Premier Roger Cook has cast doubt over the state government’s commitment to legislate a plan to reach net zero emissions by 2050, ruling out “shackling” Western Australia to more onerous targets and reiterating the state’s “unique” role in the global energy transition.
WA Premier Roger Cook. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
During a press conference this morning, Cook dodged questions about whether the government still intended to legislate a 2050 target for WA, which is currently the only state without one.
The premier told reporters the government would review what WA’s obligations were under the national legislation, and indicated he would review drafted state legislation to ensure it was still “fit for purpose”.
The national legislation, which Cook said he was committed to, also has a net zero emissions by 2050 target.
Cook reiterated that the state was poised to play a unique role in the global bid to get to net zero, warning emissions would likely rise as the miners ramp up the extraction of critical minerals, processes iron ore onshore and extract more gas to supplement the shift away from coal.
“We want to make sure that Western Australia, one, gets to net zero by 2050, and two, that we help the globe to decarbonate through our critical minerals, our iron ore, and particularly the development of green iron through the use of renewable energies,” he said.
“If we are going to process more iron ore in WA as part of our green energy future, well then you will see WA’s emissions potentially rise, but you will see the actual emissions associated with the global supply chain and steel significantly reduce.
“It’s a huge opportunity for the globe. I’m not going to shackle Western Australia to legislation which damages our efforts to help the world to decarbonise and reduce emissions.”
WA’s carbon emissions remain on an upward trajectory, having risen 20 per cent in the past two decades.
Read the full article here
