Steven Miles announces ambitious emissions reduction plan in first speech as Queensland premier

 

Miles raises state’s reduction target to 75% by 2035, one of the most ambitious in the country, in a move praised by environmental groups

Steven Miles has used his first speech as Queensland premier to announce an ambitious emissions reduction plan for the state in a move praised by environmental groups.

On Friday, Annastacia Palaszczuk’s newly anointed successor raised the state’s target to 75% by 2035. Queensland had previously promised just 30% below 2005 levels by 2030. The previous objective was even lower than the targets set by Scott Morrison in 2021.

Environmental groups were quick to point out that the state, which had among the weakest emissions reduction targets in the country, now has one of the most ambitious.

“Our trading partners, particularly those in Europe, North America and much of Asia, are demanding the places they trade with act responsibly,” Miles said.

“That’s why responsible emissions targets are essential to jobs in our existing industries like mining, agriculture, and manufacturing.

“And it’s the key to creating more jobs in the new industries of the future, like hydrogen, critical minerals, and sustainable aircraft fuel.”

Miles also flagged on Friday that the government has refused approval for Clive Palmer’s Waratah coal fired power station.

“If approved this project would have ranked among the Top 100 greenhouse gas emission sources in Australia,” he said.

“The potential electricity output from this project pales in comparison to the approved renewable energy initiatives in central Queensland.”

Miles said the target was only possible as a result of the state’s energy and jobs plan – a $62bn scheme for expansion of publicly owned green energy, which he called “the most ambitious of any government in Australia”.

Environmental groups invited to the event said it was telling that the goal was laid out in the premier’s very first speech.

WWF Australia’s senior manager Ariane Wilkinson said the new target “brings Queensland from the back of the pack towards the front of the pack”, and is “higher than the New South Wales 2035 target”.

WWF has called for a 90% reduction target. Victoria’s emissions reduction target of 75% to 80% by 2035 and net zero by 2045 is about the same as Queensland’s, though the state is less dependent on the resources industry.

The Australian Conservation Foundation program manager Gavan McFadzean said the commitment “tells you that Steven Miles has got his priorities right”.

Because the fugitive emissions from Queensland’s coal and gas mines will be counted as part of the target, McFadzean said the announcement means it’s “the death knell for domestic energy from coal and gas” and sets up an “inevitable transition for Australia’s fossil fuel exports”.

Lock the Gate Alliance argued that the new target could not be achieved if any new coalmines were approved. A decision is due on Whitehaven’s Winchester South coalmine next week, with Queensland currently the country’s highest-emitting state.

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