Net zero risks being worth precisely that

What will we actually achieve with this belated, grudging net zero by 2050 target (“Nats name price for net zero support”, October 22)? Let’s see: ScoMo can go to Glasgow and not get howled out of court and he won’t be too embarrassed the next time he gets to meet the Queen or Prince Charles. All sorts of eye-watering amounts have been promised in the regions. Meanwhile, Australia is still near last on the world league tables. We aren’t likely to get up off the floor during the next crucial decade unless the states and business community take matters into their own hands. Those Nats know how to make hay while the sun shines. About solar power, not so much.

Margaret Johnston, Paddington

What on earth is Barnaby Joyce thinking? Twiggy Forrest among others is leading Australia out of coal and into more profitable job creation via green hydrogen and other renewables. Our world has changed and most people get the message. It has nothing to do with country versus city. Most farmers are on the same page as Mr Forrest and want something done to mitigate climate change. Most miners see the writing on the wall as mining becomes ever more computerised and jobs are lost. Green hydrogen is the future for them. I truly doubt the sanity of some politicians.

Joanna van Kool, Crows Nest

Scott Morrison should move with the times and stop his reliance on road maps and start using GPS for his climate change navigation.

Rod Tuck, Katoomba

This is all the most outrageous farce. Not only did Tony Abbott sign us up to net zero by 2050 in the Paris Agreement of 2015, most Coalition constituents, including industry, mining and those on the land, are already willingly working towards achieving those goals. Barnaby Joyce knows only one way to negotiate and that’s to bully. Morrison is fearful of those within his own mob who think climate change is some kind of voodoo magic. When will these people provide an outcome that the populace actually want?

Bruce Hulbert, Lilyfield

As it is possible for an Australian prime minister to commit the country to go to war, as then prime minister John Howard did in 2003, can it really be the case that Morrison cannot commit the country to reducing emissions by 75 per cent by 2030 and to zero by 2050, knowing that if he doesn’t do so, the country will suffer fierce international trade sanctions as well as the continuing ravages of an overheating planet?