A proposal to ban new coal and gas approvals and phase out fossil fuel exports by 2030 has been formally introduced in the house.
On Wednesday morning, 15 March 2023, protesters carrying a 4.5 metre-tall “zombie koala” shut down Brisbane’s CBD as the Greens are set to introduce a new bill in the house that seeks to ban new coal and gas approvals and to wind down the fossil fuel industry this decade.
An independent Queensland Climate Transition Authority will be created for the purpose of overseeing the targets and developing a fair transition plan that will replace coal and gas jobs with alternative job opportunities by 2030.
Greens MP Michael Berkman said that Queensland is also a major contributor to the climate crisis and has also seen some of its worst impacts which call for a climate action plan that will cut emissions in the coming decade.
Climate science, he said, calls for getting rid of fossil fuels completely which is why the new bill would seek to ban new coal and gas approvals and phase out fossil fuel exports by 2030.
An International Energy Agency report on the global energy sector’s roadmap to net-zero emissions by 2050, suggested that governments should already stop investing in “new fossil fuel supply projects” and there should be “no further final investment decisions for new unabated coal plants.”
Currently, Queensland’s emissions reduction targets are a 30 per cent reduction by 2030 and a net zero by 2050. However, he said that independent modelling shows that these reduction targets do not comply with the Paris Agreement objective of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
To meet these objectives, emissions should be reduced by approximately 74 per cent on 2005 levels by 2030 and reach net zero by the mid-2030s.
“I’m introducing a bill for a climate action plan that is consistent with the science and will help build Queensland’s future beyond coal and gas,” he said.
“If we don’t make these changes Queenslanders will see more floods, fires and heatwaves, higher grocery prices, skyrocketing insurance premiums and sudden job losses.
“One way or another, coal and gas are on the way out.
The Queensland Climate Transition Bill at a glance:
- Bans new coal, oil and gas approvals
- Sets stronger emission reduction targets of 75% by 2030 and net zero by 2035
- Creates an independent Queensland Climate Transition Authority to oversee the targets and develop a plan to phase out coal, oil and gas exports by 2030
Published 19-March-2023