Andrew Bragg says he would quit frontbench if Paris Agreement, net zero commitment is scrapped

Liberal senator Andrew Bragg has said he would quit the front bench if the party scrapped Australia’s commitment to the Paris Agreement, as the embattled Coalition prepares to finalise its energy policy.

Internal divisions are rife within the Liberal Party over the contentious emissions target, with moderates wanting to keep net zero by 2050 – partly in an effort to target inner-city seats clinched by Labor and the Teals in the last election – and the right faction wanting to abandon the target, claiming it is an unaffordable way to implement the energy transition.

The Nationals announced last week that they were formally abandoning net zero, with pressure mounting on Sussan Ley to present a policy that reconciles the division.

Asked on Sunday morning whether the “right thing” was stayi