Queenslanders need a government that will stop companies digging up and burning more dirty coal and embrace a clean energy future
Queenslanders need a government that will stop companies digging up and burning more dirty coal and embrace a clean energy future, the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) has declared as the state heads to the polls.
ACF Chief Executive Officer, Kelly O’Shanassy, said the mass taxpayer largess being promised to Adani’s dirty coal mine and who will best turbocharge Queensland’s burgeoning clean energy industry will be major factors in this year’s state election.
“Queensland is on the precipice of a clean energy revolution. North Queensland is already enjoying the benefits of an explosion in new large solar projects and the rest of the state should follow,” Ms O’Shanassy said.
“Whoever forms government in Queensland after this election must have a concrete plan to encourage as much clean energy from the sun and the wind as possible, not stand in the way of this inevitable transition.
“So far Labor has committed to 50 per cent clean energy by 2030 and net-zero pollution by 2050. It has promised to end large-scale tree clearing and to back big clean energy projects.
“The LNP has committed to scrapping these promises and instead wants to build a new coal-burning power plant that will further pollute our planet.
“Both the Palaszczuk Government and the LNP opposition have let us down by backing Adani’s dirty coal mine. It’s outrageous they’re supporting a billionaire who wants to dig a mega mine that would destroy our climate, drain and pollute our groundwater and trash our Great Barrier Reef.
“This election gives Queensland communities an opportunity to send a strong message to their elected officials that they want clean energy, they want a healthy reef, and they want clean air and clean water.
“The decisions our elected officials make now will determine what kind of Queensland we will have in the future. Do we want runaway climate change? Or do we want to continue to enjoy our clean air, our clean water and our beautiful reef that supports so many Queensland communities?”
