Conservation groups have today welcomed the Queensland Government's continued investment in joint management of national parks on Cape York Peninsula and highlighted the importance of the $14.8 million funding for joint management in achieving state and national targets.

A coalition of environment groups has released a joint letter calling on the Queensland Government to urgently improve its emissions reduction targets following today’s declaration that Australia will face hotter and drier conditions as a result of an El Niño event this summer.

The joint letter – signed by 14 groups representing more than 931,500 Queenslanders – calls on Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to strengthen Queensland’s emissions reduction targets to at least 60% by 2030, 70% by 2032 and 90% below 2005 levels by 2035.

These targets would bring Queensland in line with the ambition of other states and closer to what climate science shows is the minimum required for Queensland to do its part to hold warming to 1.5°C.

A new report to be launched on the Sunshine Coast today shows koalas face an existential threat from urban sprawl and greenfield development in South East Queensland.

The Holding the Line report (PDF 6mb), commissioned by Queensland Conservation Council, shows the new update to the ShapingSEQ regional plan risks taking one of Australia’s fastest growing regions below the 'bare minimum' international benchmark of 30% bushland coverage. Almost 6% of bushland is at risk of being lost to urban sprawl and new developments over the planning time period.

Expert analysis released today shows consolidation and well-designed infill can deliver all the housing that South East Queensland needs, with fewer costs and better social outcomes than urban sprawl. Commissioned by Queensland Conservation Council, the independent report from SGS Economics and Planning (PDF 3mb) provides a welcome injection of impartial and expert analysis to the housing debate.

The State Government is currently updating the SEQ Regional Plan in response to the housing crisis and growing population, with SEQ expected to grow to over 6 million people over the coming two decades.

• Have your say on the draft SEQ Regional Plan
• Read the Best Practice Regional Planning for SEQ report (PDF 3mb)

Environment groups from across four states have welcomed progress on the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, saying the new agreement has the potential to move us beyond the unworkable barriers and delay tactics of the past decade.

Queensland Energy Minister Mick de Brenni has today confirmed that renewable energy now provides a quarter of the Sunshine State’s electricity. The Minister also highlighted during budget estimates that Queenslanders are enjoying the cheapest bills in the country, largely due to the State Government’s $550 electricity rebate.

Local conservationists have welcomed the announcement from Minister for Environment Leanne Linard of a new national park near Hughenden.

North Queensland Conservation Council Coordinator Crystal Falknau said:

"It's great to see one of north Queensland's hidden gems getting the attention it needs.

"These places are really important, culturally as well as for biodiversity conservation. Natural assets attract people to our region and we love to see our national parks celebrated."

Queensland Conservation Council is calling for the State Government’s South East Queensland draft regional plan to protect our native forests and the koalas, owls and other wildlife that calls it home.

The new plan - released for public consultation today - sets the rules around development in the state's south-east, which is expected to grow to accommodate a population of 6 million by 2046.

The plan proposes that 70% of development will take place within the existing urban footprint, while 30% will involve expansion into new areas.

Yesterday on National Trees Day, the Queensland Government released the latest Statewide Landcover and Trees Study (SLATS) report. The report shows 349,399 hectares of land was cleared during the reporting period of 2020-2021, cementing Queensland as the national leader in deforestation and continuing Australia’s unenviable international status as a hotspot for deforestation.

While welcoming the decrease in land clearing as shown in the 2020-2021 SLATS yesterday, the Wilderness Society and Queensland Conservation Council have recently acquired new footage, taken this year in Central Queensland, highlighting the devastating reality of broadscale land clearing. Land clearing and deforestation are still driving environmental destruction in Queensland.

Koalas face extinction if the six million residents projected to call South East Queensland home by 2046 are all housed in new detached housing estates.

Queensland Conservation Council has sounded the alarm that the future of our threatened species will be determined by how we build new homes.