Victoria has beaten its 2020 emissions reduction targets, furthering the state’s net-zero ambitions and reducing average energy costs for consumers.
The recently-released Victorian Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report 2020 demonstrates that state emissions during 2020 fell by almost 30 per cent since 2005, doubling the state’s stated reduction targets of between 15 and 20 per cent.
Victoria’s emissions dropped almost six per cent between 2019 and 2020, with the largest drops found in the electricity sector, with a reduction of 2.2Mt of emissions, and transport – reducing its emissions by 1.9Mt.
In 2020, Victoria saw the third-lowest emissions of any state or territory across the nation, after Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory.
State Minister for Energy, Lily D’Ambrosio, said the government’s investment in renewable energy had helped realise its climate goals.
“Our nation-leading investment in renewable energy has helped us smash our 2020 emissions target – and we’re well on the way to reducing emissions by 50 per cent by 2030,” she said.
Investment in renewable electricity generation has seen renewables jump from 22 to 25 per cent of Victoria’s electricity consumption between 2019 and 2020, with the state’s share of energy generation hitting a new high of 34 per cent renewables in the 2021-22 financial year.
The Victorian land sector’s role in absorbing emissions has also continued to grow, with the state’s forests and natural systems absorbing more than a quarter of Victoria’s emissions in 2020.
Following independent expert advice, the State Government announced targets to halve Victoria’s emissions by 2030 in the Climate Change Strategy – putting Victoria alongside international climate leaders like the European Union and United States.
Next year, the Government will set an interim 2035 emissions reduction target following advice of an independent expert panel announced as required by the Climate Change Act.
