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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-12-02 Daily Xml
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Climate Change

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS (14:47): My question is to the Minister for Climate Change. Could the minister inform the chamber about the economic opportunities that will be created in the South Australian economy as we transition to a low carbon economy?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change) (14:47): At last, a sensible question from a very sensible member of this chamber. I thank the honourable member for his brilliant question. To quote:

The transition to clean energy is a global trend. It is an irreversible movement pushed by the technology at the same time through the digital revolution and also the renewable revolutions in technologies for wind, solar and for heat.

These are not my words; they are a quote from Mr Gerard Mestrallet, chairman and CEO of the French energy giant Engie, formerly known as GDF Suez, which operates in over 70 countries, including Australia. In a recent interview in the French newspaper Le Figaro, Mr Mestrallet announced Engie's decision to stop building new coal-fired power plants. It was reported that Mr Mestrallet initiated the formation of the Magritte Group, made up of Europe's largest energy companies, in 2013. He said:

Since then, we have lobbied for a realistic carbon price high enough to encourage operators to invest in renewables and limit their CO2 emissions.

He joins a chorus of voices, including BHP Billiton and ANZ, who are responding to demands by superannuation funds whose customers expect investment in cleaner energy. The latest is AGL Energy chairman, Mr Jerry Maycock, who was recently quoted in The Sydney Morning Herald calling for a coherent national plan to shift the country's electricity generation sector away from fossil fuels. His CEO, Mr Andrew Vesey, told the ABC last week that finally people—some people, notwithstanding those on the opposite side of the chamber—see a carbon constrained world as an inevitability.

These are some of the world's largest companies in the energy and finance sectors. While I am sure they are motivated to do the right thing by their environment, at the same time they have certainly done their sums and noticed the vast economic opportunities that are inherent in this economic shift. The world's biggest economies are getting on board. The European environmental goods and services sector, for example, employs more than 4 million people, with 700,000 new jobs expected to be created by 2030.

China has committed to reducing the greenhouse gas emissions intensity of its economy by 60 to 65 per cent and peak emissions by 2030. India has set an investment target of $100 billion in renewable energy generation. And President Obama has committed to cleaning up power stations and boosting renewable energy by 30 per cent by 2030, creating tens of thousands of jobs.

Almost a quarter of a trillion dollars every year is invested in renewable energy around the world. Each of these examples demonstrates clearly that climate change is not simply an environmental challenge: it is also very much an economic challenge. Australia cannot afford to get left behind and certainly South Australia has no intention of it.

We have already begun the transition in South Australia. In fact, I was at a conference in Sydney recently where the CE of AGL, I think it was, Mr Vesey, told the audience, 'If you want to look at the future, go to South Australia. They are already in transition. They are already grappling with these issues and, if you want to see the way the economy is responding, go and look at South Australia, because you will learn lessons there to put into your own economies.'

Emissions are down in South Australia by 9 per cent on 1990 levels and the economy has grown 60 per cent in that time. Forty-one per cent of our electricity comes from renewable energy, a sector where thousands of jobs have been created, many of which are in regional areas of our state. But, in order to really capitalise on these economic opportunities, we need the entire country to join together. In particular, like the other major economies around the world, we need the federal government to clearly commit to this transition.

South Australia stands to benefit in the low carbon world. This is the clear and unequivocal advice of the Low Carbon Economy Expert Panel. The new Climate Change Strategy sets a bold target: net zero emissions by 2050. It is what the science tells us is required if we are to avoid over 2° change. In setting this target, the state is sending a very clear message to business and investors: if you want to do business in the low carbon economy, if you want to help the world get to that transition, if you want to innovate business and technology, come to South Australia.

The strategy also looks to the more immediate future, in particular with our efforts to make Adelaide the world’s first carbon neutral city. In doing this, we are using the tools available to government to drive jobs, transition the economy and create a vibrant and liveable city. We have committed to new energy efficiency measures for government offices to help boost local employment. The government has offered up its entire power supply to clean and renewable energy in an effort to boost this industry in the state. We have offered up the entire fleet of motor vehicles to low or zero emissions car makers and asked them to invest in South Australia if the government buys their cars.

The strategy also explores a number of other areas that will require investigation if we are to achieve our aim of transition to a net zero economy. We have committed to working with the community and business, discussing with them how best to achieve this. South Australians are doing their bit. I mentioned earlier that we have the highest penetration of rooftop solar in the country, but we need the federal government to step up and do their bit as well. If they don’t it will be Australians ultimately who will pay the price. We believe that we need to lead this transition so that we have a fair and just transition for all South Australians.

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