, and they don't have their own, and they've showed, I think, a real lack of leadership on the biggest issue of our era, and have done so for decades now, and that's why we are seeing the demise of the Liberal party."
Other independent MPs like Allegra Spender say the Liberals aren't just abandoning net zero but evidence-based policy thinking.
Climate Council chief executive Amanda McKenzie says the Liberal party's decision will "let climate change rip."
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the Liberals' internal divisions are leaving Australians worse off.
"They're walking away from climate action, because they fundamentally do not believe in the science of climate change. They're also walking away from reliable and affordable energy - renewables backed by storage and backed by gas for firming capacity. Australians cannot afford to keep paying the price of Coalition in-fighting when it comes to climate policy and energy policy."
