‘One of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard’: Australian Coalition conservatives furious over climate review, by James Massola.

Environment and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg on Monday launched the long-awaited review – which controversially promises to look at whether to introduce an emissions intensity scheme for electricity generators, which is a type of carbon price – though he emphasised a focus on household electricity prices and energy security.

Abandoned wind farm in Hawaii. When the world withdraws subsidies for renewables because they find out the carbon dioxide theory of global warming theory had an error, there are going to be a lot of these.

Energy and business leaders immediately issued a plea to the Coalition and Labor: end a decade of destructive politics and come up with a shared national plan to cut emissions over coming decades, including some sort of carbon price. …

Fairfax Media spoke to 10 Coalition MPs on Monday about the prospect of an emissions intensity scheme for the electricity sector and all of them were scathing at the prospect of what is, in effect, a carbon price being re-introduced in Australia, regardless of the relative cost. …

And as debate about the climate review began, it emerged Tony Abbott’s signature “green army” policy, which used young unemployed people on landcare projects, is to be axed, prompting a furious rebuke from the former prime minister.

Bernardi’s position:

Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi, freshly returned from three months at the United Nations in New York, said transitioning to an emissions intensity scheme was “one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard. It is not in the Australian national interest for the government to chase policies that ingratiate it with the Greens.

“To get back on the right economic track, we need the cheapest electricity in the world.“

hat-tip Stephen Neil