Page 586 - Week 02 - Thursday, 16 February 2017
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The ACT government energy efficiency programs are helping businesses, residents and government departments to reduce their energy usage. Education, research and specific programs to support transitioning to more efficient systems and buildings are being implemented across the territory.
The next largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the ACT is the transport sector. The ACT government is making progress to reduce emissions in this sector by building a better integrated transport system, encouraging more active travel, and putting in place policies to help drivers shift towards low emission vehicles.
However, reducing greenhouse gas emissions is only half the task. Climate change impacts are already being felt. The recent record-breaking heatwaves across the country and in the ACT show this. Predictions show that the ACT will continue to warm by about 0.7 degrees in the near future, increasing to about two degrees in the far future. The number of hot days is expected to increase to an average of up to 20 extra heatwave days in the next 50 years.
Temperature extremes, both hot and cold, can have considerable impacts on health, infrastructure and ecosystems. These extremes are already occurring to our environment and we need a plan on how to adapt. The ACT government is taking a coordinated, whole-of-government approach to increase our resilience to the impacts of climate change.
In 2012 the ACT government completed an assessment of the potential risks of climate change to territory life and property. In the ACT, the greatest risk to life comes from extreme heat, severe storm and bushfires. This work has been integrated into natural disaster and emergency risk management and planning. Heat-related deaths do not attract the media attention that bushfires do, but they kill more Australians than any other extreme weather event.
We have extreme heat plans that seek to improve our ability to respond to these events, and the ACT Ambulance Service is the front-line responder to this impact. Our government is implementing planning and environment strategies to help our city adapt to a more extreme climate. We are protecting and expanding our living infrastructure, making Canberra a more sustainable city for all its residents.
The ACT government released the climate adaption strategy in July 2016. It examined how living infrastructure, including the urban forest, contributed towards keeping our urban spaces cooler, by reducing the heat island effect that tends to occur in urban spaces. Importantly, Canberra, as the bush capital, is uniquely placed for resilience to a warming climate. Our city has abundant opportunities for green spaces and living infrastructure. The progression of these initiatives and our transition to renewable energy are integral to our future. The importance of climate change mitigation and adaptation policies cannot be overstated. I strongly commend this motion to the Assembly.
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