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Green Queensland

Protecting our lifestyle and environment

Queensland enjoys a wealth of natural riches – a warm climate, beautiful beaches, parks, rivers, reefs and rainforests and stunning outback scenery – that support our relaxed lifestyle.

Our unique natural environment has more native plants and animals than anywhere else in Australia. And almost half the species living in Queensland are found nowhere else in the world.

But our environment and lifestyles are under increasing pressure from our growing population and climate change.

Current and future challenges

Queensland is producing more harmful greenhouse gases per person than any other Australian state, due to a:

dependence on coal-fired energy to power homes and businesses
relatively large, energy-intensive industry base
dependence on road transport to get around our vast state.

The Queensland Government is taking action to reduce our state's carbon footprint.

We've signed up to doing our part to achieve a 60% reduction in national greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This will mainly be achieved through a new Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme that puts a cap on the amount of carbon pollution generated by our largest emitters.

This will have a major impact on industry across Australia.

We're also working towards reducing emissions in the energy sector by deploying renewable technologies (solar, wind, landfill gas) and low-emission technologies (clean coal).

Every action helps

Although household contributions to our total emissions are only small, the average Queenslander's emissions are well above the rest of the world.

We all need to be aware of where we can save energy. Small changes will make a big difference in the long-term.

Protecting our natural landscapes

Native plants and animals are particularly vulnerable, as rising temperatures contribute to loss of species.

To give our native wildlife the best chance at survival, we must protect their habitats and increase land for national parks and other protected areas.

Green spaces in the cities and suburbs

Planning measures are in place in our biggest growth areas to ensure there is green space set aside in new developments. New recreational areas and trails are also being created so Queenslanders can make the most of our great lifestyle.

We must also retain the green spaces between neighbourhoods and regions that create a natural break in our built environment and protect areas that support our unique native wildlife and fragile ecosystems.