Queensland

Impacts and Costs

Queensland Department of Climate Change

  • With Queensland's growing population along its coastal zone and strong agricultural and tourism industries, including World Heritage Areas of the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics rainforest, it is particularly at risk from the effects of a changing climate.
  • With almost 250,000 vulnerable coastal buildings, Queensland is at the highest risk from all Australian states from projected sea level rise, coastal flooding and erosion.
  • Climate change could lead to an increase in the number of days per above 35°C from 1 to up to 21 by 2070. Currently, 134 people over the age of 65 die from heat-related illness in Brisbane. This could rise 10 times by 2050.
  • Climate change could also see the incidence of dengue fever, currently confined to Australia's far north, spread as far south as Brisbane.
  • The South-east Queensland region is experiencing the compound effects of drought and a booming population together with the prospect of continuing irregular rainfall due to natural climate variability and long-term climate change. This region has a vibrant regional economy, which is driving an annual population increase of 50,000 to 60,000 people and increasing demand for water.
  • The drought has exposed the vulnerability of the region's water supplies previously thought to be secure and able to support long-term growth, with current water use being less than 75 per cent of the available yield assessed from historical records.
  • A substantial proportion of Queensland's agriculture industry will be at risk from rising temperatures and extreme weather events. In 2006-07, agriculture commodities were valued at $8.8 billion.
  • Queensland is likely to experience more intense tropical cyclones, leading to property damage and losses in agricultural production. For example, Tropical Cyclone Larry in 2006 (category 4 at landfall) cost agricultural production $473 million.
  • The tourism industry in Cairns is currently valued at $1.2 billion a year and contributes up to 16.3 per cent of employment in Tropical Northern Queensland. Climate change could not only have an impact on precious natural tourism assets, but on the economic well being of the communities that rely on them.
  • Coral bleaching is already occurring in the Great Barrier Reef and future temperature increases are likely to trigger even more damage. Nine mass coral bleaching events from ocean warming have occurred since 1980. The most serious event occurred in 1998 and 2002 with more than 50 per cent of reefs affected and five per cent of reefs experiencing lasting damage.
  • A 3°C temperature increase could result in up to 97 per cent of the Great Barrier Reef bleached every year. A temperature increase greater than this, could result in catastrophic mortality of coral species.

Regulatory Landscape

ClimateSmart 2050—Queensland Climate Change Strategy

It is anticipated that:

  • Queensland will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 60% by 2050 (from 157 million tones in 2005 to 62.8 in 2050). This reduction target has a flow on effect to all level of business.
  • State's renewable and low-emission energy target of 10% by 2020.
  • Additional mandatory reporting will be introduced (as soon as 2010) to medium and major businesses operating in Queensland.
  • Aggressive hard-hitting emission reduction targets will be progressively imposed on business over the coming years.
  • Queensland Carbon Offsets Policy to be introduced to ensure that industries are appropriately prepared for any emissions trading scheme introduced nationally.

Queensland is committed to:

  • Establish a feed-in tariff which will pay consumers for energy they contribute to the electricity grid from a solar panel system.
  • New Commercial buildings to reach a minimum four-star energy efficiency rating from 2010 under the Australian Building Greenhouse Rating Scheme.
  • Government office buildings will be carbon neutral by 2020.
  • A State planning policy for climate change to ensure climate change issues are incorporated into development assessment processes under the Integrated Planning Act 1997.
  • New houses approved from the 1st of March 2006 will need to install non-electric systems for heating water.
  • From 2010, the government will phase out the use of electric hot water systems in existing homes.
  • Motor vehicle transfer duty requirements to provide a graduated scale based on the number of cylinders in an effort to reduce emissions by the purchase of smaller vehicles.
  • Queensland is committed to establish a national emissions trading scheme no later than 2010.
  • Meet the Kyoto target (108% of 1990 levels) by 2012.