19 December, 2018
Less talk, more action required to get NSW to zero emissions by 2050
After almost eight years of inaction, the NSW Coalition Government still wants someone else to develop a plan to help NSW reach its net-zero emissions target by 2050.
NSW Energy Minister Don Harwin has announced he will move at the COAG meeting today that the Energy Security Board provide policy options to Ministers on how to achieve NSW’s vision of becoming a net-zero emissions state by 2050.
“Rather than take responsibility for the state’s emissions, NSW still wants someone else to make the tough decisions on climate and energy,” NCC CEO Kate Smolski said.
“Mr Harwin says this is the ‘circuit breaker’ we need, but this is just more of the same prevarication from the NSW Government that has let the dysfunctional federal Coalition ‘lead’ on the issue for years.
“The Coalition government in NSW has had almost eight years to ramp up clean energy development and phase out coal but has done very little.
“NSW now has the most coal-dependent energy sector in the nation, with more than 80% of our electricity coming from coal-fired power stations.
“Meanwhile, the government has been sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars collected by the NSW Climate Change Fund for years.
“This is money should have been spent on the solar, wind and pumped hydro projects NSW needs to reach its stated goal or net-zero emissions by 2050.
“NSW doesn’t have a coherent plan. The Berejiklian government has not even finalised the Climate Change Fund draft strategic plan it released more than two years ago.”
Ms Smolski welcome Mr Harwin’s repudiation of the federal Coalition’s climate and energy position but questioned why NSW had not spoken out sooner.
“At long last the NSW Government has called out their federal Coalition colleagues’ disastrous posturing on climate and energy, but it will take more than tough talk from Mr Harwin to get NSW on track to net zero emissions by 2050.
“We need action and we need it now.”
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Climate and energy
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