NET ZERO EMISSIONS — 2050 TARGET
34. Ms C.M. COLLINS to the Minister for Climate Action:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's investment in creating new green jobs for Western Australians
and the work it is undertaking with all sectors to achieve net zero emissions by
2050. Can the minister update the house on how the McGowan Labor government is
not only delivering new green jobs, but also supporting communities across Western
Australia through innovative carbon abatement projects?
Ms A.
SANDERSON replied:
I
thank the member for Hillarys for the question and congratulate her on her
election to this place and on her excellent inaugural speech last night. I note
that in that speech the member listed climate change, as a number of members
have, as one of the pressing issues facing governments at every level all over
the world. The Western Australian McGowan government is committed to achieving
net zero emissions by 2050. In doing that, we see opportunities for communities
and jobs in Western Australia. As a resources state, we are well positioned to
be a climate leader and work with industry to avoid emissions, capture and
store carbon, and invest in groundbreaking projects that will offset those
emissions that otherwise cannot be prevented. Where industries operating in Western
Australia cannot avoid emissions, they will need to offset. We want to make
sure that they are offsetting those emissions by actually investing in
WA projects and WA carbon abatement projects. There are huge opportunities for
jobs in WA and investment in the regions.
There are also considerable conservation and land productivity benefits with
carbon conservation projects. To
date, around 5.6 million Australian carbon credit units—ACCUs—have
been issued to projects registered in
Western Australia alone, and that represents around $100 million worth of
investment at today's prices.
There
is still a lot of untapped potential in Western Australia, particularly in the
southern rangelands, where there is the
potential to sequester tens of millions of tonnes of carbon. To promote
sequestration, the McGowan government has
allowed carbon farming on pastoral leases and it has established a $15 million
land restoration and carbon farming program to open up these projects. We will
continue to open up carbon sequestration as part of the Plan for Our Parks and
on the conservation estate. These projects will also help improve the health of
some of our pastoral areas.
We are also developing our policy
frameworks around supporting the use of savannah fire management in the
northern part of the state and working hand in hand with Indigenous
Australians, understanding and respecting their deep understanding of the land
and how savannah burning can contribute to carbon abatement.
Point of Order
Mr R.S.
LOVE: I wonder whether the minister could table the document that
she is reading from rather than put us through the lengthy answer.
The
SPEAKER: That is not a point of order. I can see the minister's
notes from here. She has her own highlighted sections on it and so forth. I do
not require her to table it.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Ms A. SANDERSON: We have
already seen about 1.2 million tonnes of abatement through these practices.
This could open up the southern Kimberley to
significant new investment around savannah burning. One of the challenges
we face in WA right now is that not enough methods of carbon abatement that are
accredited by the commonwealth are suitable for Western Australia. One of the
announcements made recently by the federal government related to a $100 million
blue carbon fund. I recently wrote to the federal Minister for the Environment,
Minister Ley, to request that since WA has the largest amount of coastline, it
should be in receipt of some of those funds so we can look at developing blue
carbon initiatives in WA.
If
we are going to expand the offset market, which we need to in Western Australia
to help reach net zero emissions, we have to support research and
innovation. The McGowan government is delivering on its commitment to spend $15
million on new carbon innovation grants to fund research and innovative trials
across the state.
In
my new role, I look forward to working with industry to support research and
piloting programs, reducing, abating and storing carbon so that we can
all reach net zero emissions.
Mr V.A. Catania interjected.
The SPEAKER: Member for
North West Central, I hope you are not going to interject continuously as well.