Page 5431 - Week 14 - Thursday, 30 November 2017
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Per capita emissions fell from 10.14 to 9.64 tonnes per person. In line with our legislated target, per capita emissions peaked by June 2013 at 10.45 tonnes. We are now also well below our per capita emissions from 1990 levels, which peaked at 11.45 tonnes of carbon emissions.
The defining achievement in this reduction of emissions comes from our renewable energy policy. In 2016-17, renewable electricity generation grew from 20.1 per cent to 29.1 per cent. This year, electricity emissions fell almost 10 per cent, despite a 1.4 per cent increase in through the meter demand to consumers. The amount of renewables created through the national renewable energy target increased by only 2 per cent, while ACT renewables grew significantly more.
Three of the large-scale renewable projects from our award-winning reverse auction process were producing electricity this year. ACT-contracted large-scale solar and wind projects provided 274 gigawatt hours, compared to 66 gigawatt hours in 2015-16.
At this point, electricity remains the largest single source of emissions in the ACT, accounting for 52 per cent of emissions. From next year, another large portion of ACT-procured clean energy generation will come online, helping to progress the dramatic decrease in ACT emissions. With renewable energy contracts already in place to achieve 100 per cent renewable electricity, the pathway to zero emissions will need to focus on the remaining sectors, especially transport, gas, waste and land use. These sectors are likely to be more challenging and will require greater involvement from the community.
By 2020 the transport sector will be the ACT’s largest producer of greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for approximately 63 per cent of overall emissions. The latest greenhouse gas inventory shows that in the last year transport emissions have continued their upward trend. However, the increase of 23 kilotonnes CO2-e, or 2.1 per cent, was the smallest for many years and half the increase in the previous year.
Transport emissions are now 11 per cent higher than 2012 levels, and currently account for 29 per cent of total ACT emissions. With the majority of transport emissions coming from private car travel, cars will soon become Canberra’s single biggest producer of greenhouse gas emissions. It is essential that we improve the movement of people around our city, especially by increasing public transport and active travel and reducing reliance on private car travel. This is one of the many ways in which light rail is a boon for our city. It will provide a high quality public transport option in a busy and growing part of Canberra, and it will do so using 100 per cent renewable electricity. The electrification of all transport, including private cars and the public bus fleet, will also play an important part in reducing transport emissions in the future.
By 2020, gas is expected to account for 21 per cent of the ACT’s total emissions. The latest inventory report reveals that emissions from natural gas also increased, rising by over 8 per cent between 2015-16 and 2016-17, reaching the highest level reported in
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