The Greens will introduce a bill to immediately ban new coal, oil and gas resources projects in Queensland and phase out fossil fuel exports by 2030.
Greens MP Michael Berkman says a moratorium on new coal and gas and a phase-out plan this decade is necessary to meet our Paris Agreement obligations and secure a clear future for resources workers.
Internal Queensland Government correspondence discovered by the Australian Conservation Foundation last year revealed at least 12 coal mines would stay open past 2050 - including some until 2099 - under current Labor policy.
The Queensland Greens bill could be supported by the Australian Greens’ proposal for a $2.8 billion Diversifying Coal Communities Fund to support regional climate transition planning.
Michael Berkman:
“Our bill will force the State Government to work with resource workers and communities on a stable transition plan to replace coal and gas jobs with new opportunities by 2030.
“Resource workers deserve a long term plan for their future, yet they’ve been excluded from the Government’s climate policy.
"It’s time for a real conversation about what’s on the other side of coal and gas for Queensland.
“Fossil fuels are on the way out and denying this won’t put food on the plates of coal miners - not in this generation, or the next.
“Unlike Labor, I really don’t care if the Qld Resources Council throws a tantrum about this. I care about the science that says we need to stop coal and gas, and the resources workers who say they want job security.
“We dragged the Government kicking and screaming to deliver a closure timeline for Queensland’s coal-fired power stations, but they’re silent on the challenges facing the inevitable climate transition in the resource industry.
“Labor’s climate plans are worthless if they continue to support new coal and gas.”