Climate Change Adaptation Showcase

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (15:16): My question is to the Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation. Will the minister update the house about the recent Climate Change Adaptation Showcase?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (15:16): I thank the honourable member for his most excellent question. In February this year, I had the great pleasure of opening the South Australian Climate Change Adaptation Showcase. One of my first acts as the minister responsible for climate change in the Weatherill government was to open the first ever showcase in March 2013. It brought together people from right across the state and beyond to talk about the latest in climate change science and the on-the-ground works occurring in the cities and regions of South Australia.

Since that first showcase, much has happened within our state on the climate change front. I point out to the Hon. Mr Maher that I don't believe in climate change: I accept the facts of climate change—there is a big difference. The believers or otherwise are on the other side, but over here we accept the facts of science.

In the State of Environment Report, released in September last year, we found that our state's per capita greenhouse gas emissions have been declining, and there has been continued growth in the generation of renewable energy.

We also secured our state's water supply with the completion of the Adelaide Desalination Plant. As of today, I am pleased to announce that the plant has now produced over 89 billion litres of water for the people of Adelaide. This has, of course, reduced our reliance on the River Murray which, following decades of overallocation and the millennium drought, was on the brink of environmental catastrophe. Yet last year we were also able to kickstart the river's slow regeneration from a potential environmental catastrophe with the passage of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

We also held the very successful Greenhouse 2013 Conference, a conference where a number of world leaders in climate science converged on Adelaide to address the next steps for Australia and the world and also to learn from our experiences here in Adelaide and share them with the world.

This government is not in denial about climate change. We do not fear the hard but critical actions that are required, as presented to us by the science. Far from putting our head in the sand, like some other politicians and pundits are inclined to do, South Australia has led the nation in combating climate change and attempting to mitigate its impacts and adapt to the inevitable changes.

I cannot stress enough to the chamber how seriously we as a state and as a nation need to take the science behind our changing climate. The climate is changing. This is clearly shown in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's reports released earlier this year: each of the last three decades has been successively warmer at the earth's surface than any preceding decade since 1850.

While sometimes it feels like South Australia is alone in Australia in taking climate change seriously, on a global scale this ever-present danger is causing world leaders to consider the impacts on their people, their industry and their economy. President Obama recently said, when releasing America's National Climate Assessment:

This is not some distant problem of the future. This is a problem that is affecting Americans right now. Whether it means increased flooding, greater vulnerability to drought, more severe wildfires—all of these things are having an impact on Americans as we speak.

These words are as applicable to Australia and the rest of the world as they are to the US.

The release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's working groups 1, 2 and 3 reports further reinforces the risks posed by climate change and the need for immediate action to limit temperature rise to 2° Celsius.

The key messages of the most recent working group 3 report are that greenhouse gas emissions are growing globally at an increasing rate. Economic and population growth are the most important drivers of emissions and have outpaced efficiencies. Mitigation requires major technological and institutional changes, including the upscaling of low and zero carbon energy to meet energy demands.

Estimates for mitigation costs vary widely; however, mitigation can result in large co-benefits for human health and other goals. The institutional challenges of mitigation are huge and need international cooperation and, without additional mitigation measures, global mean surface temperature might increase by 3.7° to 4.8° over the 21^st century.

The strength of the conclusions in the Fifth Assessment Report, as well as existing research by leading Australian research organisations, including the Bureau of Meteorology and the CSIRO, highlights the high risks that climate change brings for South Australia. We need to take action now, not at some distant date in the future when it is too late.

In 2007 we established the frameworks for rising to the challenge by enacting Australia's first dedicated climate change legislation, releasing a strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in South Australia and beginning a climate change awareness raising campaign. This enabled the South Australian government to support those desiring a better and cleaner future for South Australia and the world.

Entering into agreements with willing members of industry and the community promoted climate change awareness, prepared the community for a potential carbon price and prepared for a change in climate. South Australia then moved to policies such as legislation for energy efficient roofing and establishing a framework for low emissions vehicles in the community and the government vehicle fleet.

In 2010-11, South Australia's emissions were almost 9 per cent lower than 1990 levels, and this was in spite of growth in the state's population and economy. The 2013 State of Environment Report has shown that South Australian emissions per person and per unit of gross state product have decreased. There has actually been a 42 per cent reduction in the greenhouse gas intensity of the South Australian economy. In addition, over 25 per cent of South Australia's electricity generation now comes from over $2 billion worth of privately funded wind farms. An additional 2 per cent comes from solar panels, I am advised.

South Australia has and will continue to encourage renewable energies, building on our status as a national leader in the uptake of wind energy and rooftop solar. In less than 10 years installed capacity in South Australia has grown from zero in 2003 to more than 1,200 megawatts in wind and 400 megawatts in rooftop solar.

We are committed to assisting the community to adapt to a changing climate. This is why in 2012 we launched a framework for adapting to the changing climate using local knowledge and priorities. South Australia's progress is in spite of changing policy priorities in the federal sphere. There has been a clear downgrading of climate change concerns at a federal level, one that is of great concern to this government and should be of great concern to everyone in South Australia.

The Abbott government has outlined a direct action plan to address climate change and to repeal the national carbon pricing mechanism. I am advised that the Coalition had originally indicated a budget of $3.2 billion for the various elements of the direct action plan but, with the release of the Coalition's budget costings, it was revealed that this has been reduced to $2.88 billion over the first four years.

The Coalition has indicated that it will not increase its budget commitment to meet the stated 5 per cent target needed. To achieve this aim, I am advised that the Coalition's direct action plan will use a reverse auction as its primary mechanism through a $2.55 billion emissions reduction fund to cut emissions.

The South Australian government made a submission on the design of the fund, reaffirming that we need measures that will provide a smooth transition to a low carbon economy. On 24 April 2014, the commonwealth government released the Emissions Reduction Fund White Paper. We now need to consider the emerging design of the fund and its implications for both existing South Australian government programs and the potential for participation by South Australian organisations.

We need to ensure that the fund provides opportunities for South Australia, including small to medium businesses, and that our state is not disadvantaged by the emissions reduction progress which has already been achieved. To be effective, the Australian government's targeted measures will need a long-term horizon for abatement efforts and a particular focus on early action. Such a transition is crucial to achieve Australia's greenhouse gas emission commitments and is in line with the latest science on climate change.

I call on those opposite to ensure for once that they tell their federal colleagues that we in South Australia won't accept anything less than action on climate change that will have a real impact. The federal government has commenced a review of Australia's Renewable Energy Target. I understand the federal government has framed this as a policy designed to ensure that at least 20 per cent of Australia's electricity comes from renewable sources.

It consists of two main schemes: the Large-scale Renewable Energy Target, which creates a financial incentive for renewable energy power stations, and a Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme, which encourages owners to install small-scale renewable energy systems such as rooftop solar. I understand that concerns are being expressed from within the renewable energy industry that this review will lead to reduced investment in renewable energy technologies, not more investment. We can't let that happen. South Australia's emission reduction success has been partly due to the growth of renewable energy technology in South Australia.

Our Strategic Plan sets a target of 33 per cent renewable electricity by 2020, however, it is possible that we will reach that target this coming financial year. In around 10 years, installed capacity has grown from zero in 2003 to more than 1,200 megawatts in wind and 400 megawatts in rooftop solar, as I said earlier. The South Australian government has also announced a new investment target of $10 billion in low carbon generation by 2025. We will continue to monitor developments very closely, consider the implications of the federal plan for our state. I would ask those opposite to do the same: instead of caving in to the Abbott government, stand up for this state for once.