Crunch time Christmas appeal: Will our state add to the world'sclimate problems, or will we lead the way to a solution?

 

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According to new data out of the US (1), global carbon-dioxide emissions just saw their biggest ever one-year rise: a 6 percent jump in 2010. The most striking thing about the new data is that it indicates global emissions are rising faster than the worst-case scenarios envisioned by the IPCC in 2007.

This news triggers strong feelings in me. It is worrying indeed to think that as a global community we are essentially failing to cope with the tremendous challenges presented by our changing climate.

So this holiday season, I appeal to you to please donate to our Green Our Grid campaign. This campaign for a large-scale renewable energy facility in Port Augusta is becoming increasingly important in light of not only these global trends, but also some disturbing clues as to our government's direction on climate change policy.

SA's climate change laws are currently being reviewed. Where once our government in SA was one of the world leaders in setting strong emissions reduction targets, there are worrying signs it may abandon this role.(2)

While the passage of the federal government's clean energy legislation is certainly to be applauded, Australia's emissions reduction target is still only 5% by 2020, when it should be at least 40%.

This would be less of an issue if states were still encouraged to go further, but the big concern is that finally getting a national approach to emissions reductions is actually going to undermine leadership by individual states. The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) has developed a set of principles that can actively discourage mitigation efforts by state governments. When federal targets are still so low, this is a real concern.

The state government is at a crossroads as to whether it will continue as a climate change leader or wind back its efforts to reduce emissions in state based initiatives. We need your help to keep and strengthen South Australia as a climate leader.

While the review of our state climate change legislation provides a golden opportunity to instigate positive change, the government is still not committed to establishing a 2020 emissions reduction target that would drive action right now, when we need it most. The Conservation Council is working via a number of channels to influence this outcome and will continue lobbying hard for a strong 2020 greenhouse reduction target and stronger renewable energy targets.

But we know one obvious reason the government is reluctant: it has just approved the Olympic Dam mine expansion, which will increase our emissions by up to 14% by 2020.

The only way the mine expansion can proceed without undoing all of our state's good work to reduce emissions in recent years would be if BHP Billiton commits to a large proportion of the mine's energy coming from renewables. At the moment, BHP's commitment is a lowly 7.6%. In the context of the SA government's commitment to use 50% renewable energy for its own operations and BHP's recently-announced $23bn profit, you can see why we think this is shamefully inadequate.

While both political parties in SA seem to think this renewable energy commitment is quite acceptable, we do not agree, and we will keep the pressure on BHP to do far better. Your donation will give us extra strength to take on this mining giant.

Despite all of these concerning developments, our Green Our Grid campaign has really been hitting its stride and a renewable energy future for Port Augusta is looking increasingly possible.

We have been continuing to engage in constructive conversations with Alinta Energy, the operator of the coal-fired Playford B power station at Port Augusta - our nation's most polluting power station per unit of energy, now thankfully set to be decommissioned. Alinta is really coming on board and getting serious about large-scale solar thermal technology as a replacement for Playford. As recently reported in Port Augusta's The Transcontinental, Alinta CEO Jeff Dimery has said that "solar thermal had been identified as the most practical solution."(3)

Federal government policy now supports both the move away from coal-fired power and the move towards renewable energy. Significant funding is available for both of these objectives and if SA doesn't get its share of the money, then other states will.

As Alinta itself has pointed out, in terms of these two criteria there is no better project in Australia than the replacement of Playford with solar thermal. It would be a move directly from coal to renewables, current Playford assets could potentially be reused, and it would be good for jobs in the region - unlike a gas-fired plant scenario.

I don't know about you, but for me it is inspiring to think about what it would mean for our state to be the proud owner one of the world's leading renewable energy facilities and start to really tap into our most abundant natural resource, sunlight. Please give generously to the campaign if you can in order that we can channel the best possible resources towards this game-changing goal. The effort will be worth it.

We continue to be very active in the realm of facilitating dialogue, building a broad coalition of support and securing in-principle agreement from the major players. Both state and federal governments and on both sides of politics are showing support. A wave of support is also on the rise not only among environmental groups, but also local community groups and councils, unions and other concerned organisations.

The recent change of Premier brings new opportunity to engage with the state government on issues surrounding the future of Playford, our state's energy use and the Olympic Dam expansion. I am looking forward to a healthy and frank relationship with Premier Weatherill on this issue.

The current review of SA's climate change laws is a great opportunity. With so much lining up in our favour, surely the Green Our Grid campaign stands a real chance of success if only we can keep up the pressure and momentum. Thank you for being along for the ride!

Yours faithfully,
Tim Kelly
Chief Executive

PS - So much is going on in this space at the moment. As the state's peak environment body, the Conservation Council needs to be omnipresent and relentless right now, and in this regard I am deeply thankful for any support you are able to offer.

 

1. The Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Lab
2. Discussion Paper on the 2011 Legislative Review of the Climate Change and Greenhouse Emissions Reduction Act 2007, http://www.sa.gov.au/upload/franchise/Water,%20energy%20and%20environment/climate_change/documents/Act_Reporting/Act_Review_Discussion_Paper_2011.pdf
3. "Serious about solar", The Transcontinental Port Augusta, Sophie McCallum, 16 November 2011