Environmentalists have implored Queensland’s opposition party to “end the climate wars” by backing the government’s carbon emissions reduction target as renewables industry leaders also call for bipartisanship on the issue.
Newly minted premier, Steven Miles, introduced a bill to legislate an ambitious target of cutting carbon emissions by 75% by 2035 in state parliament Wednesday.
Miles said it was a “responsible, credible and critical target,” and the bill “positions Queensland as a world leader on the pathway to net zero”.
The Australian Conservation Foundation called on opposition leader, David Crisafulli, “to end the climate wars in this state by matching this announcement because what we need more than ever is durable, sustainable climate and energy policy.”
“And we also call on the Albanese government, who will be making their decision on a 2035 target in the next 12 months or so, to treat this 75% by 2035 target as a floor not a ceiling,” said the Foundation’s Gavan McFadzean.
The Liberal National party has yet to announce a position either way on the bill, with several from the party suggesting it was still too early to fully understand it.
In a debate on a separate climate bill on Tuesday, shadow environment minister Sam O’Connor said he would be “looking closely” at the modelling behind the target.
“I will say I was surprised to see in those targets a 30% reduction by 2030 followed by a significant increase to a 75% reduction just five years later in 2035,” he said.
“I will be seeking further details on that legislation as it goes through the committee process before outlining the Liberal National party’s response. We need to see the modelling and the assumptions the government has relied on to produce these targets.”
Wayne Smith from the Smart Energy Council – Australia’s peak body for the renewables industry – said the industry needed bipartisan support.
“The closer you get to the [October state] election, the more people are going to be wondering what is the opposition’s position and people will be reluctant to make investment decisions if there isn’t bipartisan support.”
Smith said investment would be “turbocharged” once the legislation was passed.
Climate Energy Finance director, Tim Buckley, said the industry requires bipartisan support for long-term planning and security.
“That means it’s got longevity and credibility and therefore it provides the investor certainty that is needed to really underpin the literally hundreds of billions of dollars of investments that are required to make this work,” Buckley said.
Advisors won’t have ‘vested interests’
If legislated, the bill would set a 2030 target of 30% below 2005 levels, and 75% by 2035. It would then require the minister to set a series of interim targets every five years after 2035 until net zero 2050, a decade in advance.
It would also require the government to establish a clean economy expert panel to guide policy development.
The panel would develop a series of emissions reduction plans for specific sectors – for example, energy, transport, agriculture and industry – by 2025. The minister would have to annually update parliament on progress.
The panel will be required to have at least two but no more than five members appointed by the minister. The state Chief Scientist would automatically be a member.
Under the proposed law, those people must have experience or qualifications in the science or economics of climate change or the development of low-emission industries, rural regional development or “another area the minister considered relevant”.
Energy minister Mick de Brenni said the government would not appoint representatives of fossil fuel companies or other vested interests to the board.
“They are real experts that will work with us with real strategies, an expert panel that is not made up of vested interests. It won’t be an expert panel that relies on technology that doesn’t exist. It won’t be an expert panel that makes recommendations around over-reliance on offsets,” de Brenni said.
The premier said the plan would have “ an expert panel to guide us on that pathway and a series of sectoral plans so that we are identifying the best, most rational places to do those reductions”.
The legislation is officially called the Clean Economy Jobs bill and much of the pitch for the plan is about its purported positive impact on the economy.
Introducing the bill on Wednesday, the premier told parliament it would secure “blue collar jobs in our regions in both existing industries and new ones”.
“The targets we’re setting to reduce emissions by 75% by 2035 are based on science and meeting internationally agreed targets,” Miles said.
“But more importantly, they will provide industry with the certainty to invest in converting existing industry to renewables and attracting new industries here. These targets are crucial to lock in the investment needed for our economic future.”
The state has already almost achieved its 2030 goal, with current emissions 29% below 2005 levels, he said.
The bill will now go to parliament’s Clean Economy Jobs, Resources and Transport Committee for scrutiny.
Buckley said the increased emissions reduction target was another “courageous move” after the government’s progressive coal royalty scheme.
“The longer we deny the science, the longer we delay investment in industries of the future,” he said.
