Australia's New South Wales (NSW) state government plans to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 70pc by 2035 from 2005 levels, extending from its existing 50pc reduction target by 2030 from the same baseline.
This is conditional on the ruling Liberal-National party being re-elected at the March state poll.
The opposition Labor party does not have a 2035 reduction target and has the same 2030 target as the government, but plans to set up a commission to develop a plan to reach net zero by 2050.
"This is not only great environmental policy, but great economic policy as it will attract A$39bn ($26bn) in private investment in renewable energy and related sectors and support 13,000 jobs," NSW treasurer and energy minister Matt Kean said on 23 December.
NSW is setting up several renewable energy zones (REZs) across the state with zones in the Central West and New England regions by the end of the decade and three more in the southwest region of NSW, the Hunter Valley region and Illawarra region. The creation of the REZs coincides with the planned closures of several coal-fired power plants in NSW, which fuelled more than 70pc of the state's electricity over the past 12 months.
"We are on track to meet this ambitious target," Kean said.
The NSW target is beyond projected GHG emissions reductions by the Australian government, which estimates national GHGs to drop by 38pc to 383mn t of CO2e by 2035 from the 2005 level of 621mn t of CO2e. NSW has projected its state emissions to fall by 37pc to 78mn t of CO2e by 2035 from the 2021 level of 123.8mn t.
The Australian government has set a target to cut GHG emissions by 43pc by 2030 from 2005 levels.
NSW is projected to close three coal-fired power plants — Liddell, Eraring and Vales Point — with a combined capacity of 5,880MW by the end of the decade, and the 2,640MW Bayswater coal-fired power plant in the Hunter Valley region is expected to close by 2033.
The NSW government announcement caps a year of deeper GHG emissions pledges by Australian state and federal governments and increasing renewable energy targets.
