Carbon Neutral Adelaide

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (14:31): I seek leave to make an explanation prior to directing a question to the Minister for Environment on the subject of carbon neutrality.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: As members would be aware, the government has promised for a while now that Adelaide would be the world's first carbon neutral capital city, I think, or city, because we have previously been advised there are a number of other cities around the world who have made similar claims. I think Copenhagen and Melbourne are two of a number who are making that particular claim. The minister will be aware that Melbourne, with the support of the Victorian Labor government, has continued to update on an annual basis their zero net emissions or carbon neutral Melbourne by 2020 as their current goal.

The minister will also be aware that in recent times the state government and the Adelaide City Council have released documentation indicating that they were going to achieve carbon neutrality, or try to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025, which is five years later than the policy of Melbourne and the Victorian government. My question to the minister is: does the minister accept that this recent joint policy announcement is an indication that the former commitment to being the world's first carbon neutral city for Adelaide is no longer valid?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change) (14:32): I thank the honourable member for his most important question. I suppose it is not surprising that there is a degree of confusion in the mind of the Hon. Mr Lucas around these areas because he is not comparing apples with apples; he is comparing Adelaide with Melbourne, and the promises and the ambitions are quite different. Melbourne's commitment, as I understand it, is just for the city council. It does not apply to the city itself, it does not apply to the government's involvement, it does not apply residents of the city of Melbourne, and it does not apply to businesses. It is just for the operations of the Melbourne city council or, however they style themselves.

The state government and the Adelaide council have a different ambition. The ambition for the city of Adelaide itself in terms of its council-controlled emissions is, indeed, 2025 but, in fact, the joint ambition of the state government and the Adelaide City Council is to become carbon neutral and to be the first city in the world, and to cover off on all the emissions. That is not just the emissions of the state government, it is not just the emissions of the city council, it is the emissions of the whole city as encapsulated in the borders of the Adelaide City Council, I suppose, so that includes the CBD and Parklands and the environs of North Adelaide. It also includes all of the transport emissions that come in and go out of the city in terms of people commuting in for work and for other purposes, and for those who are just moving through the city to get to the other side of the city.

The government and the city council share this common goal, and the ambition was affirmed by the Premier and the Lord Mayor—with their joint release of the Vision for Carbon Neutral Adelaide—very shortly before the Paris climate negotiations in December 2015, together with their joint launch of the Carbon Neutral Adelaide Action Plan 2016–2021 on 8 November of this year.

So, as I said, the reference to 2025 represents the last date by which the city council itself will become carbon neutral for its own emissions. Efforts are being made to make this happen in an earlier style, in terms of the overall emissions for the whole city—that's our joint ambition. I am also advised that council resolved to delay any purchase of carbon offsets until all cost-effective and reasonable measures to reduce city emissions have been exhausted. Well, that is wise. Carbon offsets are the things that you do to bridge the gap, if you like, to borrow a phrase from another context.

It does remain the position of state government and council, through this unique partnership that we have, to achieve a carbon neutral Adelaide, to prioritise direct emissions reduction and activities over offsets and, when required, to preferentially seek offsets from projects that are in South Australia. That would always be our ambition, if we can manage that, to have local offsets. My desire is to have offsets that people in the city of Adelaide can go and see and touch and have a tangible relationship with, knowing that they are offsetting their emissions.

So, Adelaide is aiming to be the first carbon neutral city in the world, and we are well placed amongst our international counterparts to win that race. I am advised that it is unlikely that Melbourne will be carbon neutral by its nominated date, but that remains to be seen. I understand that they haven't done the extensive background work that the City of Adelaide has, nor do they enjoy a similar level of partnership with state government that we share with the City of Adelaide.

It is this collaborative partnership that we have with the Lord Mayor and the city council that really distinguishes us from the rest of Australia, if not other parts of the world. I know the Lord Mayor—when he comes back from international meetings—is a signatory on behalf of the City of Adelaide of the Compact of Mayors. It is a similar organisation to the one which Premier Jay Weatherill heads up as one of the three world co-chairs of the Compact of States and Territories. He remarks constantly—no doubt, members have heard him say this—that when he's meeting with mayors from around the world they come up to him and ask him for advice about how on earth he has managed to have such a close working partnership with his jurisdictional state government.

To me, at least, it seems like a common sense approach, to work together in a very close partnership. That hasn't been achieved elsewhere in the world to the same level, and I think that stands us in brilliant stead to actually achieve this big ambition of becoming the world's first carbon neutral city.