They have an option through the Coag route to pursue the Neg even if Angus Taylor refuses to play ball

Liberal states are caucusing in an attempt to revive Malcolm Turnbull’s ditched national energy guarantee (Neg), or an energy policy with similar characteristics, ahead of a meeting with the federal energy minister, Angus Taylor, expected in late July.

Guardian Australia understands there have been discussions between New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania with a view to rebooting the policy Scott Morrison dumped after taking the leadership from Turnbull last August.

The states are under intense pressure from stakeholders to try to revive the Neg – which has widespread support in the energy sector and from energy users – to create a framework that will give investors certainty.

The energy sector, which has a fractious relationship with Taylor, has also ramped up public calls after the election for the Morrison government to implement an energy policy that integrates emissions reduction – as the Neg did.

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Taylor has thus far declined interview requests from Guardian Australia, but has said post-election that the Morrison government won’t revive the Neg but will instead drive emissions reduction through the Abbott-era emissions reduction fund, which has had its funding topped up.

Emissions in Australia have increased since Tony Abbott repealed Labor’s carbon price after taking government in 2013 despite the existence of the Coalition’s emissions reduction fund.

The ERF has been rebadged the climate solutions fund, and funded to the tune of $2bn over 15 years, which translates to about $130m a year.

South Australia’s Liberal energy minister Dan van Holst Pellekaan told Guardian Australia energy policy in 2019 needed to have an integrated emissions reduction component.

“We must have consideration for emissions reduction in energy policy,” he said. “It’s impractical to imagine that emissions reduction couldn’t or shouldn’t be part of energy policy.

“It’s a key component of what’s going on”.

He said he did not mind if the post-election policy reboot was called the Neg, and that it did not have to have an identical mechanism. “I’m in favour of the things I’ve just said, but I couldn’t care less what it’s called.”

The New South Wales energy minister, Matt Kean, had signalled in a speech to the business community this month that the Berejiklian government remained a supporter of the Turnbull policy and would “continue to support a national mechanism that integrates climate and energy policy, which provides business with the freedom to innovate”.

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The states have an option through the national energy council of Coag to pursue the policy even if Taylor – who was an internal critic of the Neg during the period of Turnbull’s leadership – refuses to play ball. It is not yet clear whether the Labor states will agree to a joint position with their Liberal counterparts.

The South Australian energy minister noted that Taylor was now responsible in his ministerial portfolio for energy as well as emissions reduction – a decision Morrison had made after the election – and that “bodes very well for a fresh start at Coag as soon as possible”.

Van Holst Pellekaan acknowledged that the states could force the issue through the energy council but signalled that the preference would be for a state/federal consensus. “I think the states will work together as collaboratively as they can.”

He said it was important to convene the Coag energy council as soon as possible to get the energy policy conversation back on track. “I think it’s very important we get everyone back around the table as soon as we can.”