The Victorian Government has announced an emission reduction target of 28-33 per cent by 2025, and 45-50 per cent for 2030.
Previously, the state had a 15-20 per cent emission reduction target for 2020, which was met.
The strategy will keep Victoria on track to meet its target of net zero emissions by 2050.
The plan includes investing more than $100 million to transform the state’s transport sector, offering up to $3,000 for Victorians who buy zero-emissions vehicles (ZEVs) and a target that 50 per cent of all new car sales in Victoria will be ZEVs by 2030.
A further $20 million has been allocated to reduce emissions in our agriculture sector and work with farmers to make their farms more sustainable.
This includes $3.9 million to fund world-leading research and trials of new feed to reduce emissions from livestock.
A further $15.3 million for the Victorian Carbon Farming Program will help farmers store more carbon in shelterbelt trees and engage in agroforestry.
Government operations, from schools and hospitals to police stations and metro trains, will also be powered with 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2025 – an Australian first.
Victoria is the first Australian state and one of the first jurisdictions in the world to legislate net zero emissions by 2050.
Acting Victorian premier, James Merlino said Victoria has already cut its emissions by 24.8 per cent based on 2005 levels, achieving its 2020 emissions reduction target two years early. “We are also on track to meet our 2025 target,” he said.
Climate Council spokesman Professor Will Steffen said the new Victorian climate target was progress, particularly in the wake of federal government inaction, but the state was missing out on even greater benefits that stronger emission reductions would bring.
The Climate Council’s latest report, Aim high, go fast: Why emissions need to plummet this decade,set new science-based targets for Australia of a 75 per cent cut by 2030, and reaching net zero emissions by 2035.
Climate Council senior researcher, Tim Baxter, said climate action has fallen to state and territory governments, while the federal government sits on its hands.