NSW sets new emissions target to become the ‘engine room’ of the global low-carbon economy | Daily News Byte

New South Wales will cut greenhouse emissions by 70 per cent by 2035, in an ambitious new target that Treasurer Matt Keane says will put the state at the forefront of a low-carbon economy.

NSW is already on track to meet its current target of halving emissions by 2030, based on 2005 levels, but Mr Keane wants to go further, arguing that action on climate change will determine the prosperity of future generations.

“There is no greater struggle that we as a nation must face than the fight against climate change,” he said.

“Many communities across the country have spent the last few years suffocating in the dust of drought or the smoke of wildfires.”

“Now, many of those same communities have experienced their homes and businesses being inundated by once-in-a-thousand-year floods, three times in a nine-month period.”

“As any of those families who have lost their homes to fire or food or drought will tell you, this fight is one we cannot afford to lose.”

Mr. Keane outlined the new target in an update to the New South Wales government’s net zero implementation plan.

In it, he said the new target would lead to a reduction in emissions equivalent to 55.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Mr. Keane said it would also attract more than $39 billion in private investment and support more than 13,000 jobs, mostly in regional NSW.

“NSW can be the first mover to attract international capital, industry and talent if it seizes its opportunity to be the engine room of the global low-carbon economy,” he said.

“We must reduce our reliance on energy sources that authoritarian regimes can take hostage.”

“By switching to locally produced renewable energy, we can not only build a cleaner future, we can also protect our energy security.”

The new target comes as the NSW government ramps up its investment in renewable energy infrastructure.

On Wednesday, the state and federal governments announced that nearly $8 billion will be spent on building critical transmission infrastructure to connect the state’s renewable energy generators to the national power grid.

NSV will continue to have an overall goal of reducing emissions to net zero emissions by 2050.