This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The Western Australian Labor government says it will back the federal government’s 2030 climate targets, rejecting attempts by the state’s Environmental Protection Authority to introduce tougher measures for new major projects.

Proponents of major projects will be given the freedom to propose their own timelines for cutting carbon emissions as well as setting their own targets.

The WA energy minister, Bill Johnston, said the state would have an “aspirational” target of net zero emissions by 2050. He said WA acknowledged the federal government’s 26%-28% reduction target by 2030 and would commit to “working with the commonwealth to achieve this goal”.

The policy announcement, made in parliament on Wednesday, has been welcomed by the state’s gas industry, which has been the main driver of Australia’s rising emissions.

WA’s rejection of carbon-neutral guidelines leaves LNG emissions booming Read more

But environment groups see it as another preemptive strike on the WA EPA, which has been consulting on new guidelines for greenhouse gas emissions. Submissions as part of that process close on Monday.

A spokeswoman for Woodside Energy said the government had “listened to industry” and “taken an important step toward providing certainty” for major investments.

She said the WA EPA “must take the same approach as it consults on its proposed new guidelines on greenhouse gas emissions”.

The state government’s position puts it at odds with federal Labor, which wanted to strengthen Australia’s emissions target to 45% if it had won the May election.

The WA EPA’s original proposal for the state, published in March, was that developers of new or expanded major projects would be required to offset all direct emissions associated with the project.

At the time, it said it wanted to set a “higher bar” for assessing the impacts of major projects on climate because a lack of federal policy meant Australia was not on track to meet its obligations under the Paris agreement.

But the EPA withdrew the guideline and opened up further consultation with industry after an outcry from gas companies and following a call from the state’s premier, Mark McGowan. McGowan denied he had put pressure on the independent body.

The director of the Australia Institute’s climate and energy program, Richie Merzian, said the timing of Wednesday’s announcement looked like another attempt to override the EPA before it had had a chance to consider submissions from the fresh round of consultation.

“At the behest of the WA government, it’s revisited and consulted on this policy and before it can even report back to the minister for the environment, the minister for mines comes back with carte blanche for the gas companies,” Merzian said.

Merzian said while the goal of net zero emissions by 2050 was a “silver lining”, that target was still aspirational and “there’s no interim target and it’s not clear what they actually expect from these major emitters”.

“What is clear is Australia can’t afford to allow such huge projects to continue to pollute with no limit,” he said.

The director of the Conservation Council of WA, Piers Verstegen, said a target of net zero emissions by 2050 was welcome, but the government also had to deliver “immediate reductions” rather than increases in WA’s carbon pollution.

Australia's emissions reach the highest on record, driven by electricity sector Read more

“At present, WA is the only state with rising pollution. Emissions growth in the WA LNG industry is cancelling out the gains that have been made in all other states,” he said.



“The key test of this policy is whether it will permit further short or medium-term pollution increases. The suggestion that industry will be able to nominate their own short-term targets under this policy is concerning.”

Johnston said the policy was “sensible and balanced” and that the aspirational target for 2050 “provides the certainty needed for future major projects”.

“Government will always respect the independence of the EPA,” he said. “The EPA has historically called for more clarity from government about its policy on greenhouse emissions – this policy provides that clarity going forward.”

But Labor’s federal climate and energy, Mark Butler, said it was well known Australia’s 2030 targets were not strong enough.

He did not directly criticise WA’s policy, but said “the advice of scientists, the UN and the Climate Change Authority is clear; a 2030 emissions reduction target of 26% is simply not consistent with achieving the Paris agreement targets”.

“It is good to see WA join Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania and NSW in having a target of net zero emissions by 2050 – consistent with the Paris agreement – and it is past time the Morrison government adopted this long term target,” he said.

The Greens’ federal climate change spokesman, Adam Bandt, said the federal Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, should “condemn” the WA policy.

“Anthony Albanese needs to stomp on WA Labor and join the Greens in fighting the Liberals,” he said. “We are in a climate emergency, yet WA Labor has capitulated to the fossil fuel giants and adopted the weak climate targets of the coal-loving Liberals”.