Will Premier Rann's climate change laws match the 'Governator's'?
Media Release, Wednesday 27 September 2006
A national summit on climate change in Sydney this week will place the nations climate change hopes on South Australia. The Rann Government is the first government in Australia to bring in climate change laws. Submissions to the Premier on SAs draft Climate Change Bill close this Friday.
We are the first state or territory to introduce laws of this kind, and they are sure to be used as a model for action elsewhere. If we can get this Bill right, it will make a big difference to the way Australia copes with the threat of climate change. What we dont want to see is a missed opportunity , said Julia Winefield, Campaigner with the Conservation Council of SA.
Greenpeace Energy campaigner Mark Wakeham said: At the moment the draft legislation has some serious gaps. Despite adopting the renewable energy target of 20% at the last Election, this Bill gives the target no teeth. There is no mechanism in place to ensure the target will be achieved, unlike in Victoria where the Bracks Government passed legislation two weeks ago, and already nearly 1 billion dollars worth of new investment in renewable energy has been confirmed. [1]
Ms Winefield said, South Australia should follow Victorias lead, otherwise we stand to lose our renewable energy industry across the border to Victoria as we lost the Grand Prix a decade ago."
So far, SAs natural resources and threatened plants and animals are also left without a safety net in the Bill. We know there are serious problems with species loss in South Australia we have some of the worst extinction rates in the world. Over 1100 of SAs known terrestrial plants and animals are on the brink of extinction. This Climate Change Bill must ready the habitats of our precious species for the dramatic changes to come, concluded Ms Winefield.
Mr Wakeham concluded: Governor Schwarzenegger (the Governator) has set the bar with Californias climate change legislation which sets pollution caps for industry and establishes high targets for renewable energy (20% by the end of 2010). We welcome Premier Ranns legislation but urge him to close the loopholes in the draft legislation and match the Governators lead.
CCSA and Greenpeace are encouraging members of the public to contact the Government before the consultation period on the draft Bill closes at 5pm this Friday, and express their concern over these issues.
Comment:
Julia Winefield, CCSA Campaigns Officer, 0411 028 930
Mark Wakeham, Greenpeace Energy Campaigner, 0409 542 753
1. When the Federal Government set a Mandatory Renewable Energy Target (MRET), it meant that electricity providers were legally obliged to purchase a proportion of renewable energy. This gave the renewable industry a guaranteed market, and that certainty led to investment in new projects, creating thousands of jobs, many in regional areas.
