• Uses a resiliency-based model for integrating global decarbonization indices to measure decarbonization performance in Western Australia and Queensland. • Western Australia’s rich mineral endowment is hindered by a lack of battery supply chain and disconnect with the National Energy Market. • Queensland demonstrates stronger policy integration despite heavy coal dependence. • Incremental coal efficiency and carbon capture measures are insufficient to achieve 2035 and 2050 emissions reduction targets. • Mining-specific rapid decarbonization can serve as a transitional pathway to balance economic growth and emissions reduction. • Calls for regional federalism and climate-cooperative federalism to achieve net-zero consistency. Australia’s mining sector has a paradoxical position in energy transition: it drives economic growth through mineral exports yet causes some of the country’s highest emissions. Despite being central to Australia’s net-zero ambitions, Western Australia (WA) and Queensland (Qld) pursue divergent policies and technological strategies whose comparative strengths remain underexplored. This study examines the decarbonization performance of the two states’ extractive industries and their implications for other Australian states focusing on how policies, social dynamics, and technological pathways align with national transition goals. A meta-analysis was conducted based on critical literature review and an Arup resiliency model for ordinal comparative assessment. This analysis applied three components, i.e., reducing CO2 emissions, socio-economic indicators, and clean energy technologies adapted from Utility Decarbonization Index, Net Zero Readiness Index , and Net Zero Economy Index . Results show Qld has stronger policy integration with federal targets despite heavy coal dependence, while WA’s rich mineral endowment is hindered by a lack of battery supply chain and disconnect with the National Energy Market. Both states face risks from fossil fuel dependency while policy inconsistency is common in all states. The study finds that removing fossil fuels overnight requires significant structural changes while temporal fixes like coal efficiency cannot meet the emissions reduction targets. This study concludes that mining-specific rapid decarbonization would solve this dilemma by being used as a transitional solution. Hence, for rapid decarbonization, mining industry should be treated as a priority one primary industry for meeting the 2035 emissions reduction and 2050 net-zero targets.
Riasat Noor (Mon,) studied this question.