Climate Change and Greenhouse Emissions Reduction (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 17 October 2024.)

The Hon. S.L. GAME (15:32): I rise to oppose the government's Climate Change and Greenhouse Emissions Reductions (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2024. It was only two weeks ago in this very chamber that I spoke against the ideologically-driven proposal of the Greens to cancel fossil fuel corporations from sponsoring sports and arts events. According to the Greens, it was hypocritical of the government to endorse fossil fuel corporations, like Santos, as the chief sponsors of the Tour Town Under, while the Premier was also pitching for Adelaide to host COP31, the 2026 United Nations climate change conference.

But, they say that two weeks is a long time in politics. As it stands today, climate change warriors have nothing to fear, because the government is back on the bandwagon again this week, resurrecting its commitment to 100 per cent renewables by 2027 and net zero emissions by 2050, despite the growing public frustration with heavily taxpayer-subsidised solar and wind farms, accompanied by the highest electric prices in the Asia-Pacific, not to mention the collapse of the $593 million flagship green steel project for Whyalla.

The hypocrisy of two weeks ago has been forgotten as the government tries to breathe some life back into the climate change narrative after the damage done by the ideological financial and political disaster of the Whyalla Steelworks. Two weeks is a long time in politics, but what about 12 months? It was back in March 2024 that the Minister for Climate, Environment and Water encouraged South Australians to have their say on these proposed amendments to the Climate Change and Greenhouse Emissions Reduction Act. According to the minister, South Australia's response to climate change and commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions needed to be updated. Apparently the goals of the past were not bold enough. South Australians need to be more ambitious. What we needed, according to the minister, was a statewide emissions reduction plan to achieve our goal of net zero by 2050.

Although we had done well to reduce our emissions by 42 per cent from 2005 levels, we still need to introduce interim targets to achieve our goal of a reduction by at least 50 per cent by 2030. We would also need a statewide climate risk assessment to be reviewed every five years so that the government can help South Australians plan, prepare and adapt to the economic, social and environmental risks of climate change.

How much have things changed since March 2024? I am sure that at the time many South Australians were extremely proud about reducing emissions by 42 per cent, but I am certain that the majority of households and businesses would now happily forfeit this hollow achievement for a cheaper and more reliable supply of electricity, especially when we consider the resurgence in construction of new coal-fired power plants in China, which is at the highest level of construction since 2014. It has been reported that Australia's yearly emissions are equivalent to what China emits in two weeks.

Given these figures, our reduction targets will clearly have no effect other than to increase our power bills and prohibit business and economic growth as investors start moving away from renewables and return to fossil fuels. This shift is already on, with leading energy corporation BP confirming the discontinuation of 18 preliminary hydrogen projects due to a record decline in profits. According to BP's chief executive, the energy giant's transition away from fossil fuels had gone too far and too fast and the faith in green energy was misplaced. When we combine these comments with the new US government's withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement, it is clear that something significant is changing in the global energy market that will inevitably impact us here in Australia.

This can be seen by the recent exit of Origin Energy from the government-backed Hunter Valley Hydrogen Hub project in New South Wales. These movements in the global and national market are significant when we consider our own state government's dramatic cooling on the green steel project at Whyalla, and the questions surrounding the future of the Hydrogen Power SA office with 55 staff and a chief executive on a salary of almost $600,000.

In addition to this, we have yesterday's report in The Australian that over 99 per cent of the announced green hydrogen projects in Australia have not progressed beyond the concept or approval stage. According to Zoe Hilton, the senior energy policy analyst at the Centre for Independent Studies:

Green hydrogen was always a pipe-dream—the economics simply don't stack up, and it's unlikely they ever will.

With the failure of so many green hydrogen projects and the large-scale abandonment from private investors, the climate change gravy train appears to be running out of steam, but not before this government has one last shot at pushing the bill through the chamber in a desperate attempt to enshrine an ideological commitment into legislation and to add another layer of regulation and reporting to an already bloated and overpaid bureaucracy.

We need to be cautious and diligent with our time and investments. We need to look back and see where we went wrong and how we can make better decisions for the future. It was back in 2016 that South Australia closed its last coal-fired power station at Port Augusta and, as of now, 70 per cent of our electricity is from renewable resources with a commitment in this bill for 100 per cent by 2027.

I will conclude with two questions to ponder. My first question is: what meaningful impact has this rapid and significant shift had on global greenhouse gas reductions? My second question is: how has the elimination of coal-fired power and the rapid uptake of renewables improved the lives of ordinary South Australians? With that, I conclude and confirm my opposition to the government's bill.

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (15:38): It is with great pleasure that I rise today to speak on behalf of the Greens to the Climate Change and Greenhouse Emissions Reduction (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill. This bill is fundamentally sound, and the Greens are happy to support it. Indeed, we are not only happy to support it but we are happy to make it a little bit better.

The Greens, therefore, will be bringing some amendments in four key areas—that is, increasing the ambition of the bill and the eventual act; improved reporting through greater transparency, and with that comes some language clarity, to move away from percentages to real figures as well as percentages in the reporting, and reporting on things that we in the Greens believe need to be continued to be reported on, that currently are not; strengthening the capacity of the Premier's Climate Change Council; and strengthening the requirements of the statewide climate risk assessment.

Our aim with these amendments is to ensure the best possible outcomes—outcomes in climate change mitigation, outcomes in good public faith in the work that is being done by government entities, and for current and future generations—because South Australians deserve a climate change act that is nimble, evidence-based and ambitious, not just for us but for our future.

One of the ways we aim to do this is through more ambitious target setting. Any young citizen who is voting for the first time in the looming 2025 federal election will be in their mid-40s by 2050. The evidence shows us that young Australians—our children and emerging adults—are amongst the most vulnerable populations when it comes to the mental health impacts of climate change simply because they do not see us doing enough. They worry that the proverbial can is being kicked down the road, left there for them and their generations to deal with.

When you add this to the evidence that shows that in terms of the climate crisis—and we have declared a climate crisis in this state—they live in one of the most vulnerable countries in the developed world, it is clear that we here as a parliament have a duty to respond to the lack of control and to the powerlessness they report feeling about perceived government inertia on climate change. Targets that stretch a long way into the future that aim for emissions reductions based on years of high emissions suggest that this is a problem we are not particularly interested in dealing with in reality. We can do better.

The Greens are keen to see improvements not only to the timeframe of the net zero target but also to the reduction target. Other jurisdictions use 2005 as the benchmark for emissions reduction and by that target our emissions seem to be dropping by pleasing levels, yet our 2022 emissions were less than half of what they were in 2005, which was, by contrast, one of our highest annual emissions totals by year for this state since our federal government first required reporting on them back in 1990.

The Greens will also bring an amendment that will require reporting by government agencies to report not only in percentages but also in hard data. That will increase the transparency and public faith in our system. It will also benefit those sectors where emissions reduction solutions are more challenging to implement. These sectors will find that, despite a reduction in real terms, their emissions, when expressed as a percentage of total emissions, have actually increased. Requiring reporting of this over the longer term will enable the public to see real reductions in emissions, rather than to see what appears to be an increase in a sector's emissions, and this will enable them to have, of course, faith in our emissions reporting.

The Greens do value the work of the Premier's Climate Change Council, which was established in 2007 under this enabling act. The council was established to provide independent advice to the minister on, amongst other things, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing the use of renewable energy and adapting to climate change. A significant amount of work has been done on the first two in particular. The amendment that we will bring in the debate on this bill is to ensure that that council is forward-looking, with a view to strengthening the relevance of the council by building in expertise in greenhouse gas emissions and ruminant livestock.

It also seeks to bring climate science into the mix of the council's skills base, which is of critical importance to climate adaptation as it is the science that examines the evidence base on climate systems both regionally and globally, thus helping us to understand changing global weather and climate patterns and the direct impacts they are most likely to have here in our nation. This will in turn enable us to best select the adaptations we need in place to best cope with climate change.

The addition of ruminant livestock to the expertise of the council will enable representation of the agricultural sector. Many in the sector know that, if the industry which they work in and that they wish to have a future is to have a future, climate change needs addressing now. Much work is being done to make this happen, but it is unfortunately progressing more slowly than in other sectors, meaning that, even if their emissions remained stable, they will naturally form a higher proportion of total emissions. The requirement of hard data in reporting, rather than just percentages of total emissions, and the provision of a seat at the table will go a long way to ensuring their voice is heard on this critical issue.

Finally, we seek to amend the requirements of the statewide climate risk assessment so it includes an assessment of the impacts of climate change on our state's biodiversity and ecological communities, the impacts of pollution and the impacts of climate change in relation to flooding risks and sea level rises within the state, ensuring the longevity and safety of our coastal and riverine communities, home to many and indeed significant contributors to our state's economy. That amendment also seeks to ensure that assessments take into account our progress towards a circular economy, something that we know to be of critical importance in mitigating our impacts on climate and our environment.

Lastly, this amendment will seek to take account of a just and equitable transition to lower greenhouse gas emissions and of the responsibility that we have here to at least minimise reasonably foreseeable harm to both the environment and future generations of South Australians. That duty of care to our future is something that the Greens hope to see within this bill. With that, I look forward to the committee stage. I note that the Greens are going to be strong supporters of this bill but are hoping to make it just that little bit better, to aim a little bit higher and to lift our ambition in the face of this climate crisis.

The Hon. M. EL DANNAWI (15:45): I rise to speak in support of the Climate Change and Greenhouse Emissions Reduction (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill. Too much time has already been spent arguing about climate change when we should have been taking action. We have been warned for many decades now that climate change would have a negative impact on extreme weather systems.

We are no stranger to extreme weather in Australia, but we do not need to look far to see the consequences of the warming atmosphere. This week, we have seen the news cycle dominated by Tropical Cyclone Alfred, which will make landfall further south than we have seen in 50 years. At the same time, communities in the Adelaide Hills and along the Fleurieu are suffering the worst drought conditions they have seen in years. The impact of events like this one on people's lives and livelihoods and the suffering they cause is devastating.

These events also demonstrate the importance of the legislation before us today. The purpose of this bill is to modernise the Climate Change and Greenhouse Emissions Reduction Act to provide a more effective legislative framework to deliver our climate change policy objectives. The bill updates the state's emission reduction targets and enshrines them in legislation. Our reduction target for 2030 has been updated to 60 per cent. Now a target for 2050 has been updated from 60 per cent to net zero.

To keep our state on track to achieve this target, the bill requires interim emissions reduction targets to be set every five years between 2030 and 2050. It is important to know that in South Australia we have exceeded our targets in the past, and there is no reason why we cannot do it again. The bill legislates a state target of 100 per cent net renewable electricity generation by 2027. Outdated targets for at least 20 per cent renewable electricity generation and use by 2014 have been removed from the act, as we achieved these targets well ahead of time in 2011.

Latest data shows that nearly 74 per cent of South Australia's electricity is generated from renewable sources. This is amongst the highest of any major grid in the world. Our achievements here highlight the importance of target setting and effective public policy and planning, for which the act and this amendment bill provide a sound legislative framework. As the Deputy Premier said in the other place, targets are only as good as the policies, plans and programs that support them. This is why the bill also requires the preparation of a publicly available statewide emissions reduction plan within two years of commencement, which sets out clearly the government's objectives, policies, programs and initiatives.

The bill also requires a statewide climate risk assessment to be prepared to identify risks and opportunities to inform adaptive planning, which will be renewed every five years. This will not only help government but also business and community organisations in climate risk and adaption planning. The bill will also introduce the ability for the Premier to nominate a public sector entity to prepare a climate change plan for an entity or sector.

In addition to this, the bill provides for public sector action and reporting on reducing emissions and managing climate risk in government's actions. There are also some changes to definitions that are worth noting. A few key terms are defined in the bill, including 'climate change adaption' and 'mitigation'. The introduction of these definitions is designed to improve consistency across South Australian legislation.

The bill also defines 'net greenhouse gas emissions'. The intention is that when setting a target or measuring reductions against the target, the term 'net greenhouse gas emissions' will be subject to the procedural requirements in section 5 of the act. These procedural requirements provide that the minister must seek to take into account relevant methodologies and principles that apply within other Australian jurisdictions, and seek to provide consistency with best practice.

This bill was informed by extensive community and industry consultation and engagement. As part of that process four First Nations engagement workshops were undertaken on climate change projects, including amendments to the act. The feedback received highlighted the importance of truth telling and the value of listening to truth telling in relation to climate change. The bill accordingly includes a new function for the minister responsible for the act to promote consultation with First Nations people.

Reaching the emissions reduction targets outlined in this bill will contribute to global efforts to minimise the impacts of global warming, provide opportunities for new jobs, and deliver co-benefits such as cleaner air, lower energy bills, and improved biodiversity outcomes. I commend the bill to the chamber.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. D.G.E. Hood.