CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY
548. Hon TIM CLIFFORD to the Minister for Environment:
I refer to an article from The
Sydney Morning Herald of 2 June regarding the Premier's address
to the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association, which
states that the Premier suggested WA would set its own emissions targets to
ensure that Australia meets its obligations under the Paris Agreement.
(1) Does this statement signal a change
in direction of the state climate change policy?
(2) Will the
policy include an emissions reduction target, and has modelling taken place to
support this; and, if so, will the minister please table it?
(3) Will the
policy include a state-based renewable energy target, and has modelling taken
place to support this; and, if so, will the minister please table it?
(4) Will the minister confirm the
expected completion date of the WA climate change policy?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1)–(4) The
Premier did not mention a state-based emissions target in his address to the
Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association. The Western Australian
government's longstanding view is that the primary responsibility for
setting targets and regulating greenhouse gas emissions rests with the
Australian government. The Premier has acknowledged, however, that national
leadership is lacking and the commonwealth government has not fulfilled its
role in providing certainty for business.
Currently we are consulting with
industry, the community and stakeholders on climate change policy to determine
what they need from the state government to help deliver them certainty going
forward. Protecting and creating jobs is and always will be our primary focus.