Premier Roger Cook has conceded WA's emissions may rise as the state backs industry to facilitate the region’s energy transition.
Premier Roger Cook has conceded Western Australian emissions may rise as the state backs industry to facilitate the region’s energy transition, while reiterating support for gas as a transition fuel.
Mr Cook said it was likely that a rise in critical mineral processing and a shift towards production using renewable energy – such as that of green steel – would result in an emissions uptick for the state in the short term.
“WA may be in a position where we see slight growth in our emissions, but you will see a dramatic reduction in global emissions related to that activity,” he said.
Mr Cook’s comments echo the sentiment expressed following his trade mission to Japan – a key jurisdiction for WA LNG exports and investment – which he previously said opened his eyes to the role of WA in the region’s energy security.
The comments come as the state develops sector-specific emissions reductions strategies as part of its climate policy, led by minister for climate action Reece Whitby.
Mr Whitby said he was yet to see the strategies but expected to have them before the end of the year, while reiterating the role of WA business and industry in decarbonisation abroad.
“Businesses strive and want to know that there is certainty ahead, and government providing that leadership and certainty of a decarbonisation pathway is very important,” he said.
“Western Australia is a different place from other jurisdictions in Australia. We have high energy intensive industries. Let’s face it – we are a major carbon emitter, and we need to accept and face that challenge.
“What we also know, is because of the things we do in Western Australia, because of the critical minerals we mine, because of the iron ore and the gas that we produce, we are helping to decarbonise and reduce emissions around the world.”
Mr Whitby also backed in the role of natural gas as a transition fuel and said there was a lack of awareness in the public around the importance of gas in weaning Asia off coal and achieving net zero.
“What I’m saying is, we’re not Tasmania,” he said.
“Tasmania is already at 100 per cent renewables. We also have an international obligation to supply the resources that help the rest of the world decarbonise.
“That’s something we often forget.”
The comments come as the state announced $134 million worth of investment in green energy initiatives, including $60 million towards a second round of the state’s investment attraction fund targeting the new energy sector.
Mr Cook said there was huge economic opportunity to be derived from the energy transition, and that the state was keen to facilitate the industry’s growth.
“The energy transition around climate change not only represents a challenge for our community – it’s going to be a task to make sure we can decarbonise our economy – but it’s also an opportunity for our economy, as we develop these manufacturing and power generation capabilities so that we are in a position to seize the opportunities that come from this extraordinary transition of our economy,” he said.
Beyond the attraction fund, a further $74 million will be invested in a range of net zero initiatives under the sectorial emissions reduction strategies process launched in December 2021.
That will include $11.2 million into the clean energy future fund to support emissions reduction projects, and $6.5 million to the green energy approvals unit in a bid to combat green tape.
A $31 million investment in government-trading enterprise Horizon Power will be put towards community batteries in regional locations, and energy storage trials at microgrid locations.
A new team will also be established within Horizon to deliver renewable energy across regional locations.
Meanwhile, EV chargers will be installed at new Metronet stations at a cost of $2.2 million.
Mr Whitby said a recent decision by the high court to overturn a tax on EV users in Victoria put the onus on the federal government to come up with a whole-of-Australia scheme.
The renewables announcements come a day out from the WA Energy Transition Summit in Perth, co-hosted by the Committee for Economic Development of Australia and the state government.
