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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-12-03 Daily Xml
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Ministerial Statement

CLIMATE CHANGE AND GREENHOUSE EMISSIONS REDUCTION ACT

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) (14:02): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. M.D. RANN: Today I have tabled the results of a review prescribed under section 21 of South Australia's Climate Change and Greenhouse Emissions Reduction Act. The purpose of the section 21 review is to assess the degree to which South Australia is achieving the objects of the act and the need for additional legislative measures, including mandatory measures. The key objects of the act relate to greenhouse gas emissions, renewable electricity, sector targets, energy efficiency, research and development, commercialisation of renewable energy and technologies, consultations and climate change adaptation.

The Premier's Climate Change Council was consulted during the preparation of the review report. That consultation further included a stakeholder engagement group consisting of nearly 100 business, environment and community organisations. The submissions received are included in the report and factored into the government's response, which will also be tabled today. These findings relate to the progress being made in this state with regard to tackling climate change and repositioning our economy to excel in a low carbon global economy. They are also relevant to, and impacted by, the federal effort to pass an emissions trading scheme.

South Australia remains the only state in the nation to have passed climate change legislation, and this government remains committed to ensuring that the commitments made under that legislation are met. This review does not reveal that achieving the objects of the act will be easy—certainly it will not be easy—particularly in the absence of federal legislation to cap carbon emissions and set a price on carbon. However, it does show that South Australia is progressing positively towards meeting our targets, and it reinforces that results can be achieved if tough decisions are made, if clear commitments are enshrined in law and if targets are backed up with the necessary programs and actions required to ensure that they are achieved.

I am extremely disappointed with the results of yesterday's carbon pollution reduction scheme vote in the federal Senate. The climate change deniers, led by Tony Abbott and the right faction of the Liberal Party, voted down the CPRS in the Senate, referring to the scheme simply as a new tax, whilst appearing blind to the critical importance of that legislation. It is a mechanism to put a price on carbon and to move Australia down a low carbon path, a direction in which we must begin to move both for the sake of our economy and for the sake of the environment. We must also remember that Australia has ratified the Kyoto Protocol and, regardless of the success of further international commitments, we have greenhouse emissions reduction obligations under that agreement.

The CPRS provided a mechanism for Australia to achieve those commitments, to provide leadership at the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference that is beginning next week, and to be on the front foot as the world rapidly pushes towards a lower carbon future. Taking action to address emissions is also part of our global responsibility. Although Australia has a small population in global terms, we have one of the highest emissions intensity levels in the world, largely based on the carbon intensity of Australia's electricity supply. According to the Garnaut Report, which draws on International Energy Agency data:

The emissions intensity of Australia's electricity supply is the highest of any OECD country. It is 98 per cent higher than the OECD average—

98 per cent higher—

and 74 per cent higher than the world average. There are only eight countries in the world with an emissions system that is more emissions intensive than Australia: Bahrain, Botswana, Cambodia, Cuba, India, Kazakhstan, Libya and Malta.

As the report I am tabling today outlines, the greenhouse gas intensity of the South Australian economy has reduced between 2000 to 2007, and prospects for an acceleration of the historic rate of reduction of greenhouse gas intensity are good. So we have seen a reduction in greenhouse gas intensity in South Australia.

The data clearly shows sharp improvement, particularly starting in 2006-2007, which can be attributed in part to the substitution of greenhouse gas intensive electricity from Victoria by South Australia's wind power. And there is the key to it: we are investing in renewable energy as a state, and what we are seeing is our greenhouse gas intensity reducing.

South Australia's emissions intensity is significantly below the national average and continuing to decrease. This government is taking action to ensure that that trend continues and has actively reinforced its commitment to renewable energy generation as a replacement for more carbon intensive forms of electricity.

In June 2009 the state government announced a new renewable energy target of 33 per cent of South Australia's electricity generation to come from renewable energy by 2020. That will put us in absolute leadership position. A renewable energy industry plan is currently being developed. A $20 million renewable energy fund has been established to underpin the growth of renewable energy and to assist the development of renewable energy industries in the state.

Our performance in the area of renewable energy has shown that our policies are working. South Australia has been leading the nation in renewable energy uptake. The state has nearly half of the nation's wind energy capacity, with further wind farms under construction. I am further advised that South Australia has 15 grid connected PV systems per thousand households, more than double the installations of any other state. South Australia has also attracted more than 90 per cent of the nation's investment in geothermal exploration.

Starting on 7 December 2000 over 60 governments from around the world will meet in Copenhagen to negotiate a global deal on climate change. Kevin Rudd will be part of those negotiations, but will now be unable to step forward with a legislative carbon cap and a mechanism to ensure that it is achieved.

I will be leaving for Copenhagen next week to chair the state's and region's network's Climate Leaders Summit, which will focus on gaining commitments from subnational governments from around the world and reporting back on targets that were set last December during the previous summit in Poznan, Poland. I was chair of the Poznan summit for the states and territories, and I was pleased to have achieved a strong statement of actions from the leaders who attended.

We committed to a range of actions including: establishment of renewable energy targets; improvements to the greenhouse performance of government operations; exchange of information about best practice policy and research; provision of assistance to at least one region in a developing country; and exchange of leaders, practitioners and experts between subregional governments.

Based on the conclusion that 80 per cent of all climate change decisions will be made at state and regional levels, this summit in Copenhagen will be extremely important to the near-term actions that will be taken to address climate change. While in Copenhagen I will also be taking part in a roundtable focused on speeding the introduction of electric vehicles to the world's markets and holding a series of bilateral meetings with other government and business leaders.

Despite the disappointing CPRS results forced yesterday in the federal parliament, this government will continue to take action to address climate change within our state through our interactions with the federal government and internationally. I am convinced that this is not only in the best interest of our environment and part of our responsibility as global citizens but also in the best interests of our economy.

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