Queensland launches “Climate Action Plan 2030”, or at least, the website for a plan

The Queensland (QLD) government launched its “Climate Action Plan 2030” (Plan) online yesterday, but the website seems to only re-state policies already announced. So is it a plan of action or a plan to plan some action down the line? 

What the QLD government say

Premier Palaszczuk and Environment Minister Scanlon say the Plan affirms and invigorates QLD’s already stated policies of reaching 50% renewable energy by 2030, reducing 20% of its emissions below 2005 levels by 2030 and reaching net zero emissions by 2050. Setting the state on this course at the beginning of the 2020s is the $2 billion investment in the Queensland Renewable Energy and Hydrogen Jobs Fund at the heart of the 2021-22 Budget.

“We are seizing the opportunity to establish Queensland as a national leader in a low-carbon economy and create 185,000 jobs, the most out of any state in the country,” said Palaszczuk.

On the back of Brisbane’s successful 2032 Summer Olympics bid, the world is clearly smitten with QLD’s environmental wonders like the Great Barrier Reef, wonders that need serious looking after if they are to be in a fit state to show off in 2032. 

Palaszczuk said that this Climate Action Plan 2030 is designed to protect that unique environment, “and to grow our economy, we must act on climate change and create more jobs in more industries.” 

Environment Minister Scanlon said that QLD is “home to sunshine and wind…home of the new economy minerals…and the skilled workforce who can process and manufacture them. The home of the scientists and innovators who are charging up our hydrogen industry. And the home of millions of hectares of land perfect for new industries like carbon farming, delivering new income opportunities for our farmers while keeping carbon in the ground. Now it is time to seize these opportunities and set Queensland in a nation-leading position for the future.” 

Scanlon also wrote a Minister’s Forward for the Plan, which doesn’t seem to exist on the website, in which she reiterated already released policies and priorities. “Our Queensland Climate Action Plan 2030 includes all the information you need to know about what we’re already doing” wrote Scanlon, “and what we’re going to do in the future.” However, what the QLD government are “going to do in the future” is apparently come up with a Climate Action Plan to fill out the website.

WWF-Australia support 

Ariane Wilkinson, Great Barrier Reef program manager for WWF-Australia, welcomed the Climate Action Plan as an “encouraging step forward in creating a transparent framework to guide how the state will achieve its targets for renewables, emissions reduction, and climate action.” 

“WWF-Australia welcomes the opportunity to work with the Queensland Government through the Climate Action Plan” continued Wilkinson, “to create real action in making Queensland a renewable export superpower and a global leader on climate action.”

But is it a plan or a website?

But is this “Climate Action Plan 2030” just a plan to make a plan? QLD Greens MP Michael Berkman raised questions about the so called “Plan” in a series of tweets. 

Qld Labor has 2030 and 2050 renewables & emissions reductions targets, but nowhere in the "Plan" shows any timeline or path to meet those targets.

I asked what interim targets or measures the Govt has to measure progress towards its targets.

— Michael Berkman (@mcberkman) July 30, 2021

And during Budget Estimates, according to the Courier Mail, LNP Shadow Minister Sam O’Connor questioned whether any new information or policies were included in this “action plan”.

“I’m a little confused because it appears to just be a collection of policies and strategies which were already released,” said O’Connor. 

According to Scanlon the Plan is a “living document”, and Environment Department director-general Jamie Merrick said the reason for launching the website was because it was “live”. Berkman called this a joke. “A real climate action plan needs a timeline for emissions reduction and workforce transition, with specific measures to phase out coal and gas and rapidly ramp up renewables.”