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July 2007
Australia's first climate change
legislation became law today. It is not national legislation, it applies
only to the state of South Australia, but in the country that has followed
the United States in its reluctance to join international climate action,
the new law is viewed as a big step.
The Climate Change and Greenhouse Emissions Reduction Act 2007 makes South
Australia the first place in Australia to legislate targets to reduce
emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas responsible for
global warming. The law also requires a renewable energy standard.
South Australia continues to lead the way for the rest of the nation when
it comes to climate change - and we are on track to achieve the legislated
target of 20 percent of our state’s power coming from renewable sources by
2014," said South Australia's Premier Mike Rann.
"The legislation commits the government to work with business and the
community to develop and put in place strategies that will put our state
in a position to take early action to reduce greenhouse emissions and
adapt to climate change," the premier said.
But the state's only Green legislator, Mark Parnell, is not satisfied with
the new targets.
"No matter how much Premier Rann tries to spin this," Parnell said, "he
can’t get around the fact that his greenhouse pollution target for 1990 is
a licence to increase, not decrease the state’s emissions over the next 13
years."
The Bill was introduced to Parliament on December 6, 2006 following a
consultation period in mid-2006. It passed through the House of Assembly
on March 7 and then passed through the Legislative Council on March 29
with amendments.
The Bill then returned to the House of Assembly for further consideration,
before being adopted on June 20. The measure was proclaimed as law today.
The legislation sets out three targets:
to reduce by 31 December 2050 greenhouse gas emissions within the state
by at least 60 percent to an amount that is equal to or less than 40
percent of 1990 levels as part of a national and international response
to climate change
to increase the proportion of renewable electricity generated so it
produces at least 20 percent of electricity generated in the state by
December 31, 2014
to increase the proportion of renewable electricity consumed so that it
comprises at least 20 percent of electricity consumed in the state by
December 31, 2014.
Premier Rann says industries large and small are well aware that they can
reduce greenhouse emissions and grow their businesses at the same time.
"The two ideals are not mutually exclusive – as some people seem to
believe," he said today.
"Some industries, such as the wine industry, need to prove their green
credentials in order to grow their exports – especially to markets in
countries such as the UK which are demanding wines that are grown using
environmentally sustainable methods.
"It is vital that what we do as a state to reduce greenhouse emissions
goes hand in hand with economic development and community well-being," he
said.
South Australia's Northern / Thomas Playford power plant burns coal
to generate power and in the process emits greenhouse gases.
The states and territories of Australia reached a joint agreement on
greenhouse gas emissions trading to fight climate change in April 2005.
The federal government, under Prime Minister John Howard, has declined to
ratify the Kyoto Protocol, so the states and territories have initiated
their own emissions reduction scheme.
In emissions trading systems a cap is set on the total volume of
greenhouse gases that can be emitted. The cap is divided into tradeable
permits, each equivalent to one metric ton of carbon dioxide.
Participating companies are required to hold a number of permits greater
or equal to their actual emissions.
The right to emit carbon dioxide becomes a tradeable commodity, creating a
new market that places a price on greenhouse gas emissions and provides an
incentive to find new and smarter ways of reducing emissions.
On ABC Radio Thursday, Premier Rann said that South Australia would be
"world leading" by matching California's "return to 1990 greenhouse
pollution levels by 2020" target.
His claim that his legislation would be, with California, the "most
advanced in the world" was immediately disputed by Parnell.
"Even a cursory examination shows this is wrong," Parnell argued.
"California is currently well above its 1990 pollution levels – in 2002
they were 11.5 percent above and increasing every year - so legislation
they passed in 2006 to return California to 1990 greenhouse levels was a
major and exciting commitment," he said.
Meanwhile, Parnell pointed out South Australia is 6.5 percent below its
1990 greenhouse pollution level right now, so a "return to 1990 levels is
actually a legislated increase," he said.
Green Member of the Legislative Council, South Australia Mark
Parnell
"It might be the same words in the target, but the effect is completely
different," said Parnell. "While California will be helping the world
avoid dangerous climate change, it appears Mike Rann is planning for South
Australia to go in the opposite direction."
"For the Greens, that is simply untenable," said Parnell. "We simply can
not support a target that completely ignores the latest IPCC
[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] report, which says the world’s
greenhouse pollution emissions have to start decreasing by 2015 if we are
to have any chance of avoiding dangerous climate change."
Australia's Climate Action Network, an alliance of over 30 regional, state
and national environmental, health, community development, and research
groups, supports a target to reduce climate change emissions by at least
30 percent by 2020 - not just in South Australia but across the country.
The Network maintains that if Australia introduced a 25 percent renewable
energy target by 2020 the country would not only fight climate change, "it
would deliver at least 16,600 new jobs for Australians, generate $33
billion in new investment and create enough renewable electricity to power
every home in Australia."
The nation's largest environmental group, the Australian Conservation
Foundation, is pressing for a national emissions trading scheme. The
Foundation says the primary objective must be to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions by at least 30 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and 80 to 90
percent by 2050 to avoid the worst effects of global warming.
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