A leading environmental group says a drop in carbon emissions in Queensland is due to the global financial crisis rather than government policy.
State Environment Minister Kate Jones said yesterday that Queensland's emissions had dropped by 5.7 per cent.
“The report shows our total emissions have declined by about 9 million tonnes from 2008 to 2009, and remain below our 1990 level,” she said.
Ms Jones acknowledged Queensland remained Australia's highest per capita producer of carbon dioxide.
"That's why we're making a number of key investments statewide in renewable energy projects and waste reforms," she said.
Queensland Conservation Council chief executive Toby Hutcheon said Ms Jones had nothing to brag about.
"The problem is that [Queensland's] figures related to the period when the Queensland economy was in the middle of the global financial crisis," he said.
"We can't draw too many good news stories from the 2009 figures because production was not at the same levels because of the global financial crisis.
"And in fact if you look at the early 2010 figures ... it shows emission levels are back up again."
Carbon emissions in Australia increased 0.5 per cent in the last three months of 2010, new figures revealed this week.
Federal Environment Minister Greg Combet said the rise was driven by a 44.3 per cent increase from iron and steel production.
"This significant source, which comprises pollution from stationary energy, transport and fugitive emissions from fuels, makes up around three-quarters of Australia's total levels of carbon pollution," he said.
Mr Hutcheon said the QCC agreed a carbon price had to be introduced to make alternative sources of energy more price competitive.
"Queensland still remains the most carbon-intensive economy of any state," he said.
"The average per capita [use] for Queensland is 35 tonnes of CO2 per person. The nearest equivalent per person is 31 tonnes in Western Australia.
"So we are still at the point where we have 20 per cent of the population, but we produce nearly 30 per cent of the total emissions."
Queensland is responsible for 28 per cent the nation's emissions greenhouse gases, however the end of broadscale land clearing in 2007 has provided a buffer.
Carbon emissions from deforestation have dropped from 80 million to a little more than 20 million tonnes as a result of the land clearing decision, in which remnant bushland was no longer able to be cleared for farmers to provide pastures.
At the same time, Queensland's greenhouse gas emissions increased dramatically from "stationary energy" sources, meaning the production of electricity from fossil fuels, like coal and gas.
Of Queensland's greenhouse gas emissions in 2009: electricity generation produced 24 per cent (49.7 million tonnes); car and truck emissions caused 24.2 per cent (20.2 million tonnes); and agriculture in general produced 31.8 per cent (26 million tonnes).
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