Newly-elected New South Wales Premier, Chris Minns, has said the State Labor Government will seek to legislate a net zero carbon emissions reduction plan as a matter of priority.
Prior to the election Labor made several key promises on its energy campaign platform, including:
- 50 per cent reduction in carbon emissions on 2005 levels by 2030
- Legislation of net zero emissions by 2050
- Establishment of a Net Zero Commission
- Founding of a state-owned New South Wales Energy Security Corporation to accelerate investment in renewable energy assets
The net zero plan will legislate to guarantee net zero carbon emissions by 2050, with an interim target of a 50 per cent reduction by 2030.
New South Wales Labor introduced a bill to legislate the state’s emissions reduction targets in 2022, and said the Government will re-introduce the legislation during 2023 as a matter of priority.
The bill will also establish a Net Zero Commission who would develop the plan to net zero by 2050, monitor and review the plan and trajectory, including impacts on jobs, industry and energy prices. The Commission would update the plan every five years.
New South Wales Premier, Chris Minns, said during his acceptance speech that the Labor victory was a decisive vote against privatisation.
“There are many challenges facing the state of New South Wales over the next four years, but the team that I lead is ready for the challenges and opportunities of government and we will not let the people of this state down,” Mr Minns said.
The incoming Labor Government has confirmed it will not stand in the way of Santos’ $3.5 billion Narrabri gas project.
New South Wales MP Penny Sharpe, who will be the Environment Minister in the newly-elected Labor government, said, ”It has been approved, we are not changing on that and it will go ahead.”
The Minns Labor Government also laid out plans to create the New South Wales Energy Security Corporation, a state-owned body that will accelerate investment in renewable energy assets to deliver cleaner and more reliable energy.
The New South Wales Energy Security Corporation will be seeded with a $1 billion investment from the existing Restart New South Wales Fund.
The role of the New South Wales Energy Security Corporation will be to partner with industry on projects that provide affordable, accessible and reliable energy to New South Wales including:
- Medium to long duration renewable storage solutions like pumped hydro, as well as any other commercially viable technologies able to provide grid stability
- Community batteries to maximise the benefits for households of rooftop solar
The State Government said these areas are critical to managing the transformation of New South Wales’s energy system and providing the reliability the state needs.
