In the wake of a growing climate emergency and environmental crisis in Western Australia, The Greens (WA) expect record funding in tomorrow's budget for climate mitigation and adaptation efforts, as well as environmental protection and rehabilitation measures.
Western Australia is the climate change capital of Australia and our state's emissions are set to continue rising beyond 2030 because the Cook Labor government has no credible plan to decarbonise our economy.
Our state has the second-lowest renewable energy generation of any state or territory and investment in renewable energy has largely ground to a halt in recent years.
With a commitment to phase-out coal-fired power by 2030 and no plan to fill in the gap, the use of gas for electricity generation in WA is predicted to more than double by 2032 putting Labor's promise to achieve net-zero by 2050 even further out of reach.
Meanwhile, Premier Roger Cook has used his influence to lobby the federal government to weaken national environmental protection laws, approve Woodside's polluting North West Shelf extension, while also gutting the independence of our state's own EPA without any oversight on the State of the Environment here in Western Australia.
With the 2023 Kimberley floods alone costing the WA community more than $900 million, The Greens (WA) are calling for urgent investment to address climate change and protect our natural environment to be a cornerstone of the 2025 State Budget.
As stated by Fossil Fuels and Climate Change spokesperson, Sophie McNeil MLC:
"Westen Australia is in the middle of a devastating climate emergency.
"The latest disaster - a record marine heatwave burning off the coast of Western Australia - is not only wreaking environmental havoc but will also have a disastrous economic impact on tourism and fisheries in the years to come.
"With billions in budget surpluses there are no more excuses for the lack of climate ambition we've seen from WA Labor's past two terms.
"The Cook government must announce a significant investment in climate measures to reduce the extreme events that have taken hold of our state.
"Our state has the skills, resources and capabilities to be a global leader in climate adaptation and renewable energy. It is this government's responsibility to act, and it can start tomorrow with a record investment in climate mitigation and adaptation in the state budget."
As stated by Parliamentary Leader and Energy spokesperson, Dr Brad Pettitt MLC:
"At less than half the national average, WA has both the lowest amount of renewable energy generation of any state, as well as the most expensive energy of any state.
"These facts are completely at odds with the rhetoric of this WA Labor Government who would have you believe that we are a world leader in renewable energy investment; it is simply not true.
"Western Australians are already footing a huge bill for worsening extreme weather fuelled by climate pollution, with the 2023 Kimberley floods alone costing more than $900 million.
"If Labor does not get on with the task of a just transition urgently in tomorrow's budget, then I am confident that when state-owned coal-fired power plants close in 2030 we will see them replaced by gas, which is exactly what companies like Woodside want to happen.
"We owe it to future generations to create a state that can tackle the climate challenges we are facing right now, simultaneously setting up our economy to benefit from the renewables boom that has already begun."
As stated by Environmental Protection and Biodiversity spokesperson, Jess Beckerling MLC:
"The Cook Government has thrown WA's natural environment under the bus over the past two years, aggressively preventing the passage of effective nature laws, and approving highly destructive projects.
"We need to see change in this Budget. We need the Cook Government to genuinely value and meaningfully invest in the protection of nature and to turn around the extinction trajectory many of our most beloved threatened species are on.
"This means bringing back State of Environment reporting, ensuring compliance with water licences and mining conditions, updating and implementing recovery plans, and investing in restoration programs.
"We expect to these measures, at a minimum, in tomorrow's State Budget."
