MEDIA RELEASE 
9 September 2015

Conservation SA welcomes new SA climate change strategy

South Australia’s peak environmental organisation Conservation SA welcomes consultation on the next chapter of SA’s climate change response.

Chief Executive Craig Wilkins said: ‘Climate change is already happening but we still have choices about how it pans out. If we drag our feet we will experience far more intense impacts that magnify inequality. 

‘If we are smart we will tackle it head on, and take the opportunity to rebalance society along fairer lines.

‘This means pulling our weight and investing in genuine and tangible solutions that we can export to the world: for example, capitalising on our leadership position on renewable energy as the global energy revolution ramps up.

‘The next SA Climate Change Strategy needs to position us to be a leader – we have the resources and the expertise not only to make Adelaide the world’s first carbon neutral city, but to do this for the whole state.

‘Transitioning our electricity supply to 100% renewables would be an excellent step towards this, and we could achieve this as early as 2030 with suitable policies by the state government[1]. There are also big opportunities for us to transform our transport sector – in fact by embracing electric vehicles that use batteries, we can increase the proportion of renewables like solar and wind. Lovely synergies like these are all around us.

‘As Professor Ross Garnaut reminded us today, nuclear power is not the way for SA. Renewables are cheaper and ready to roll out right now.

‘We hope members of the community will take the opportunity to express their ideas for how SA can be a world leader on climate change action,’ concluded Mr Wilkins.

 [1] See 100% Renewable Electricity for South Australia report by Dr Mark Diesendorf: http://www.conservationsa.org.au/energy 

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Contact: Craig Wilkins, 0417 879 439