Angus Taylor steps on the gas, but how does that sit with emissions targets and carbon costs?

Federal Liberals leader Angus Taylor has rekindled calls for Australia to open up new gas fields to put “downward pressure” on energy bills but provided no detail on the plan’s effectiveness nor impact on greenhouse gas emissions.

The call for more fossil gas came as analysts, RepuTex, released a report estimating Australia’s carbon prices would have to top $220 per tonne of carbon dioxide by the early 2030s – or more than fivefold current levels – to ensure national emissions were compliant with a Paris 1.5-degree climate limit.

“Australia has gas under our feet, workers ready to develop it and families desperate for relief from high energy bills, yet Labor’s answer has been to make Australian energy harder to produce,” Taylor said in a statement.

The policy, released by the Liberals on Monday alongside Nationals leader Matt Canavan and energy spokesperson Dan Tehan, pledged to “unlock new supply and use state energy deals to deliver cheaper, more reliable energy for Australian families and businesses”.

“A state that is prepared to unlock new gas will have a willing partner in Canberra to help get that gas from the ground, through the pipeline and into Australian homes and businesses,” Taylor said.