Clean State welcomes the WA Government’s announcement that it will be cutting its own emissions by 80% below 2020 levels before 2030.
The whole-of-government approach will cover several agencies, including transport, health and education.
It will also cover Government Trading Enterprises, which include some water corporations, ports authorities, housing authorities, power corporations and universities.
The announcement also heralded green power infrastructure investment to facilitate the reduction:
“”An estimated $3.8 billion will be invested in new green power infrastructure in the South West Interconnected System (SWIS), including wind generation and storage, to ensure emissions reduction, continued stability and affordability.”
This is coupled with a commitment not to build any new gas-fired power stations on the SWIS after 2030, though Clean State would welcome a commitment not to expand or renew licenses for existing WA gas projects in future.
Clean State Director Olivia Chapman said any emissions reduction is step toward a safer climate future.
“We predict that the emissions reduction target and investment to decarbonise the SWIS grid will attract investment in the renewable energy industry – which is a great opportunity to kickstart WA’s green economic transition.”
“In addition to these measures, we would encourage the State Government to continue its investment in training, upskilling and cross-skilling WA’s green jobs workforce.”
Thanks to a range of initiatives (including the Clean Energy Car Fund, minimum 25 per cent electric government fleet vehicle target and new investment in Collie), there are plenty of opportunities to build up WA’s green jobs and skills capacity and forge a path for WA to become a world-leading climate-safe economy.
For more information on green jobs and the WA economy, please see:
- Our report 26 Big Ideas for 200,000 WA Jobs
- Our report on the state of WA’s renewable energy industry: Laggard To Leader
- Our findings on the gaps and opportunities for WA’s green skills learning and training
