Page 2386 - Week 06 - Thursday, 10 May 2012
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The Greens look forward to working with the government to ensure that action plan 2 will deliver this future by building on the strengths and learning from the weaknesses of action plan 1, incorporating only the most proven and effective mitigation and, where necessary, adapting strategies and ensuring that the foundation measures of the plan are highly specific and measurable.
MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for Police and Emergency Services and Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development) (3.25): I thank Ms Hunter for raising this matter of public importance today. Greenhouse gas emissions are changing Australia’s climate and it is critical that governments at all levels adopt prudent and effective policies that reduce our emissions and ensure the welfare and continued competitiveness of our communities in our transition to a carbon constrained future. I will not go through the implications of climate change for Australia. They are well understood, or should be.
But in relation to our region, these changes are projected to result in higher maximum and minimum temperatures, which will bring about a range of impacts, including changes to the location and timing of rainfall, changes to bushfire regimes, increased evaporation and adverse effects on population health, particularly among the very young and very old.
Consistent with global change, by 2050 the climate of the ACT and surrounding region is certain to be hotter, with a likely increase in rainfall in the summer and a decrease in the winter. Changes in the timing of rain events will affect run-off and stream flows, which are likely to decrease in spring and winter and increase in summer. Snowfall is also likely to decrease.
Increasing temperatures, loss of snow cover and changes in water availability, rainfall seasonality, drought and fire are very likely to cause widespread changes to some natural and semi-natural ecosystems in and around the ACT. The challenges posed are therefore obvious and require concerted action to avoid serious consequences and to adapt to those that are certain to occur.
The government is committed to responsible and long-sighted action to transition the ACT towards being a carbon neutral city that can adapt to a changing climate. According to the latest greenhouse gas inventory, the ACT is responsible for around one per cent of Australia’s national emissions. This includes emissions from energy generation that we consume but which is generated outside our border.
We have high per capita emissions despite our overall contribution to the Australian economy, and the residents of the ACT also expect leadership on the issue of environmental management and sustainability. This was affirmed in feedback the government received through the time to talk Canberra 2030 process where Canberrans indicated a commitment to decisive action on climate change.
These conversations have illustrated that Canberrans have a firm understanding of the complexity of climate change issues and the need for climate change to be a key consideration in the effective management of the ACT’s energy and water resources, along with the need to ensure efficient and diverse housing and integrated transport and land use.
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