1 week ago
10
Liberal National Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said council remains “absolutely committed” to reaching net zero in Brisbane despite federal colleagues dumping the climate policy and the city recording a recent increase in emissions.
Brisbane City Council, one of the country’s highest ranking LNP administrations, has promised to reduce carbon emissions by at least 30 per cent before the 2032 Olympic Games, and completely offset their output by 2050.
Schrinner, after being pressed on Tuesday by Greens councillor Seal Chong Wah, said emissions “went temporarily up” due to the construction of the Metro and Kangaroo Point Bridge.
Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said construction of the Kangaroo Point bridge and Metro have caused a temporary “blip” in emission, but will drive down the city’s carbon footprint long-term. Credit: Brisbane Times / Tony Moore
“Both are sustainable infrastructure which reduced long-term emissions for the community,” Schrinner said.
“We are proud of our investment because, by investing now, and the construction generating a short blip in emissions, we get a long-term reduction in emissions for our city.”
The Lord Mayor ruled out any changes to the party position at the local government level.
“I can say we are absolutely committed to our emission reduction targets,” the Lord Mayor said.
“We’re working hard to do that across all of council.”
Schrinner listed the roll-out of electric buses, replacement of street lights, solar installations and improved recycling as examples of his council’s environmental credentials.
Loading
But this was dismissed by Labor opposition council leader, Jared Cassidy.
“Adrian Schrinner says one thing to the public and another to his party room,” he said in a statement.
“The Lord Mayor claims people using the 45 metro buses will drive down carbon emissions, when in reality his bus network review will drive more people into cars.”
The federal Liberal and National parties independently dropped their net zero commitments in 2025.
The LNP state government has ditched renewable energy targets and extended the life of coal-fired power stations in Queensland, but Premier David Crisafulli has repeatedly said the state would not remove its net zero by 2050 pledge.
Tony Wood, the energy and climate change senior fellow at the Grattan Institute, said at the time he believed it would be “very hard” to meet those targets under the plan.
“I don’t see how you can have that much coal-fired capacity still running in the mid-2040s and still get to zero effectively by 2050,” he told this masthead.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
Most Viewed in National
Loading
