Gladys Berejiklian says net zero emissions by 2050 is an achievable dream.

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said this week that it would be “the stuff of dreams” for an Australian Coalition government to legislate a net zero target.

The comments were made in a webinar conversation between Ms Berejiklian and the former British prime minister Theresa May.

“I’m sure if I said this publicly … I don’t think there’s any media on this webinar … the assessment we’ve done is the targets for net zero by 2050, it doesn’t take much to get there,” the premier said.

Ms Berejiklian praised Ms May for her “legacy-making” performance as prime minister, which included the creation of a net zero 2050 emissions policy.

“To have a conservative Tory government legislate 2050 emissions is the stuff of dreams in Australia, and we can only hope to emulate it,” Ms Berejiklian said.

But the premier noted that a major barrier to change is convincing fossil fuel-reliant communities to adapt to a low-emissions future.

“I think what we need to do better, perhaps, in NSW and Australia to improve the narrative is to target those in communities who might be transitioning out of other jobs,” she said.

“You can hypothecate those [clean energy] jobs into those communities because their main concern is not what they are digging out of the ground, but the fact they are putting food on the table.

“If you can allay those concerns and overlap the jobs growth in the communities that are feeling the angst, I think that is a mutually beneficial way forward.”

Ms May said the British Conservatives accepted her 2050 net zero emission target with little pushback.

“I always say here in the UK that the Conservative Party is the party that has got ‘conserve’ it in its name and therefore we should be naturally thinking about our environment,” Ms May said.

“As centre-right politicians, as conservatives, we also believe in leaving something for the next generation, and climate change is about ensuring that the planet is there for the next generation and generations to come.”