The Australian Government’s shocking new report, National Climate Risk Assessment, highlights that North Queensland communities will be some of the most exposed and affected by multiple climate hazards. In Queensland, the number of homes with very high-risk exposure to climate impacts is projected to increase to up to 185,000.

The report models three scenarios: 1.5°C, 2.0°C and 3.0°C of global warming. Under the worst case scenario, sea levels are expected to rise by half a metre by 2090, with 18 of the 20 most-exposed regions in Queensland. By 2090, more than three million people across the country could be living in areas with a high-risk and very high-risk of coastal flooding and erosion caused by sea level rise.

Heat-related mortality in Townsville is expected to increase by almost 350 per cent in a 3.0°C scenario, but even in the best case scenario, mortality is still expected to rise by almost 100 per cent.

Overall the report found that Australian communities will face more extreme and frequent climate disasters, from severe East Coast flooding and stronger Category 4-5 cyclones in the North, to longer bushfire seasons in the South. Urban coastal centres, the Torres Strait, and remote communities are among the most at risk, with critical infrastructure, agricultural regions and cultural heritage sites all flagged as vulnerable as sea levels rise, floods intensify and droughts deepen.

The Queensland Conservation Council says the finding of this report should act as a wake-up call for the Federal and State Government, which are both still supporting new fossil fuel extraction while inadequately preparing communities for the devastating climate impacts already locked in.

The Queensland Government has doubled down on its plans to lock in native forest logging for another 25 years, confirming fears nature has been completely sidelined in a desperate bid to breathe life into Queensland's failing native timber sector.

In a statement issued today Minister for Primary Industries Anthony Perrett confirmed his draft Future Timber Plan was "on track" to be delivered next month.

The news comes after the Queensland Conservation Council revealed the draft timber plan contained false data on the amount of native timber needed to build homes, with Minister Perrett silent on the source of the disputed figure.

The Queensland Conservation Council today condemns comments from senior figures in the Crisafulli Government that they will keep the State's failing coal power stations online past their scheduled retirement dates, and even for "many, many decades".

This ideological pro-fossil fuel stance is a huge waste of taxpayer money and will risk energy reliability for Queenslanders.

The Queensland Conservation Council has today expressed deep concern that the Crisafulli Government is reportedly planning to keep Queensland’s coal-fired power stations open beyond 2035 – breaking their pre-election promise to Queenslanders to cut emissions by 75% by 2035.

This comes as the environment peak body calls on the Queensland Government to publicly release the energy and emissions policy advice that they commissioned from the Queensland Productivity Commission (QPC). The advice, which will inform the Crisafulli Government’s 5-Year Energy Roadmap, was due to the Government on September 1.

The Treasurer and Energy Minister, David Janetzki, tasked QPC with providing advice on Queensland’s energy and emissions policy settings, including targets. The Treasurer indicated during July Estimates that the advice would be made publicly available.

The QPC did not undertake any formal open consultation when formulating their advice, and nor has the Queensland Government through the process of developing their Energy Roadmap. The Roadmap is expected to be released on October 10.

The Queensland Conservation Council has welcomed today's announcement by Environment Minister Murray Watt that proposed "regional planning" guidelines for major projects are to be locked into upcoming amendments to the Environment Protection Biodiversity Conservation Act.

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.