The WA government's commitment to enshrining emissions reduction targets into law marks a significant step in its path towards net zero by 2050.
Climate Change Minister Reece Whitby described the news as a "landmark announcement" that will help guide the state's response to climate change.
And while it's been welcomed by many, some have issues with parts of the government's plans.
What will the legislation do?
The legislation, which the government hopes to pass through parliament later this year, will do four main things:
- Enshrine the government's commitment to WA's economy reaching net zero by 2050;
- Require intermediate targets to be set between now and 2050;
- Formalise the state government's pledge to reduce its own emissions by 80 per cent below 2020 levels by 2030;
- Require the climate action minister to update parliament annually on progress.
It's all largely symbolic since the law won't have any penalties or specific requirements for individuals or businesses, but Mr Whitby said it would send an important signal to industry.
"Climate change is the greatest challenge of our lifetime, it's one that's not going away and it needs to be addressed," he said.
"It provides certainty to business and the entire community. It will stimulate investment in new infrastructure and technologies."
What's missing?
The big issue many environmental campaigners have with the government's plans is the lack of targets between now and 2050.
When the Commonwealth, for example, passed its emissions reduction legislation last year, it included a goal for emissions to be reduced by 43 per cent by the end of the decade.
Those kinds of targets are seen as important ways of ensuring action actually happens over the rest of this decade, instead of big emitters kicking the can down the road until closer to 2050.
At this stage though, while the WA government has pledged to reduce its own emissions by 2030 – largely by closing coal-fired power plants – it hasn't set any goals for the entire economy.
That will come towards the end of the year when the government finishes a two-year consultation with an array of industries.
Interim target warning
Based on those discussions, an interim target and deadline will be reached to help guide the way to 2050.
But Greens MP Brad Pettitt was among those concerned WA could end up with a "very low, unambitious target".
"It needs ambition, it needs to drive change, not merely be a continuation of business as usual, which we’ve seen so far," he said.
"The 2050 target dodges those in some ways, but a 2030 target will actually bring those [challenges] into sharp focus, realising that we can't expand fossil fuels and get emissions down.
"The danger is this legislation really leaves a big gap for big emitters to keep polluting in the next decade, and the one after, and actually getting all of their stronger emissions closer to 2050, when the science is absolutely overwhelming.
"It's between now and 2030 when we need to get serious cuts in emissions if we’re going to actually keep temperature decreases below 1.5 [degrees]."
What do people want the 2030 target to be?
Those wanting to see strong action on climate change sooner suggest 2030 targets of between 50 per cent reductions, which they see as achievable, up to as high as 75 per cent — a goal that is regarded as "aspirational".
Businesses are likely to want something a little smaller.
But Conservation Council of WA programs director Maggie Wood said it was important to set ambitious targets.
"The point of having legislation is that we set really clear boundaries for industry around their pollution limits," she said.
"So the Western Australian government now has an opportunity to look at our biggest emitters and try and bring them in line with those science-based targets."
What happens if WA misses a target?
In short: nothing.
Dr Pettitt said that was one of the plan’s "real weaknesses".
"Otherwise it just becomes a target, way off in the distance, without much meaning or without much action," he said.
When asked, Mr Whitby said he had faith WA’s "incredibly robust" Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) would help keep emissions reduction on track by requiring companies to prove they had a path towards net zero.
"It's the only EPA in Australia currently doing this, so all of those big emitters that we worry about, whenever they have a new proposal, whenever they are in front of the EPA, the EPA is requiring them to have a realistic and achievable emission reduction that gets them to 2050," he said.
Mr Whitby said that was the right approach because it allowed for each project to be individually considered.
"We're not going to mandate a number, and say that every single operator achieves that," he said.
"We want an economy-wide figure where some operators may do much better than that, some may struggle, but together as an economy we achieve that figure."
But the EPA has limited powers to enforce the rules it sets, as played out when Chevron’s Gorgon LNG plant failed to meet its target of injecting 80 per cent of its emissions underground in its first five years.
The gas giant reached an agreement with the WA government that meant it had to buy 5.23 million greenhouse gas offsets – at an undisclosed cost – as well as spend $40 million on WA lower carbon projects.
So will the legislation change anything?
Ms Wood described the legislation as a "foundational piece" in WA's efforts to tackle climate change, welcoming the government’s commitment.
"What is essential though is that Western Australia moves really quickly to set a science-based target for this decade so we can see substantial emissions reductions," she said.
"Western Australia has some really unique challenges in dealing with climate change, given that we're the only state in Australia where emissions are rising, predominantly due to our large gas export industry.
"So this legislation brings exciting opportunity, but it's also going to require some really strong leadership by the state government and our regulators."
That's especially because WA is the state with the furthest to go, having increased emissions by 4 per cent since 2005, compared to a 20 per cent reduction across the country as a whole.
What’s been the reaction from business?
WA's Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) was broadly supportive, especially of the reduction targets themselves being kept out of legislation.
“What the government has committed itself and future governments to is to consult with the WA business community when it updates its targets," CCI chief economist Aaron Morey said.
"We can only do this together.
"This is an industrial economy built particularly around mining, construction, manufacturing, agriculture and a consultative approach with business is absolutely key."
Mr Morey said businesses were already taking "significant steps" towards decarbonisation.
"They've been under pressure from global markets for some time, and they've been leading the debate and leading the effort," he said.
WA's Chamber of Minerals and Energy (CME) said it "looked forward" to working with the government on understanding the details of the legislation.
"CME supports the state government’s objective of achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and welcomes the intent of the legislation to provide certainty for investment," a spokesperson said.
"Certainty on the state's decarbonisation trajectory, alongside the phasing out of coal from WA's electricity network by 2030, will assist industry in achieving its own reduction targets and commitments."
What happens now?
The government is working to draft the legislation before it's presented to parliament sometime this year.
At the same time, consultations with industry are continuing to decide on when those interim targets will begin, and how big of a reduction they will require.
Under the legislation, the government will have to give at least five years' warning for any targets that it sets, to give businesses time to reduce their emissions.
That means the earliest a target could be set is for late 2028.
