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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-02-26 Daily Xml
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CLIMATE CHANGE

Ms CICCARELLO (Norwood) (14:15): Can the Premier tell the house the importance of three key meetings that involved themes around climate change that occurred in Adelaide last week?

Members interjecting:

The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change) (14:16): Palpable excitement in the house at the prospect of this. Last week, Adelaide hosted the third International Solar Cities Congress, the second Canadian-Australian meeting, as well as the fourth meeting of the Council of the Federation. Each of these meetings had a focus on responses to climate change and confirmed South Australia's international leadership in tackling the most significant challenge of our time.

Nearly 800 delegates from across the world attended the Solar Cities Congress which drew some of the foremost technical and policy thinkers not just on solar energy but the sustainability of the world's cities. They heard from opinion leaders such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr; Dr Zhengrong Shi, founder of China's largest manufacturer of solar photovoltaic panels, Suntech Power Holdings; the federal Minister for the Environment (Hon. Peter Garrett); the former premier of New South Wales and Macquarie Bank consultant (Hon. Bob Carr); and South Australia's first Thinker in Residence, one of Europe's leading environmentalists, Herbert Girardet.

As is recognised the world over, South Australia is a leader with a target to have 20 per cent of the state's energy requirements supplied by renewable energy by 2014, but we will reach that target five years ahead of time. I saw something said about, 'Well, we might have 45 per cent or 50 per cent of wind and solar but this is a small total nationally', but the key fact is that, in South Australia, 20 per cent of our power for our factories, our homes, our schools and our hospitals will come from sustainable energy by 2009—and there are few places in the world that can boast that.

Last week we went further by announcing that the operations of this state government will be made carbon neutral by 2020. In terms of the buy for our hospitals, schools, public buildings and Parliament House that means that by 2014 (I think) 50 per cent of our power needs will come from sustainable energy, which is light years ahead of any state in this country and I do not know of anywhere else in the world. On 11 September 2006, former US Vice President Al Gore said:

I congratulate South Australia, by the way, for in many ways leading the world with visionary proposals to really do the right thing. In South Australia you have probably one of the best examples of any state in the entire world where you see how leadership can make a tremendous difference in promoting renewable sources of energy.

That was not me: that was Al Gore. The state government will now work towards becoming carbon neutral for its own operations by accelerated purchases of accredited green power and other carbon offsets in three stages, with the interim target of a 30 per cent offset by 2010, and further reductions to 50 per cent and then to achieve carbon neutrality by 2020. I believe government must lead by example.

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The Hon. M.D. RANN: What's that?

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The Hon. M.D. RANN: Oh. We have just heard that going carbon neutral for the state government is a licence to pollute. I remember when Ronald Reagan said that trees were the great polluters of the planet. Presumably the Deputy Leader of the Opposition—the one who did not want von Einem to be DNA tested—believes that solar panels and wind turbines are polluters. No doubt she will prefer the coal industry. There will be a booklet put out with the thoughts of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition.

Mr Kenyon: It will be a little red book.

The Hon. M.D. RANN: Yes, that's right, a little red book. I believe government must lead by example. By increasing its purchase of green power the government will encourage demand for renewable energy that will lead to greater installation of sustainable energy generators. This is a comprehensive commitment covering all emissions from core government operations, schools, hospitals and other public buildings, as well as government offices.

I am also very pleased that South Australia's leadership on renewable energy has been reinforced by the passing of the nation's first feed-in laws just a couple of weeks ago by this parliament. I congratulate everyone involved, and that includes members of both houses of parliament.

I was pleased to announce jointly with federal environment minister, Peter Garrett, a new solar power station in Coober Pedy, which will be the largest off-grid facility in Australia. I am advised that this $7.1 million project will consist of 26 dishes, each one 14 metres high and tracking the arc of the sun. It is expected to provide more than 13 per cent of Coober Pedy's total electricity requirements and will cut diesel consumption by up to 520,000 litres a year, saving 1,500 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.

I should say that climate change was also central to the Canadian and Australian premiers and ministers meeting last Thursday. The agreed communiqué has now committed all Australian and Canadian states, territories and provinces to undertake a stocktake of current initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by June this year.

The meeting highlighted the critical and active role that regional governments must play in tackling climate change by developing renewable energy and fostering energy efficiency. All our jurisdictions committed to sharing research expertise on adaptation as well as clean energy technologies. When there was discussion about the changing shape of the federal structures of government and the role of innovation, responses to climate change arose throughout.

While the Canadian delegation was here, the Premier of Manitoba, Gary Doer, and I signed an MOU that paves the way for collaborative research on a range of projects to take place between South Australia's three public universities and the University of Manitoba. That research will be into functional foods and neutriceuticals, medical research targeting processes involved in the spread of cancer and inflammatory diseases, and development of crops for new markets and climate change.

The governments of Manitoba and South Australia are collectively contributing $1.8 million over three years to these collaborative research programs and we are delighted that there is going to be a range of other initiatives involving Manitoba and South Australia. I know that the member for Stuart is a big fan of the Canadian provinces and has been there on many occasions.

In closing, the Council of the Australian Federation (this was an idea we borrowed from the Canadian premiers and I was the inaugural chair of the council) commissioned the esteemed economist, Professor Ross Garnaut, to deliver a report on the impacts of climate change. That report updates the UK report by Sir Nicholas Stern on the economic road map to sustainability.

Professor Garnaut briefed the premiers and chief ministers, telling us that the latest science indicates that the need for urgent action to reduce emissions and adapt to climate change is greater than originally thought. Greenhouse gas emissions have increased at a higher rate than anticipated, principally because of the high growth of the world economy in recent years driven by China and India because of the high energy demands of that growth with high dependence on fossil fuels. We received a report from Professor Garnaut that I must say poses massive challenges to all governments internationally but also to state and federal governments here in Australia. We need to get cracking on establishing a national emissions trading scheme as proposed by the Council of the Federation.

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