Victoria’s state Labor Premier Daniel Andrews is being urged to set emissions reduction targets for 2025 and 2030 to boost business confidence and prevent the state falling behind the rest of the world on climate action.
Victorian Labor has set a legislated zero-net emissions target by 2050 but under the State Government’s own laws it was required to set interim targets for 2025 and 2030.
However, it failed to do this by the March 31 deadline last year, blaming COVID-19 for the delay.
In 2019, an expert panel lead by former federal Labor MP Greg Combet recommended an interim target of 32-39 per cent below 2005 levels in 2025; and then 45-60 per cent below 2005 levels in 2030.
Environment Victoria chief executive Jono La Nauze said the Victorian government’s own scientific advice was that Victoria should cut emissions by two-thirds over the next decade to help keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
“The good news is that the state Labor government’s record investment in renewable energy has set Victoria up for deep emissions cuts,” Mr La Nauze said.
“We could close Victoria’s last three coal-fired power stations in the next decade and in so doing cut emissions by 40 per cent.
“We don’t need old power stations like Yallourn that, like the Premier says himself, are increasingly not there on the hot days when we need them.”
The required targets could threaten the longevity of the coal-fired power station at Yallourn in the Latrobe Valley, which is due to close by 2032.
ABC News reports some senior Government figures said that was one of the causes for the delay in setting the targets.
Owner Energy Australia said the company’s goal was to be carbon neutral by 2050.
“We have promised our workers and the local community that, should things change and circumstances remain within our control, we will give at least five years’ notice before closing Yallourn,” an Energy Australia spokesman said.
ABC News reports electricity is by the far the biggest emitter in the state, accounting for 51 per cent of emissions in 2019.
Transport was second with 21 per cent, followed by emissions from cars.
The Hazelwood power plant accounted for 15 per cent of the state’s annual emissions.
ABC News report in 2019, an alliance of business, environment groups and Trades Hall came together to urge climate action in Victoria.
Victorian Chamber of Commerce chief executive Paul Guerra said businesses in Victoria needed certainty because they knew that renewable energy was the future.
“Business doesn’t want to leave a debt and emissions issues for future generations,” he said.
“It’s up to leaders right now to put the right step forward and the way to do that is to get the targets from the state government and then business can react accordingly.”
The Victorian Government was also required to set “sector pledges” by August 1 last year.
Those pledges require the government to outline the actions it would take to reduce Victoria’s emissions in areas such as energy, agriculture and waste management.
Premier Daniel Andrews told reporters on Thursday that even the government’s harshest critics had to acknowledge 2020 was a “pretty challenging year”.
“But we’ll get there just as we are in terms of the transition away from old energy that’s just not reliable and will not be there in the future.
“Because no-one is investing in maintaining those assets let alone building any new ones, that transition is really important and we’re fundamentally committed to it.”
Victoria’s Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, Lily D’Ambrosio, in a statement said Victoria had the strongest climate change legislation in the country, which included achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
“In the last Budget we made the largest investment in clean energy of any state, ever,” she said.
“We will have more to say about our interim targets and climate change strategy soon.”
Victoria has also a series of renewable energy targets, including 25 per cent of local generated power to be from renewable sources by last year, which it met.
By 2025, 40 per cent must come from renewables and half of all power must be renewable by 2030.
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