The most recent Climate Council report on Queensland highlighted the equal opportunities and threats of the climate crisis - and in particular, the opportunity to develop as the renewables centre of Australia. While Queensland is on the frontline of climate change in Australia, with a disappearing reef, the most vulnerable coastal strip, nearly 3/4 of the state drought affected, the state leads Australia in many areas of renewables.
The same sun that beats down interminably on farm land in drought supports 1/3 of all Queenslanders who have solar power on their roofs. (No doubt supported by the high price of energy in the state driving it's people to be more resourceful.) While not providing rebates, the government is providing interest free loans up to $10,000 for solar / battery systems and this should see this number continue to climb.On the jobs front, this uptake means there are around 10,000 jobs in the renewable energy sector in the state - higher than any other.
Queensland is already leading Australia in many aspects of renewable energy and there are more opportunities than risks for Queensland’s economy from a global and local shift to net zero emissions. A global shift to net zero emissions would bring increased demand for critical minerals in Queensland, which are needed for technologies such as solar panels, batteries and electronics (Ernst and Young 2019). Mount Isa is an excellent case in point for opportunity as the clean energy economy sees a rise in demand for minerals. The most important of these minerals relate to electricity storage batteries, which could see a rise in demand for aluminium, cobalt, lead, iron, lithium, nickel and manganese by more than 1000 percent. The North West Minerals Province, centred around Mount Isa and Cloncurry, is one of the world’s richest mineral producing areas, containing copper, lead and zinc as well as major silverand phosphate deposits and rare earth potential.The renewable energy construction boom is overwhelmingly occurring in north and central Queensland, home to some of the best solar resources in the world.
The Queensland Electric Super Highway is the world’s longest electric super highway in a single state and stretches north from Coolangatta to Cairns. The fast chargers have been installed in convenient locations close to major highways where there are existing amenities, such as cafes, restaurants and shops. The infrastructure was developed in 2017 as part of a plan to guide a shift to cleaner cars.
The Queensland Government has set a net zero emissions target for 2050 and has committed to a 50% renewable energy target by 2030.