An alliance of more than 20 community, environment, faith and industry groups have joined together to publish an open letter in The Courier-Mail calling for energy policy certainty from all major political parties.

Queensland Conservation Council has joined groups including the Smart Energy Council, Anglican Church Southern Queensland, Australian Marine Conservation Society, Uniting Church Queensland Synod, and Australian Conservation Foundation asking for all parties and candidates running in the Queensland election to commit to an energy transition plan with clear timelines.

The open letter signed by more than 20 community groups, is below.

Queensland Conservation Council Director Dave Copeman said:

This open letter shows the depth and breadth of diverse community support for a well-planned transition to renewable energy.

More than 20 community, environment and faith groups have signed on calling for energy certainty that will deliver our bipartisan emissions reduction target of 75% by 2035.

Queensland has one of the most comprehensive energy transition plans in the country and we’re currently on track to reach our renewable energy targets.

The last thing we need right now is chaos and uncertainty that will undermine investor confidence, delay vital planning, and leave consumers exposed to high power bills.

We join these groups in calling on our political leaders to commit to a well-planned, swift transition to cheap, safe renewable energy to keep power prices down and protect Queensland jobs and communities.

A new poll has found the majority of Queenslanders, 57 per cent, agree we need to quickly bring online more renewable energy to prevent energy supply shortfalls and bring down power prices.

This comes as Queensland suffers through a scorching end of winter heatwave that could result in bill shock for consumers switching on air conditioning.

The poll of more than 2,000 Queensland residents, commissioned by the Queensland Conservation Council, shows the majority of Queensland voters, 54 per cent, want the Queensland LNP to support the state’s existing renewable energy targets.

In April, the Queensland Parliament legislated renewable energy targets of 70 per cent by 2032 and 80 per cent by 2035. The Queensland Opposition voted against legislating the renewable energy targets and does not currently have an energy plan despite public support for clean and cheap energy.

The decision today by the World Heritage Committee not to list the Great Barrier Reef as endangered should not be taken as an excuse to delay strong action to reduce emissions.

Warmer water temperature due to global heating is the key driver of the mass bleaching events that are endangering the Great Barrier Reef.

The Queensland Conservation Council (QCC) today celebrates a monumental day for climate action in Queensland with the passing of two legislations to lock into law Queensland’s 75 per cent emission reduction target and 80 per cent renewable energy target.

The peak conservation group welcomes the LNP Opposition’s public support for the emissions targets, but is concerned that they voted against the Bill to legislate Queensland’s renewable energy targets.

Queensland Conservation Council is calling on the Queensland Government and Opposition to respond fully to the ongoing FNQ flood disasters, and take action to keep Queenslanders safe now and in the future. This includes bipartisan emission reduction targets, and climate resilient planning that properly assesses the impact of climate change.

Queensland Conservation Council and independent experts from Accenture have modelled a Qld Climate Action Plan roadmap outlining how Queensland CAN cut pollution by 60% by 2030 and create 87,000 climate solution jobs. 

The reality is that Queensland has a lot at stake when it comes to climate impacts, but if we make the right choices, we also have a lot to gain. 

Our communities and ecosystems are already facing devastating impacts from climate-induced disasters like droughts, flooding and coral bleaching. And it’s Queensland communities who can demand the action we need to cut pollution by building climate solutions. 

Our landmark report outlines a clear roadmap that the Queensland Government could take, made up of three new clean industries and eight policy reforms including:

• Repower Queensland with clean energy ~53,000 jobs
  • Build 25 GW new renewable energy by 2030
  • Build 5 GW of renewable storage
  • Accelerate rooftop solar and electrify old gas
    

• Lay the foundation for a gigaton-scale land carbon industry ~10,000 jobs
  • Reset the Land Restoration Fund
    

• Accelerate clean exports ~24,000 jobs
  • Invest in 6GW of green hydrogen
  • Build battery manufacturing
  • Tighten coal mine methane regulation
  • Curb methane from cattle

The Queensland CAN roadmap shows that 6 of every 10 new jobs in this plan would be regionally-focused, providing huge economic benefits for communities across Queensland.

Regional and rural Queensland punches above its weight when it comes to natural resources, with the CAN roadmap showing that Queensland has the most abundant solar and wind power in the nation. 

Unfortunately, we are lagging behind almost all other states and territories when it comes to climate targets, with the Queensland CAN roadmap providing a scorecard that puts us in 6th place behind SA, Vic, NSW, Tas and the ACT.

Queensland’s current 2030 targets include;

• 50% renewable energy 
• 30% emission reductions on 2005 levels
• Zero net emissions by 2050

As outlined in the Qld CAN roadmap, if the Queensland Government maintains these targets, we will not come close to aligning with the goals of the Paris agreement which aim to keep warming below 1.5 degrees. 

We have the natural resources, industrial skills and love for our people and places to build the climate solutions we need - now we just need the political leadership to make it happen. 

The Queensland Government has a responsibility to support regional communities to make the most of these clean industry opportunities and to protect our world-renowned natural wonders. 

The report demonstrates that currently, Queensland is one of the highest per capita carbon emitters in the world, falling only behind Alberta (Canada) and Qatar. We make up 32% of Australia’s carbon emissions with over ⅓ of Queensland’s emissions coming from coal and gas powered electricity. To protect our communities and ecosystems, we need the Queensland Government to build climate solutions that cuts the pollution fueling Queensland climate disasters.

Now is the critical moment for our Government to become a leader in climate solutions. The Qld CAN roadmap demonstrates that our state is well-placed to be ahead of the international market and benefit from opportunities in domestic and global clean industries, but we need our elected representatives to agree that Queensland CAN take climate action now. 

Communities are already demanding action, let’s increase the pressure to make it happen. 

Check out the full report below or watch the launch recording.

OR Check out the 4 page summary here:

Queensland Conservation Council has welcomed the news from Rio Tinto today that they will look to power the Boyne Island smelter with 4 GW of firmed renewable energy by 2030. 

“Queensland has a massive opportunity to expand our manufacturing, based on our great renewable energy resources, to create long term jobs while reducing our carbon emissions. We’re very pleased to see Rio Tinto recognises this and is moving towards this clean, cheaper energy future”, Queensland Conservation Council Director Dave Copeman said. 

“The world is moving towards renewable energy. If Queensland doesn’t keep up we will be left with expensive and aging fossil fuel assets. We will miss out on the future-proof jobs that renewables offer.” Mr Copeman said. 

“The Queensland Government is developing the 10 Year Energy Plan at the moment. We need that to show strong leadership to put communities and the environment at the heart of the move to renewable energy.” Mr Copeman said.

“We’re calling on the Queensland Government to lay out plans to build 6 GW of renewable energy and 2 GW of storage by 2025, through planned renewable energy zones that protect our biodiversity and provide long term jobs and benefits for communities.” Mr Copeman said.

“This is the scale of ambition we need to lead the renewable energy transition, when private companies such as Rio are planning their own development of 4 GW of firmed renewable energy by 2030.We also need a well funded, independent transition authority, that combines central access to the Queensland Government with regional, place based planning.” Mr Copeman said.

Media Contact: Dave Copeman [email protected] 0408841595

Queensland Conservation Council has called on Energy Minister Mick de Brenni to take a bold plan to build storage and commit to renewable energy long term to the first Energy Ministers meeting under new Federal Climate and Energy Minister, Chris Bowen tomorrow.

“We know that big batteries would save Queenslanders money. Our analysis found that two 100 megawatt, two hour batteries would have reduced wholesale electricity prices by over $100m in just one week in the February heatwave. We need Minister de Brenni to commit to a big battery build to solve the energy crunch.” Queensland Conservation Council Energy Strategist Clare Silcock said.   

“When South Australia faced blackouts, their response was to build a 100 megawatt battery in 100 days, bringing down power bills and delivering energy security. Queenslanders are about to be hit with a significant rise in power prices which means we need action from Minister de Brenni,” Ms Silcock said. 

“If South Australia could do it, Queensland can do it too. Minister de Brenni should commit to two 100 megawatt two hour batteries by the end of Winter, to start bringing down power prices for Queenslanders and safeguard our energy system ahead of summer,” Ms Silcock said. 

“After more than a year of planning, we are confident that Queensland Government can build batteries on land it already owns, connected to a transmission network it owns, to be operated by generators that it owns, quickly.” Ms Silcock asked.  

In the last 12 months, outages across all power stations have pushed up prices. In May, an average of over 3 GW of coal capacity was unavailable, around 40% of the state’s entire coal fleet.  

“The only time we’re getting any relief in prices is in the middle of the day when rooftop and large-scale solar is generating. This demonstrates how desperately we need more renewable energy capacity and more storage,” Ms Silcock said. 

Renewable energy expansion in Queensland has stalled since 2017 due to lack of political appetite that would make space for investment from renewable energy proponents. 

“We can’t rely on coal to get us out of this energy supply crisis. At tomorrow’s Federal Energy meeting, we need de Brenni to show that Queensland is ready for the jobs and industry opportunities that renewable energy delivers and the battery storage we need to keep prices stable long term,” Ms Silcock said. 

Media contact: Clare Silcock [email protected]