The State of Queensland
Government Details
- Government Name
- The State of Queensland
- Population
- 4.5 million (2010)
- GDP
- A$254 billion (2010)
- Sector
- State
- Country
- Australia
Overview
The economy of Queensland is based on tourism and primary industries such as mining, many of which are energy intensive. Substantial growth of the economy and population over the last 20 years has brought opportunities and challenges for sustainability.
Apart from the urban cluster in the south-east centered on Brisbane and the Gold Coast, the state’s population is one of the most dispersed in Australia. This fact contributes to transport emissions, and Queensland’s average carbon emissions per person are among the highest in world. Transport emissions in Queensland have grown by 59% since 1990, now accounting for over 10% of its total carbon emissions, with the majority of this figure coming from private cars.
The State Government has developed a comprehensive climate change response strategy entitled ClimateQ: Towards a greener Queensland. Energy policies contained in the strategy include demand reduction through efficiency and microgeneration, and decarbonizing the state’s energy supply by harnessing the region’s rich renewable energy resources. Policies are also outlined for transport, commerce, industry, ecosystems, Government and communities.
ClimateSmart2050 is a $1.4 billion investment by the Queensland Government that presents a balanced mix of short, medium and long-term initiatives for responding to climate change and contributing to a national greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of 60% below 2000 levels by 2050. As part of this initiative, all Government buildings will be carbon neutral by 2020.
The Queensland Government has established The Queensland Climate Change Centre of Excellence (QCCCE) to carry out targeted research to inform Queensland’s response to climate change, including mitigation and adaptation strategies.
Queenslanders have already demonstrated their ability to make positive daily changes by saving vast amounts of water in response to the recent drought in south-east Queensland. The state Government seeks to build on this success by engaging householders on a range of actions that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save money.
Current activities
Energy efficiency
The ClimateQ strategy includes a A$47 million trial to demonstrate the large-scale efficacy of energy conservation and demand management, which has been in progress since June 2010.
The trial works with households, communities and energy distributors to fit energy-saving devices to certain appliances such as air conditioners and pool pumps. The wider program aims to reduce peak demand and thereby save money on energy infrastructure in future.
Since the launch of ClimateSmart 2050, Queensland has had a progressive system of planning regulations for new buildings and major renovations. Nearly A$500,000 is available for energy efficiency upgrades and a similar amount is being invested in developing green building skills in the State.
Renewable energy
The National Government has set a target for 20% of Australia’s energy to come from renewable sources by 2020. Queensland’s renewable portfolio accounted for 6% of its output in 2006. The state has committed to installing 2.5gigawatts of additional renewable energy by 2020 and 300,000 solar water heaters by 2013.
Many areas rich in renewable resources are far from population centers. Renewable generation projects will stimulate rural development with jobs and infrastructure investment. In total the state Government will enable A$3.5 billion investments in clean energy from private and public sources by 2020.
Additionally the Queensland Government has established major public-private partnerships such as the AUD$900 million A21 Coal Fund to develop carbon capture and storage technologies.
Clean transport
In 2010 A$702 million was invested to improve efficiency of bus, rail, pedestrian and cycle networks.
Queensland’s TravelSmart Communities program has demonstrated significant travel behaviour change in individual households. In the North Brisbane project, private vehicle use was reduced by an estimated 114 million kilometers, or 13%, with participants traveling by other means instead.
The Queensland Government provides tax incentives for the purchase of hybrid and electric vehicles. The Government will continue to purchase hybrid and low emission vehicles for its fleets.
Sustainable land use
The ClimateQ program outlines policies for sustainable development and land use for building. Queensland already has clear guidelines on water conservation.
Much of the contribution of tourism to the Queensland economy derives from natural environments such as the Great Barrier Reef and national parks. Direct spending by tourists amounts to over A$8 billion each year. To protect this, the state Government committed in 2008 to double the land area of national parks to include 7.5% of its area.
Nature refuges currently protect 730,000 hectares and will be expanded to assist in meeting the goal of protecting 20 million hectares by 2020. These refuges will complement national parks and can improve the ability for species to adjust to climate change.
Waste management
Through its Toward Q2 initiative, the Queensland Government set a target of reducing Queenslanders’ carbon footprint by one third by 2020 by reducing electricity and fuel use and better management of household waste. The reThink Waste! program aims, among other targets, to reduce waste to landfill by 50% and gas emissions from landfill by 50%.
Smart cities
State utility Ergon Energy is leading a A$5 million consortium on the Townsville Queensland Solar City Project, which has increased solar capacity in Townsville by nearly 200 kilowatts between 2009 and 2011. The Magnetic Island Solar Suburb will see the installation of 1700 smart meters, 500 solar PV systems and a range of energy efficiency measures.
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