Environmental groups are demanding the government get serious about climate change.
In separate media releases, the Greens and the Tasmanian Conservation Trust (TCT) both accuse the government of failing to act on its legislative obligations under the Climate Change (State Action) Act 2008. They argue the state’s net-zero status, achieved by the forestry sector, is being used as an excuse for inaction across all other sectors. Both organisations are calling for the government to introduce legislated emissions reduction targets and improve its adaptation planning.
Media release – Cassy O’Connor MLC, Greens Climate spokesperson, 6 September 2025
Tasmanian Government Needs to Get Serious About Climate
The Tasmanian Government is in breach of its obligations under the Climate Change (State Action) Act 2008.
Despite a legislative requirement to ‘reduce greenhouse gas emissions’, the government has not acted, relying instead on the net-zero status the State can claim as a result of avoided logging and burning under the Tasmanian Forest Agreement.
The TFA saw Tasmania’s greenhouse accounts improve markedly from 2012, but progress has stalled and emissions are not falling across any sector of the economy.
Adaptation planning to keep Tasmanians safe as global heating impacts worsen is also lagging.
There is, for example, no evacuation plan for Nipaluna/Hobart – the most bushfire prone capital city in the country.
All our communities are at risk in the future. Adaptation planning and resourcing is a moral responsibility on government which it is currently failing.
Submissions to a much-delayed review of the Act close 7 September.
In the Greens’ submission we call for government to comply with, and strengthen, a piece of legislation which is almost twenty years old and simply not delivering either emissions reduction or effective adaptation. Both need to be addressed as a priority.
We’ve called for the reinstatement of a dedicated Minister for Climate Change so there’s a clear, committed focus on the greatest challenge we’ll ever face as an island people.
There also needs to be emissions’ reduction targets for all sectors, including transport, agriculture, energy and land use. This should be coupled with government support to help with transition and accountability to the Parliament for any government failure to meet targets.
A forest carbon update report released by Dr Jen Sanger on behalf of the Climate Collective just this week confirms native forest logging and burning continues to be the State’s biggest emitter, spewing an estimated 1.6 million tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere each year.
If native forest felling and burning was ended, an extra 75 million tonnes of carbon could be captured by our forests by 2030. What a gift that would be to the planet and future generations.
It’s well past time the Tasmanian Government got serious about real climate action. Young Tasmanians are yearning for leadership and watching closely.
This could be Jeremy Rockliff’s most lasting legacy, if he has the courage to act. The Greens are here to help him any way we can!
The Greens submission can be found here.
Media Release – Tasmanian Conservation Trust, 5 September 2025
Review of Climate Change (State Action) Act 2008 – time for Tasmania to finally set emissions reduction targets
The Tasmanian Conservation Trust says that the review of the Climate Change (State Action) Act 2008 presents the Liberal State Government with an opportunity to convince Tasmanians they want to take action to address climate change, by committing to setting carbon emissions reduction targets. For 11 years the State Government has been contravening the Climate Change Act by not establishing carbon emissions reduction targets and the consequence of this is Tasmania is not significantly reducing carbon emissions.
The State Government is required to review the Climate Change (State Action) Act 2008 every four years.
The current review started in March 2025 and submissions on the first stage of the review are due by 7 September 2025. As part of the review of the act, the State Government has released a discussion paper Independent Review of the Climate Change (State Action) Act 2008.
The Tasmanian Conservation Trust CEO Peter McGlone said that:
“I encourage the new Liberal Government to give up its fence sitting attitude to carbon emissions and commit to targets that bind Tasmania to reduce carbon emissions by meaningful amounts.”
In its submission to the review of the Climate Change Act the TCT will be advising the Government that for more than 11 years it has not set ‘a target for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in Tasmania’ as is required by Object (a) (i) of the Climate Change Act.
The State Government has also not taken action to significantly ‘reduce Tasmania’s greenhouse gas emissions’ as required by Object (b) of the Act.
McGlone continued “By failing to address the objects of the Climate Change Act the State Government is contravening the legislation.”
“If we want action to reduce carbon emissions, we need legislated emissions reduction targets.”
“We call on the State Government to stop contravening the act and establish binding carbon emission reduction targets. We need an over-all statewide target and one for each sector,” he said.
The Independent Reviewer’s Discussion Paper, page 15, shows that emissions for all sectors (forests are excluded) have remained unchanged for more than 30 years.
In its submission to the review of the Climate Change Act, the TCT will advise the Government that its net zero target is an excuse for taking no action on emissions.
In 2022 the State Government established a net zero target which was already being achieved by our forests sector sequestering large amounts of carbon to off-set the emissions from all sectors.
McGlone concluded by stating that “The government’s current net zero approach is a lazy response that has resulted in no significant reduction in emissions across Tasmania.”
“The independent ieviewer’s report shows that Tasmania’s forests are storing less carbon each year and this is predicted to get worse.”
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