The utility owns two of WA’s three coal-fired power stations in Collie that together emit 4.5 million tonnes of greenhouse gases a year, along with numerous gas-fired power plants and interests in wind and solar farms.

“I think no one is of the view that coal should continue any longer than it should,” Ms Sanderson said.

“Interim targets are really critical to having a credible pathway and frankly the community expects it.”

WA Climate Action Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson

Synergy’s largest coal-fired power station Muja is already slated to halve in size with the shutdown of generating units in 2022 and 2024.

Any further reduction in coal generation will be complicated by existing coal purchase contracts, strong unions and the need for cleaner replacement generation.

The McGowan government has allocated about $100 million to prepare Collie for the inevitable winding down of its dominant industry.

Synergy will need to ensure that wind and solar energy, not gas, displaces most of the retired coal capacity to achieve meaningful emissions reductions.

As the largest power generator in WA’s south-west, any cut in Synergy’s own Scope 1 emissions also helps its customers reduce their Scope 2 emissions from the power they purchase.

In early 2022 the government will begin to develop emissions reduction strategies for each sector of the economy, with reduction targets towards zero by 2050 informed by international agreements.

“Interim targets are really critical to having a credible pathway and frankly the community expects it,” Ms Sanderson said.

Ms Sanderson said the development of each strategy would be “bottom-up” with options tested with industry and experts.

Reduction of emissions would be preferred to offsets such as planting trees but the government acknowledged some sectors would need offsets in the short to medium-term.

The government is considering legislation to support its new emissions reduction approach,

Climate now an economic imperative

The McGowan government’s previous response to reduce greenhouse gas emissions was just an “aspiration” for the state to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

Additionally, the independent Environmental Protection Authority since early 2020 has required all large new projects to commit to a gradual reduction in emissions to zero by 2050. Existing projects have no requirement to reduce emissions.

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A more substantial approach to emissions by the McGowan government has been made easier by a growing realisation that it is an economic as well as an environmental imperative.

Ms Sanderson said 14 of Australia’s top 20 trading partners had pledged to have net-zero emissions mid-century, and they represented 83 per cent of the export to that group.

“We need significant action this decade to leverage green capital, support the transition of energy-intensive industries, protect our economy, and importantly, to limit global warming,” Ms Sanderson said.

WA ranked lowest amid the states for preparedness to capture the future market for clean energy-based exports in a report related this week.

Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA chief executive Chris Rodwell said there was a growing expectation, often non-negotiable, from investors and customers that companies become more sustainable. Businesses that did not change would likely find financing and insurance both more expensive and harder to obtain.

“I can’t help but feel frustrated that we’re going to have another 18 months to two years of kicking the can down the road.”

Greens MLC Brad Pettitt

Conservation Council of WA executive director Maggie Wood said the new policy was welcome but needed to target reductions this decade and include measures to ensure the targets were met.

“Any credible climate policy must address the need for immediate reduction in carbon pollution and not include any window in which emissions can further increase,” Ms Wood said.

“This plan does not do that and with the state government continuing to back heavily polluting fossil fuel projects like Woodside’s Scarborough gas development there is currently no realistic prospect of this happening.”

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Greens upper house member Brad Pettitt said the “bottom-up” approach of studying and consulting each sector was suitable for hard to abate industries, but some actions could be taken now.

“I can’t help but feel frustrated that we’re going to have another 18 months to two years of kicking the can down the road,” Mr Pettitt said.

Mr Pettitt said an example of possible immediate action was electric buses that were a proven technology and there was no need for the trial of four battery-powered Transperth buses in Joondalup planned for 2022.

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