Queensland State Government
Climate Change is one of the great challenges facing Queensland and the worldtoday. The Queensland Government is taking action on a number of fronts toreduce the state’s carbon footprint to help tackle this global issue.Toward Q2: Tomorrow’s Queensland outlines theGovernment’s plans and priorities for the future, including a commitment to cutby one third Queenslanders’ waste to landfill, car and electricity use by 2020.This will be achieved primarily through the introduction of a national CarbonPollution Reduction Scheme that puts a cap on the amount of carbon pollutiongenerated by the largest emitters.
The Queensland Government is working closely with theAustralian Government on the creation of the scheme which will have a bigimpact on industry emissions. The transition to a lower emissions economy iswhere the biggest inroads will be made in cutting our carbon footprint.
The Queensland Government is also committed to reducingemissions in the energy sector by deploying new forms of renewable technologies(such as solar thermal and geothermal) and exploring low-emission technologies(such as carbon capture and storage).
To that end, Queenslandis supporting the uptake of renewable energies and will play its role inhelping to achieve a national 20 per cent renewable energy target by 2020.
The Queensland Government is also investing heavily inpublic transport and new cycling lanes and programs to encourage people to carpool, cycle or walk in favour of driving.
Toward Q2: Tomorrow’s Queensland represents the next step in a long-term investment to manage, adapt andmitigate against climate change. Queensland is well-positioned to respond and willmaintain its SmartState reputation and reapthe benefits that come from early action on climate change.
The Queensland Government is reviewing, updating and consolidating its current climate change strategy in light of the latest scientific assessments as well as national and international policy developments on climate change.