THE State government's climate policy announced recently has come under fire from friends and foes across the State.
Some parties praised the advocacy on carbon farming and soil health by the Agriculture Minister Alannah MacTiernan while others thought it was just electioneering.
All up the policy includes a target of net zero gas emissions by 2050, a $21 million electric vehicle strategy, a $15m Carbon Farming and Land Restoration Program, $3.1m for a climate science program, $15m for a renewable hydrogen fund and $13m to support the industry.
Ms MacTiernan said the policy built on the initiatives already underway in WA as part of the $5.5b WA Recovery Plan and had allocated $60m to a Green Jobs Plan and a further $100m towards a 100 megawatt big battery.
Despite those commitments, South West Greens MLC Diane Evers criticised the policy as "lacking ambition and the necessary environmental protections to address the climate crisis".
"The government is afraid to say something that no-one will like," Ms Evers said.
"It's been three and a half years and it's no different to a climate policy of 10 years ago."
Ms Evers said the government's commitment of $15m for a Carbon Farming and Land Restoration Program was nowhere close to enough and that $150m would not even scratch the surface.
"The agriculture department is so under funded and focussed on regional development rather than agriculture,'' she said.
"There's not enough support to landholder groups to improve the quality of the soils and reclaim degrading landscapes."
Ms Evers said the government had "no vision for the future" and had made no genuine attempt to address climate change.
"I'm sick and tired of this government paying lip service to its climate responsibilities," she said.
"Scientists are telling us this is a critical decade - we must do better to stop cutting down our native forests, to grow and protect them, maximise carbon drawdown and sequestration, and create a better future for WA and future generations."
Liberal Party agriculture spokesman Steve Thomas said while the Liberals were still sorting out their own portfolio handling and policies for the next election, after the decision to replace Liza Harvey as the leader with Zak Kirkup, the government's policy was "underwhelming".
"It has been pretty much universally considered so," Dr Thomas said.
"It's more of an attention-grabbing exercise than a climate plan for the future.
"I'm quite disappointed."
Dr Thomas said Ms MacTiernan had been a good advocate for carbon farming but $15m for the Carbon Farming and Land Restoration Program was an "opportunity missed".
"In terms of agriculture's response to climate change there needed to be more on soil health and carbon farming," he said.
"It needs a much greater investment.
"It's an opportunity missed considering the enormous landmass and small population of WA.
"We could be world leaders in organic soil sequestration and carbon farming.
"This is nothing more than an election document."
The Liberal Party will produce its own climate policy in the lead up to the March State election.
Pastoralists and Graziers Association of WA private property rights and natural resource management committee chairman Gary Peacock said it was "hard not to be sceptical" about the funding announcement which "looked to be landcare money repackaged".
He said with about seven per cent of WA under freehold ownership the changes that would be made by replanting pockets of farmland and locking them away for 30 years or more would be "really quite futile".
Mr Peacock said there were more trees available now in WA than there was in the 1980s at the peak of land clearing and there was less agricultural land now than what there used to be.
"If you replanted the whole of the South West - that would equal about 4pc of the total landmass of WA," Mr Peacock said.
"I see it as anti-family farm.
"The impact would drive out families as the policies are more suited to multi nationals that have other motives."
Mr Peacock said $15m for carbon farming was a "feel good exercise".
"What is the change that is going to occur in the landscape?" he said.
Mr Peacock said those entering into government agreements to access the funding should obtain legal advice beforehand to understand what the requirements and liabilities are, as well as the regulatory risk involved.
WAFarmers president Rhys Turton said the organisation had been working on its own climate policy since August and had a solid draft, but needed to revisit it before making a final policy decision.
He expected an announcement on that early in the new year.
Mr Turton said it was appropriate to have their own policy in place before commenting on the government's policy.
The Nationals WA spokesperson for environment Shane Love MLA said Labor's climate change policy was yet another "smoke and mirrors announcement" which simply repackages existing commitments - like the hydrogen strategy and the Kwinana battery - into a glossy document.