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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-07-21 Daily Xml
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Ministerial Statement

SCHNEIDER, PROF. S.

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) (14:04): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. M.D. RANN: The world has lost one of its great climate change scientists, teachers and communicators. Professor Stephen Schneider, one of the world's foremost climate change scientists, a true friend of South Australia, died suddenly on Monday of an apparent heart attack while on a flight from Stockholm to London. He was only 65. Members on both sides of this house will know of the incredible and invaluable work undertaken by Professor Schneider and not only his influence on a global scale but also the contributions that he made to this state.

Professor Schneider was an educator, researcher, writer and adviser. He played a central role in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former US vice president Al Gore and was a participant in the panel's assessment from the very beginning of its work until the last days of his life. He also advised every United States presidential administration from Nixon through to Obama. His contributions were enormous, his influence profound.

Born in New York City, he initially studied at Columbia University, where on Earth Day in 1970 he made a decision to devote himself to the environment. A distinguished academic, Professor Schneider spent decades studying the forces influencing climate change and the policy implications of human driven warming as well as pressing the case for action to curb emissions of greenhouse gases. He was a leading advocate for the science community to get out and communicate directly with the public about the complexities of climate science and the need to address the serious risks it posed.

Stephen Schneider possessed the rare gift of an outstanding talent for pure research and the ability to communicate complex issues to the broader community through his public lectures, teaching, presence on environmental committees, and through research collaborations and in the media. That talent was certainly evident during the time he spent in South Australia, and there is no doubt that Stephen Schneider has left us with a legacy of leadership on climate change. His tenure as an Adelaide Thinker in Residence coincided with an intense and important period of activity in our state relating to the development of climate change policy and responses.

Professor Schneider provided valuable direction and advice on policy measures for inclusion in South Australia's Greenhouse Strategy, our roadmap for tackling climate change to 2020. Stephen worked with individuals and organisations throughout the state. He showed a willingness to get his boots dirty, talking with grain farmers in low rainfall areas such as our Mid North and with grape growers in our famous wine producing regions. In his final report he described his residency in South Australia as 'probably the most intense four-month adventure of my life'.

Professor Schneider made extensive recommendations to the state government during the course of his thinker's residency. These included a range of measures to both reduce emissions and to increase our capacity to deal with the inevitable changes that will occur. He recommended that South Australia instigate internal collaboration between state, provincial and regional governments around the world to add impetus to international action. We have since joined to become active participants in the Climate Group States and Regions Alliance. I have co-chaired their 2008 and 2009 summits in both Poznań in Poland and in Copenhagen.

I am pleased to be able to say that the government has acted on many of Stephen's important recommendations. For example, we have since established a supportive framework for renewable energy developments, created the Renewables SA Board and a $20 million Renewable Energy Fund, and established a world-leading renewable energy generation target of 33 per cent by 2020.

Professor Schneider advised on guiding principles to inform South Australia's Climate Change and Greenhouse Emissions Reduction Act, which became law on 3 July 2007 and made South Australia the first Australian jurisdiction and one of only a handful in the world to enact specific climate change legislation.

As we look to the future, with plans to make renewable energy and clean technology development pillars of the South Australian economy, we also seek to be an exemplar not only for our nation but for others in order to achieve practical and lasting action to address climate change. In doing so we will continue to reflect on and honour the enormous contribution made by Professor Stephen Schneider.

In recent years Stephen not only battled and subdued a rare illness, but he also fought tirelessly against the forces that continue to deny that humans make a discernible difference to our planet's climate. We owe Stephen Schneider a great debt, deep admiration and profound thanks. He will be sadly missed, and we send our condolences to his widow, Terry.

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