Page 4855 - Week 11 - Thursday, 21 October 2010
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
This supports the case for early and deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. The Chief Scientist of Australia, Professor Penny Sackett, has said:
Australia must develop individual and community-based pro-active, bottom-up practices that will enhance our national and global responsibility on the issue of climate change.
The Chief Scientist has also observed that “not all required action will be taken through national government policy” and that “in the face of slow changes at national levels it is all the more important that forward-looking industries, states, individual cities and towns, community groups and families continue to network together to reduce their carbon footprints and assess the impact of climate change on their activities”.
The Chief Scientist has got it right. Cities’ communities can play a key leadership role on this issue, and the ACT is proud to be one of those communities today. We know that action at the local, state and territory level is pivotal to achieving sustainable development outcomes. We know that we are well positioned to establish an assertive but responsible leadership position on facing this challenge. This has already been demonstrated by the government’s policy to adopt the goal of zero net emissions, of carbon neutrality, by 2060 and in our commitment as a Labor government to becoming the solar capital of Australia. It is clear that this momentum must be maintained through the setting of ambitious but ultimately achievable targets.
The recent World Wildlife Fund’s Living planet report 2010 ranked Australia as the eighth most destructive country towards the world’s natural resources. Of the 152 countries that were considered by WWF, the United Arab Emirates, the USA and Canada were amongst the worst offenders.
In 2007-08, the ACT’s net greenhouse gas emissions totalled 4.18 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, excluding emissions and removals from land use, land use change and forestry. The burning of fossil fuels through stationary energy use, which represented 62 per cent of our total emissions profile in 2008, and transport, which represented 23 per cent of our total emissions profile, were the two largest emission sources in the territory.
Australia has an average per capita greenhouse gas emissions rate of approximately 25 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. And the ACT has the highest per capita emissions of all Australian states and territories in energy use for the non-residential sector. The ACT also has one of the highest per capita residential energy use rates in the country, along with Victoria. So we are part of the problem and we have an obligation to do our part, to contribute to the effort, to tackle climate change by reducing our own carbon footprint. And we can do this leading by example. The bill is about taking responsibility for our actions and creating a better future for us all.
The government adopted its goal of zero net emissions for the ACT by 2060 and this bill establishes a principal target for the ACT to achieve zero net emissions by 30 June
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video