Page 2791 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 17 September 2014
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telling you what might actually be going on from a scientific perspective. It is, of course, possible, that they are not deniers. Perhaps instead it is simply that dealing with climate change and moving away from our dependence on fossil fuels just does not suit the fossil fuel companies very well, which I think is actually a worse motivation for their actions because it effectively means that the Abbott government is a government driven by the profits and profit motivation of the fossil fuel sector, with no thought for the impacts of their action on the rest of us.
It is not just future generations we are talking about here. Those generations are now our children. Children that are born today will live to see the impacts of climate change, substantial impacts that have been forecast by scientists. Anyone who thinks that somehow this is someone’s problem in the future, I think, is ignoring the fact that the science tells us it is real and it is here. So we see the federal government choosing to prop up the profits of the fossil fuel and mining companies rather than protecting the life support systems which sustain human beings on this planet.
Earlier this month the CSIRO published research in the journal, Climate Risk Management. The new research shows that there is a 99.999 per cent probability that global temperature increases are the result of human activity. I think it is worth repeating that statistic, a 99.999 per cent probability that global temperature increases are the result of human activity. That is an extraordinary finding, and one that really must put us at a point where those who pull out the odd, “You know, down in East Gippsland at the lighthouse the temperature has not changed for the last 20 years,” which we have heard in this place before, have no credibility and where anybody who has any adherence to hearing the evidence and the science would not bring those stories to this place.
The ACT stands alone as the only jurisdiction that is taking the science seriously with our target to reduce emissions by 40 per cent by 2020, our target to have 90 per cent of our electricity coming from renewable sources by 2020 and the commitment to make the government carbon neutral by 2020. These are serious policy measures and ones that will ensure that this city and its residents are taking their responsibilities seriously.
Building a renewable energy future for our city does not just mean we are responding to the science as we should. We will also insulate this city against price shocks that we will inevitably see in coal and gas prices into the future. Certainly gas prices are forecast to rise significantly as Australia starts to export gas offshore and as we push into places where extracting gas is simply more expensive to get to.
Inevitably the policy will catch up with the prices. It will be untenable to rely on black energy. The ACT has started with what is effectively the low-hanging fruit, our electricity sector. It is a significant part of our generation mix and by ensuring that energy is coming from those clean sources we are also ensuring that we have sustainable prices into the future.
Our next challenge will be heating. One of the reasons the Greens have pushed so hard on energy efficiency over the years is that that is clearly an important part of dealing with the issue. We are going to need to be creative and clever when it comes
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