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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-03-07 Daily Xml
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Climate Change

Ms HUTCHESSON (Waite) (14:39): My question is to the Deputy Premier. Can the Deputy Premier please update the house on South Australia's response to climate change?

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Deputy Premier, Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Minister for Defence and Space Industries, Minister for Climate, Environment and Water) (14:39): I am delighted to respond to the question from the member for Waite. Members will be aware that this jurisdiction was the first in the world to have a piece of legislation about climate change. The original Climate Change and Greenhouse Emissions Reduction Act back in 2007 built on what was already starting to be a world-leading effort to have an intermittent renewable energy supply for our electricity system.

As we have recently learned, we are doing so well—and we are in intermittent renewable energy the best in the world—that we believe that we will get to 100 per cent by 2027. It's wonderful to see that at least one side of parliament is proud of that. The greenhouse gas emissions act, however, does need—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE: —to be updated and we are currently out to public consultation on the YourSAy website to ask people's views on the suggestions that we are making about the way in which it will be updated. It will of course have an update in the emissions targets. Now, at present, the bipartisan emissions target is to have emissions reduction of 50 per cent by 2030 and net zero by 2050, so that at present forms a proposal for this bill.

I would note at this point that we are already at 42 per cent below 2005 levels in our emissions and, although much of that has come from the renewable energy, it has not exclusively come from there. It is also about changes in land use and it is an impressive record but of course is not yet at the 50 per cent nor anywhere near as yet the net zero that is required by 2050.

Let's bear in mind that if we don't as a world reach those targets, we will be living in a world that has heatwaves so frequently that—

The Hon. V.A. Tarzia interjecting:

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE: It's wonderful to know that there are still some people who are questioning—

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE: —climate change.

An honourable member: It's extraordinary.

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE: It's absolutely extraordinary.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Elder, order!

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE: Now, people are quite happy to continue to express those views, which I know are not the views shared by the Leader of the Opposition, and yet a semi-backbench there is quite happy to continue to express their views of doubt about climate change—last year, having been the warmest year ever on record in this world and the September having been the hottest September which had followed the hottest three months on record across the world.

The fact that we have had a moderately mild period thanks to La Niña means nothing, and the farmers are going to be first on the frontline, of course, and are therefore often the most concerned about making sure we respond to climate change.

The propositions that we are putting before the people through the YourSAy website are also suggesting that we have five-yearly emissions reduction targets so that we are not just talking about 2030 and 2050 but have a five-yearly staged target; that we have a statewide emissions reduction plan so that it is clear how the emissions will be reduced and that that will be updated; that there will be statewide climate risk assessments so that we are able to identify the risks and opportunities, and also therefore to inform adaptation planning—we are already experiencing the consequences of catastrophic weather events—and we need to make sure that we are adapting particular infrastructure to be prepared for still more.

There will be the ability for the Premier to nominate a public sector entity organisation to prepare a climate change plan for that entity and also to have a public sector action plan so that government is leading by example. That is out with YourSAy at present until 5 April, and I encourage those who would like to see us respond to climate change and also adapt economically as fast as possible to participate.

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