- Crisafulli Government risks breaking their election promise by reviewing Queensland's climate targets under their Energy Roadmap
- This major policy shift will keep coal-fired generators burning beyond planned closure dates
- The Great Barrier Reef and Queensland communities can't afford delays in climate action
The Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) has warned that the Crisafulli Government's new Energy Roadmap risks breaking a key election promise and dragging Queensland backwards on climate action – at a time when the Great Barrier Reef and Queensland communities can least afford it.
The plan unveiled today by Treasurer and Minister for Energy David Janetzki, included extending the life of central Queensland's Callide B power station for up to three years beyond its scheduled closure in 2028 and reviewing Queensland's legislated 75% emissions reduction target by 2025. Other state-owned coal plants are also expected to stay online longer under this plan.
AMCS Great Barrier Reef Community Campaigner, Tanya Murphy said: "The LNP's new plan is a damaging reversal of the government's clean energy promise and a betrayal of Queenslanders who voted for affordable, reliable and sustainable energy – not more fossil fuels.
"Extending the life of coal fired power plants will delay our transition to renewables, and worsen climate impacts that are devastating the Great Barrier Reef and the communities that rely on it.
"Estimates suggest that keeping Callide B open could cost Queensland taxpayers up to $420 million until closure. Meanwhile Queensland communities continue to bear the brunt of climate-driven disasters such as record flooding in the west and the impacts of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
"Right now our Reef is once again suffering from coral bleaching, with reefs in the north and far northern sections of the Great Barrier Reef seemingly the worst affected. Our Reef simply isn't getting a respite, with bleaching following hot on the heels of the 2024 mass bleaching event, the most severe and widespread event on record. Tourism operators in Cairns, Port Douglas, Cooktown and Lizard Island are watching their livelihoods being impacted by climate change year after year.
"This is the sixth consecutive year of bleaching on Lizard Island. In some areas, bleaching is occurring every year – decades ahead of scientific predictions. Australia's own Reef Outlook Report clearly states that "only the strongest and fastest possible actions to decrease global greenhouse gas emissions" will protect our reef and multi-billion dollar tourism industry.
"The path forward is clear: invest in renewables and storage, cut emissions and protect the natural and economic future of our state. Any move to weaken climate targets or prolong coal is a betrayal of the Reef, of Queenslanders and of future generations," Ms Murphy said.
