Taylor flies out of Madrid, leaving Kyoto carryover battle unresolved

Federal energy and emissions reduction minister Angus Taylor has left Madrid following his address to the COP25 climate change talks, leaving Australia’s diplomatic corps to continue the fight for Australia’s Kyoto accounting loophole.

(L-R) Bloomberg Global Business Forum's Chairman, Michael Bloomberg; Spanish Banco Santander bank's Chairwoman, Patricia Botin, and Autralian Energy Minister, Angus Taylor, attend the panel session 'Financing the Paris Agreement: How to Mobilise the Private Investors?' in Madrid. 

Much is at stake for the Morrison government, as it plans to rely on the accounting loophole to represent almost all of the federal government’s actions towards meeting its 2030 emissions reduction target. If the loophole is successfully blocked by other countries, it will blow a 411 million tonne hole in Australia’s emissions budget.

Taylor will primarily rely on the Ambassador for the Environment, Jamie Isbister, who is attending the UN climate talks in that role for the first time. Isbister will be backed by a diminished team of Australian diplomats to ensure Australia has access to carryover Kyoto units, which will likely be the Australian delegation’s core priority for the remainder of the talks, that are expected to run into the weekend.

Read the RenewEconomy story by Michael Mazengarb - “Taylor flies out of Madrid, leaving Kyoto carryover battle unresolved.”