Page 571 - Week 02 - Thursday, 16 February 2017

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(a) the severe consequences that climate change will have in the ACT—including increased heatwaves and bushfires—and the need for urgent action to mitigate climate change;

(b) a vital aspect of climate change mitigation is transitioning away from burning coal and other fossil fuels for electricity generation;

(d) renewable energy generation is compatible with energy security in the ACT and Australia, and was not the cause of recent problems with electricity supply; and

(e) investment in renewable energy is economically sound and recent analysis shows that building new coal powered generation in Australia would result in substantially higher electricity prices than using a combination of wind, solar and gas;

(2) reaffirms its commitment to the ACT’s climate change mitigation targets of 100 percent electricity generated by renewable sources by 2020; zero net emissions by 2050 at the latest; and 40 percent reduction on 1990 levels of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020; and

(3) calls on the ACT Government to prioritise actions to mitigate and adapt to climate change, including investing in renewable energy for electricity generation, and reducing the ACT’s use of fossil fuels.

This motion is about the ACT’s response to climate change. In particular, it asks the Assembly to reaffirm its commitment to strong action on climate change and to our positive renewable energy policies. It asks that the Assembly reject the recent misleading attacks aimed at renewable energy, and at jurisdictions that are leading on renewable energy.

Recent commentary on renewable energy from the federal government has ranged from misinformed and misleading to deliberate falsehoods. Here in the ACT, where we are showing that renewable energy is the way of the future, we should reject these ideological attacks. We have a federal government attempting to poison our climate change progress by spreading what can only be described as mistruths or lies—or perhaps they are “alternative facts”—seemingly in search of some political gain. That is completely unacceptable, and even more outrageous when it concerns an issue as important as climate change.

The ACT Greens say—and I hope other members agree with us, and given the history of this debate in the ACT I think they do—that climate change, and our response to climate change, should be of the highest priority to this Assembly. Climate change is impacting and will continue to impact on all parts of our planet, on the natural environment and on all its inhabitants. Regardless of your particular philosophical view of the world, and of whether you take a big picture view of the world and worry broadly about the preservation of the planet’s ecosystems or whether you are focused on raising a family in Canberra and getting the kids to school each day, climate change will impact on your life.

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