The Turnbull government is preparing to set the emissions reduction target for the national energy guarantee by regulation rather than legislation in a move to court Labor’s support and defuse some internal tensions about enshrining the Paris climate commitments in Australian law.



The government is working up the regulatory option ahead of cabinet deliberations next week – as well as expediting a power price fix linked to the Neg, which will likely involve setting default pricing for electricity consumers and punitive measures to stop big energy companies extracting super profits from their customers.

Some government backbenchers have dug in their heels over legislating the Neg’s emissions reduction 26% target, framing that step as a breach of Australian sovereignty. The change means they will not be asked to endorse the 26% cut in a parliamentary vote as it will be set by regulation.

Guardian Australia understands the option to be put to cabinet next week would involve setting the target by an executive order that cannot be disallowed.

The option under consideration is that the target would be set via the regulation, and if a government wanted to increase it, it would first have to seek advice from the Australian Energy Regulator and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission about the impact of a target increase on electricity prices.

That advice would be made public.

Labor has pressured the government to make it easier for future governments to be able to scale up the Neg’s pollution target beyond the current proposal of a 26% reduction – flagging a desire that it be set by an administrative instrument rather than in legislation, which is harder to change.

The states, who can make or break the Neg through the Coag energy council, have also demanded the target be set in regulation so it can be ratcheted up.

The government has been plunged into a crisis this week, with a group of 10 backbenchers threatening to cross the floor to oppose the Neg. There is also a larger group, including some ministers, concerned that the existing policy won’t drive down power prices.

Current indications suggest the government will need Labor’s backing to get the Neg legislation through the House of Representatives.

Tony Abbott has escalated his public attacks on the policy, while the home affairs minister, Peter Dutton, has held the line on the Neg but publicly articulated the circumstances in which he would have to resign from the cabinet if he reached a point of irresolvable conflict with the prime minister on the detail.

The current fraught debate shares many of the hallmarks of the Liberal party’s internal convulsion in 2009 in which Abbott took the leadership from Turnbull after a vicious internal fight about his support for emissions trading.

Turnbull loyalist Christopher Pyne sounded a warning shot to restive colleagues during his regular Friday appearance on the Nine Network, criticising Abbott’s supporters for “hyperventilating” over the government’s energy policy.

“We are not on the ropes,” he said in answer to a question about the government’s re-election prospects.

“The polls are about 50-50 and there’s a lot of hyperventilating going on and there’s a few people I think who are trying to put the band back together from the late 2000 and noughties.”

Asked who “they” were, Pyne said: “I think we know who they are.”

The government’s objective in expediting the power price package to accompany the Neg has been to reduce the number of MPs prepared to cross the floor by half.

Senior figures expect Abbott, and possibly a couple of others, to cross the floor regardless of the rework.