Liberal Party leader Sussan Ley says the party remains ironclad, rock-solid committed to the Paris Climate Agreement while remaining firmly opposed to its central objective.

“We think it’s important to reinterpret the agreement in an Australian context, where ‘net zero by 2050’ can mean … well, many things. And none of them are ‘net zero by 2050,’” Ley explained.

“We will embrace the spirit of emissions reduction while avoiding the unnecessary burden of reducing emissions”.

She said the party was committed to aspiration. “Ambition. Hope. Loose thematic alignment. All the big climate words. And we will achieve them without being constrained by numbers, timelines, actions, or outcomes”.

Experts say Ley’s comments may signal a bold new era of for climate policy in which the Coalition both supports and opposes emissions reduction simultaneously, depending on who is listening and whether Sky News After Dark is currently running a segment on it.

Asked if there was any part of the Paris Agreement the party did support without qualification, Ley nodded enthusiastically.

“Oh absolutely. The font in the title. Very clean. Very modern. And the name ‘Paris.’ It sounds glamorous. That’s the direction we need to take Australia’s climate future – stylish, aspirational, and entirely unrelated to emissions”.