Page182 - Week 01 - Thursday, 3 December 2020
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legislation, the report sets out the following three things: the actions taken in 2019-20 by the responsible minister under the act; the effectiveness of government actions taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and a cost-benefit analysis of government policies and programs implemented to meet the climate change targets in the act.
The ACT is a leader on climate change action. We are recognised nationally and internationally for our climate leadership. 2019-20 was a significant year in our climate leadership journey. It was the year we met our longstanding target to achieve 100 per cent renewable electricity. We are the first jurisdiction outside Europe with a population over 100,000 to achieve this goal. We will maintain 100 per cent renewable electricity from now on, as required under the act.
Through our fifth renewables auction in 2019-20 we secured renewable electricity to support our growing population and help us replace fossil fuel gas and transport fuel with zero emissions electricity from wind and solar farms. Achieving this target is a great outcome in itself. It also means we have more opportunities for continued emissions abatement.
We know that all-electric options for homes and businesses do not just save money; they are also now emissions free. As we look to take more action in the transport sector, electric vehicles offer a good solution, reducing noise in our streets, improving air quality and providing a zero emissions alternative to fossil fuels.
Achieving 100 per cent renewable electricity is also the major contributor to meeting our target to reduce the ACT’s greenhouse gas emissions by 40 per cent on 1990 levels. Our emissions in 2019-20 were actually 45.3 per cent below 1990 levels, exceeding that target. Some of this was, unhappily, due to the way COVID-19 impacted our economy, and we expect that there will be some rebound of transport emissions as our economy continues to recover. But we remain on the path to our longer term emissions reduction targets.
Our next challenges will be to reduce our emissions from transport and gas, which together account for more than 80 per cent of the ACT’s emissions. In 2019-20 we released the ACT Climate Change Strategy. The strategy outlines the next steps to meet our emissions reduction targets and prepare for climate change. To complement that strategy, we also release Canberra’s living infrastructure plan, Cooling the City. The plan builds on the ACT Planning Strategy 2018 to make Canberra sustainable, livable and resilient and to help address the urban heat island effect.
Following the recent ACT election, we are now implementing a range of new measures that will build on the strategy and the plan. The ACT community have given us a clear signal that they want the ACT to continue to be a leader in this area, and we remain fully committed to doing all we can to place us on track for a zero emissions community that is resilient to the effects of a changing global climate.
In 2019-20 we made significant progress in a range of areas, in addition to reaching 100 per cent renewable electricity. I will briefly mention a few key achievements that show the diversity of our activities. As part of our COVID-19 response we have funded the installation of solar panels on a dozen public and community housing
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