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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2007-11-15 Daily Xml
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GREENHOUSE TARGETS

The Hon. M. PARNELL (15:15): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Environment and Conservation, representing the Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change, a question on interim greenhouse targets.

Leave granted.

The Hon. M. PARNELL: Members will be aware that the media in the past day have highlighted the problem of global warming and that the predictions that we have previously relied on have turned out to be unreasonable. If we take, for example, The Advertiser for today under the heading 'Global warming quickens', we read that a report shows that climate is changing faster than predicted by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The article also refers to the former head of the CSIRO's Division of Atmospheric Research, Dr Graeme Pearman, who said that whilst it was not all doom and gloom the latest science simply highlighted the need for swift action. 'Policy needs to match the degree of urgency that has been considered by the science,' he said. 'What we do know suggests that actually we really are exposed and we need to manage the risks.'

There are similar articles in other newspapers today, such as the Sydney Morning Herald, with the heading 'Greenhouse gases: we are among worst polluters', and some of the online news services as well, including Crikey. One of the online reports, again referring to Dr Pearman, states that his estimate is that the world has only five to 10 years to take drastic action. Similarly, John Connor, the CEO of the Climate Institute, says that pressure must be placed on political and business leaders to act now.

That background leads me to a statement that was made by the Premier back in July under the heading 'Climate change—now it's law'. This was the Premier's press release on the passage of legislation through the parliament. This release stated:

Mr Rann said that the Government was now looking at an extra interim target to be established by regulation. 'The act allows for this and will enable us to fill the gap left when the Upper House defeated an interim target to achieve 1990 levels of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 which would have brought us into line with Arnold Schwarzenegger's law in California'.

I will not go back over that debate about increasing our greenhouse gas emissions. I have almost forgotten it, Mr President, but my question for now is: what has happened to these interim targets that we were going to get through regulation? Where are they, what is their stage of development and when might we see them?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Environment and Conservation, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister Assisting the Minister for Health) (15:18): I am happy to refer this question. However, obviously, it is worthwhile acknowledging that greenhouse gas emissions and the impact they have on climate change are one of the most significant life threatening challenges that our planet currently faces, and the Rann Labor government has been a leader in response to this. We were the first state in the nation to introduce climate change legislation and set greenhouse emission targets. We have also introduced a range of really important initiatives—again, leading the nation.

Our new feed-in provision for solar residential units (where they feed power into the grid in a two to one trade-off) provides leadership to the nation. In respect of the specific questions around the interim greenhouse gas emissions targets, I am happy to refer them to the appropriate minister in another place and bring back a response.

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