The Queensland Government just released its ten-year energy plan. It will deliver real action to drive down emissions and help secure the future of our regional communities.
Queensland will phase out digging and burning coal for domestic energy – the biggest driver of Queensland emissions – by 2037. $62 billion will be invested into new Queensland-owned renewable energy, including 2-3000 new wind turbines and 36 million new solar panels this decade. Close to 100,000 jobs will be created, mostly in our regions, and there is a $150 million fund to transition coal workers into renewable energy jobs.
The announcement is not a home run. It does not lift our weak 2030 emissions reduction target, halt our alarming deforestation rate or phase out our coal and gas exports. But it is the biggest step forward Queensland has ever taken to protect our communities and wildlife from climate impacts. From 2035, 95% of our state’s power will come from renewables.
I can’t stress enough that people like you speaking out and contacting decision-makers over many, many years is what made this happen. Making political change takes perseverance and collective action. Together we have and will continue to push our decision-makers to act for a thriving living world. To everyone reading, thank you and well done.
Over the next few months, people in the ACF community will meet with their local MPs and ask them to get behind the Queensland CAN! report to make Queensland a climate and nature champion.
Together we’ve built huge support for real climate action and it’s working.
Today is a great day for real climate action and for Queensland. Let’s keep up the demand, build on our growing momentum and push towards more days like this!
