Conservative Liberals have delivered a clear show of solidarity ahead of a crucial meeting to end internal division over the party’s climate policy.

The meeting on Wednesday is thrashing out a policy on energy and climate targets that will determine whether a net-zero emissions goal will be dumped from the party platform.

A group of conservatives within the party, who have called for net zero to be dumped after junior coalition partner the Nationals ditched the policy, arrived at the meeting together, presenting a united front.

Senator Sarah Henderson led the pack, flanked by axed frontbencher Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and followed by Liberal leadership aspirants Andrew Hastie and Angus Taylor.

The issue of net zero has placed pressure on Sussan Ley’s leadership of the party and formed a major battleground between conservatives and moderates.

Ley arrived with Tasmanian moderate Richard Colbeck, while other moderate senators Andrew Bragg and Maria Kovacevic arrived alone.

Meanwhile, a trio of Liberals from South Australia – Leah Blyth, Tony Pasin and Andrew McLachlan – were delayed after their Qantas flight was forced to return to Adelaide due to smoke filling the cabin.

Members have gathered in Canberra to argue whether to maintain or drop the party’s existing goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 in one of three key party-room meetings organised over the next week.

A meeting of the Liberal shadow ministry will be held on Thursday for the leadership team to finalise its energy plan.

The party will then need to negotiate with the Nationals and a final agreement before a joint party room on Sunday is expected to be officially endorsed.

Moderate Liberal MP Tim Wilson appeared chipper ahead of the meeting, telling reporters. “it’s a wonderful day to be a Liberal”.

The Liberal Party is widely expected to water down its current climate commitment, but it will likely retain some goal of reducing carbon pollution if it returns to government.

Senator Jane Hume declared on Wednesday there was an “Australian way” to lower emissions while also reducing energy prices, backing leader Sussan Ley’s approach to reaching a position.

“We need to get to a zero emissions future but not in Labor’s way,” she said.

“And not the ideological way that’s blanketing our regional and rural communities with transmission lines and solar farms that don’t have either social licence or enough community consultations.”

Western Sydney MP Melissa McIntosh said she would put forward the voices of her community, who were “suffering like they’ve never suffered before” as a result of Labor’s net-zero target.

“We need to be listening to the Australian people, who are now telling us loud and clear that the current energy policy of the Albanese Labor government, renewables-only focus on targets is killing Australians,” she said.

Opposition industry spokesman Alex Hawke said it was a mistake for Labor to enshrine the target into law.

Members of the party’s moderate faction have urged the party to maintain its climate commitments, saying they could quit shadow cabinet if Australia ditched its net-zero goal and left the Paris Agreement.

McIntosh said she did have ambitions to lead the party one day, but Ley needed more time to bring the party behind her.

–AAP