A key tenet of the Crisafulli Government's draft 25-year Queensland Future Timber Plan has been thrown into question after analysis reveals no factual basis for its claim 32% of the average home is built with hardwood timbers.

The Plan draft states that on current estimates, the average amount of structural timber used in a traditional new one-to-two storey detached home is approximately 68% softwood and 32% hardwood timber. In Queensland, hardwood is sourced from native forests.

The Timber Plan source is a 2010 report but the report author has confirmed this report contains no reference to an industry average for hardwood structural timber components in Australian house construction.

Source: Queensland Future Timber Plan 2050, copyright Queensland Government

In fact, architects say hardwood is "hardly used at all" in modern building, yet the Crisafulli Government's Timber Plan aims to maximise hardwood logging of native forests, further threatening endangered greater gliders and other forest dependent threatened animals and plants.

Research confirming an abandoned coal borehole is leaking the equivalent of 10,000 cars of methane pollution is a sign of a much bigger problem within the Queensland coal industry that the Crisafulli Government needs to fix, says the Queensland Conservation Council.

Methane is the lesser known but extremely toxic greenhouse gas, 86 times more potent than carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over a 20 year period.

The peak body is calling for a borehole audit program to be established within the Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI), paid for by coal royalties. The cost of then remediating these leaks should be the responsibility of the coal corporation responsible, with unmet costs paid for by a levy on all current coal corporations.

Queensland's newest State of the Environment Report exposes the shocking decline of the state's natural heritage over the past four years, including 48 new animal and 66 new plant species listed as threatened.

Released last night, the four-yearly report demonstrates the devastating impact on Queensland wildlife and ecosystems from deforestation, native forest logging, and climate change.

In total, 114 new animal and plant species have been added to Queensland’s threatened species list, bringing the total above 1000. Three species are now listed as extinct in the wild, bringing the total to 15.

Meanwhile, Queensland’s emissions from mining and industrial energy continue to rise dramatically, with overall emissions only dropping due to the outsized role of Queensland forests acting as carbon sinks.

The Queensland Conservation Council has today raised serious concerns about the Crisafulli Government’s continued attacks on climate action and renewable energy, as the Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie axed another wind project.

The Forest Wind farm is proposed in a pine plantation between Gympie and Maryborough. The Deputy Premier said the Government would repeal the Forest Wind Farm Development Act 2020, effectively stopping the project from proceeding.

According to the conservation council, a pine plantation is a much more appropriate site for a wind farm than untouched remnant vegetation.

The impacts of extreme weather events in Queensland over the last three years have cost upwards of $24 billion, according to an analysis by the Queensland Conservation Council (QCC).

This is one of the key figures included in a joint submission to the Queensland Productivity Commission (PDF 1mb) (QPC), which calls on the Queensland Government to maintain the State's 75% by 2035 emissions reduction target and support the roll out of clean technology, like energy efficiency and renewable energy, to address climate change while reducing power bills.

The submission is supported by groups including QCC, the Queensland Council of Social Service and Uniting Church Queensland Synod.

The Queensland Government is currently developing a 5-year Energy Roadmap and reviewing the State's 75 per cent by 2035 emissions reduction target. They have tasked the QPC to provide energy and emissions policy advice as a part of this process. No formal consultation is being undertaken by the QPC and the State Government will decide if the advice is made public.

QPC is due to provide advice to the Queensland Government by September 1st. Energy Minister David Janetzki will release the Crisafulli Government’s Energy Roadmap at a speech on October 10.

The Queensland Conservation Council has slammed the Crisafulli Government's plans to keep the State's ageing coal-fired power stations on life support past their scheduled retirement dates, as news broke today that the April explosion at the Callide coal-fired power station was a result of prioritising energy production over risk management.

The Callide power station is part owned by the Crisafulli Government.

South East Queensland could be home to 50,000 hectares of new conservation parks, according to a report released today.

The Forests for Everyone campaign, backed by a coalition of recreation and conservation groups, will tonight unveil a pathway to secure the future of SEQ’s state forests.

Native forest logging officially ended across nearly 70,000 hectares of state forests between Noosa and the NSW border in late 2024. It was a major step forward – but around 50,000 hectares, home to endangered species such as greater gliders, remain without a plan.

The Protect Beautiful Queensland alliance's Forests for Everyone campaign calls on the State Government to protect these remaining forests and invest in recreational access and visitor facilities.

The new report sets out the way forward for SEQ’s state forests, and hundreds of people have already signed a petition urging the government to act. Comments from some Protect Beautiful Queensland alliance members and speakers at tonight’s event:

A new analysis by the Queensland Conservation Council has identified the surprising Queensland postcodes leading on battery storage installation following the introduction of the national Cheaper Home Batteries Program.

The residents of Beenleigh and surrounds have made the most of the battery rebate, installing 655 kWh in the first month that the scheme was open, followed by Caloundra, Helensvale, Coomera and Springfield Lakes. In total, more than 1,700 Queenslanders used the federal rebate to install a battery in July.

This comes as the Queensland Household Energy Survey 2025 of more than 4,000 Queenslanders found that almost half of Queenslanders have rooftop solar and 24 per cent intend to purchase a solar system or upgrade their existing one in the next three years.

Queensland’s love affair with clean technology doesn’t end there, with a staggering 58 per cent of surveyed Queenslanders considering purchasing an electric vehicle (EV) in the next three years, on top of the 10 per cent who already own one.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has today warned that Queensland could face an electricity reliability gap this coming summer as electricity demand grows and the state's ageing coal power stations keep breaking down.

The central scenario forecast an 80 MW shortfall for Queensland, enough to power the equivalent of approximately 20,000 homes.

According to the Queensland Conservation Council, the new 2025 Electricity Statement of Opportunities report by AEMO should light a fire under the Queensland Government to plan for the closure of our failing coal units.

The Queensland Conservation Council is today slamming Premier David Crisafulli's royalty deal with Adani as a betrayal of transparency, nature, and climate. The deal, the details of which have not been made public, apparently allows Adani to defer paying royalties in exchange for expanding its Carmichael coal mine, which is one of the largest and most environmentally destructive coal mines on the planet.

Just weeks ago, it was revealed Adani has paid zero company tax since commencing operations, despite promising to put $22 billion back into the economy.