A healthy, thriving Queensland requires climate action now – but the Palaszczuk Government has stalled on cutting emissions and Queensland is falling far, far behind the science and the rest of the country.
It's time for the Premier to step up and protect Queenslanders from climate damage. Together, let's call on her to do just that.
Writing your email
To write a strong email to the Premier, include these two things:
- Introduce who you are, why you are concerned about climate damage – floods, fires, droughts, rising sea levels, health impacts, economic impacts – and that the Queensland state government needs to do more to seriously address it.
- Call on the Premier to listen to the science and Queenslanders, not polluters, and deliver real climate action now – that means raising our 2030 emissions reduction target to at least 50%, with the policies to get us there.
What's the issue
The Palaszczuk Government is taking some positive climate steps like investing $145 million into three new Renewable Energy Zones, but it's not doing enough to meaningfully slash the pollution that drives climate damage. Time and again, they keep backing down to the big polluters that drive climate damage.
- Queenslands's polluting coal and gas industries are still expanding
- Queensland is a deforestation hotspot (when forests are logged and burnt, greenhouses gases that heat the planet are released into the air)
- Last week our state government, following lobbying by big polluters, watered down emissions reduction targets for mining companies
- The new state budget has nothing to actually cut emissions
2030 emissions reduction targets:
| Tasmania |
100% |
| ACT |
65-75% |
| South Australia |
50% |
| New South Wales |
50% |
| Victoria |
45-50% |
| Queensland |
30% |
What's the solution
We need our state government to listen to us the people, not polluters – and get real climate action for Queensland now.
The Palaszcuk Government needs to seriously invest in manufacturing relaible, affordable clean energy here in Queensland to replace polluting fuels like coal and gas that drive climate damage.
Us Queenslanders have a winning combination of abundant sun and wind, a skilled labour force and are close to growing markets. If we put it all together we can seriously slash pollution and:
- Power our homes with reliable, affordable clean energy
- Become the best in the world in exporting clean energy out to the world
- Create more jobs for Queenslanders
We should also be doing more to protect our incredible nature. Queensland is a global deforestation hotspot and nature is powerful climate solution.
When living, breathing forests are logged and burnt, massive amounts of greenhouse gases that heat the planet are released into the air from the trees and soil, and it takes generations to be captured again in regrowth forests.
Queensland's wet tropics are some of the most carbon-dense forests on Earth.
In turn, taking climate action protects nature, like the Great Barrier Reef from coral bleaching.