New exports are needed to fill a $50 billion hole the loss of coal earnings will leave in the NSW budget as the world transitions to renewable energy, business leaders have been told.
Coal exports prop up the yearly earnings of Australia's most populous state and Premier Chris Minns says finding alternatives when buyers leave the fossil fuel market will be a long-term challenge.
"(Coal is) our single biggest export - and all of our export partners, everybody who's buying that natural resource, has said they're going to get out of it in the foreseeable future," Mr Minns told the AmCham event in Sydney on Tuesday.
"That's a $40 to $50 billion export hole we have to fill each and every year.
"We've got to get cracking and start thinking smart about what export products, ideas and services we will be selling to the rest of the world."
Consultancy firm Deloitte has projected fossil fuel exports to decline by $270 billion nationally if no action is taken over this decade.
The challenge is compounded in NSW by major investments in public transport and infrastructure amid record debt.
NSW's net debt is set to climb north of $200 billion next year , according to analysis by ratings agency S&P Global released on Tuesday.
Mr Minns conceded his government was "hemmed in" by the amount of debt accumulated in NSW, but dismissed increasing taxes.
"I can't squeeze any more juice out of a lemon either in households or business," he said.
