Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) has a high level of engagement with climate policy, which is mostly limited to commentary on the energy transition. While the QRC’s top-line messaging appears to be largely positive, the association’s positions on the energy transition are negative and consistently support a continued role for coal and fossil gas in the energy mix.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: The QRC displays limited, yet broadly positive top-line messaging on climate policy. In the climate change statement on the association’s website, accessed June 2024, the QRC supported greenhouse gas emissions reductions in line with the 1.5°C target and climate action in line with Queensland’s 2050 net zero target as well as the goals of the Paris Agreement. In addition, the association advocated for an integrated set of technology-neutral federal and state policies to respond to climate change. InfluenceMap found no other evidence of top-line messaging by the association in recent years.
Engagement with Climate-Related Policy: The QRC displays extremely limited transparent engagement with specific climate-related policies. In a September 2022 news article in the Energy Mix, the then CEO of the QRC, Ian Macfarlane, appeared to support raising Queensland’s renewable energy target, but on the condition that stability and prices for electricity are maintained. InfluenceMap found no other evidence of engagement with climate-related regulations by the association in recent years.
Positioning on Energy Transition: The QRC adopts negative positions on the energy transition, consistently advocating a continued role for coal and fossil gas in the energy mix. In a May 2024 LinkedIn post, the association opposed the Queensland Government’s legislation on coal royalties, emphasizing its potential impact on future coal investment in the state. Similarly, in a February 2024 news article in the Australian, the CEO of the QRC, Janette Hewson, called on the Queensland Government to work with the state’s coal industry to ensure that existing operations stay competitive and to attract investment in new coal projects. In addition, in a December 2023 media release, the then CEO of the QRC, Ian Macfarlane, opposed the Queensland Government’s decision to ban future expansion of all oil and fossil gas projects in the state’s Lake Eyre Basin floodplains, stating that the proposed new regulations “were unnecessary and threaten Queensland’s future capacity to ensure Australia’s domestic gas supply.” Further, Macfarlane warned in the media release that the regulations would make new investment in oil and fossil gas projects less likely.
InfluenceMap collects and assesses evidence of corporate climate policy engagement on a weekly basis, depending on the availability of information from each specific data source (for more information see our methodology). While this analysis flows through to the association’s scores each week, the summary above is updated periodically.
This summary was last updated in Q2 2024.