Environment Minister Vicky Darling has today released a new report showing Queensland had the highest annual decrease in emissions of any state.

"The Queensland Government's action to ban broad-scale land clearing is the greatest contributor to this reduction in absolute emissions," Ms Darling said.

"Together, Queensland's vegetation management legislation and the end of land clearing have reduced our emissions by at least 15 million tonnes since 2007.

"Queensland has achieved the highest emissions decrease of any state or territory both in absolute and per capita terms since 2008.

"The report shows our total emissions have declined by about nine million tonnes from 2008 to 2009, and remain below our 1990 level despite Australia's absolute emissions increasing by 2.7 per cent between 1990 and 2009."

The Premier's Council on Climate Change report, Queensland's Emissions Profile, extracts data from the latest National Greenhouse Accounts released in April to provide detailed information about Queensland's historical and projected emissions and where reductions have been achieved.

Ms Darling said the information paper would better inform the current debate around action on climate change and show Queensland's position in the context of national emissions data.

"It will be a valuable resource for the development of emission reduction measures and provide the community with a better understanding of the challenges ahead in tackling greenhouse gas emissions in Queensland.

"Although the results are encouraging, further action needs to be taken to reduce Queensland's emissions.

"Queensland remains Australia's higher emitter per capita and has the second highest absolute emissions of any state, which is primarily due to growth in our energy-intensive industries such as aluminium and minerals processing.

"The Council's paper highlights the emissions challenge for Queensland and the continuing importance of the government's climate change strategy, ClimateQ: toward a greener Queensland.

"ClimateQ contains $196 million in initiatives, including the Queensland Renewable Energy Plan and the $47.7 million Energy Conservation and Demand Management Program designed to reduce the growth of energy demand, particularly during peak periods.

"The report is another step in providing information to ensure we can all engage in informed debate on how best to achieve a low carbon future for our State."

For a copy of Queensland's Emissions Profile, visit www.climatechange.qld.gov.au

Environment

The Honourable Vicky Darling

24/08/2011