Climate Change
Tuesday 31 May 2022
The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Deputy Premier, Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Minister for Defence and Space Industries, Minister for Climate, Environment and Water) (15:43): I move:
That this house—
(a) notes the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report confirms that greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, and current plans to address climate change are not ambitious enough to limit warming to 1.5° Celsius above pre-industrial level—a threshold scientists believe is necessary to avoid more catastrophic impacts;
(b) notes that around the world, climate change impacts are already causing loss of life and destroying vital ecosystems;
(c) declares that we are facing a climate emergency; and
(d) commits to restoring a safe climate by transforming the economy to zero net emissions.
Ms CLANCY (Elder) (16:00): I rise in support of this motion, unamended, and in doing so thank the Deputy Premier for her leadership and advocacy both in this place and within our community to protect our environment and urgently address climate crisis. By declaring a climate emergency in South Australia, the Malinauskas Labor government is acknowledging that more must be done to address the risks posed by climate change. More must be done to mitigate the effects it is already having on our state's environment and our communities. More must be done to decarbonise our economy.
Today, we acknowledge that, while South Australia has a strong reputation for leading both our nation and the world when it comes to renewable energy, we must move to do more and we need to do it quickly. I am proud that for 16 years, under a Labor government, our state led Australia in renewable energy generation. We moved away from our reliance on fossil fuels and provided an example to other states of what could be achieved.
In 2002, it was the South Australian Labor government that set the 26 per cent renewables by 2020 target, harnessing the abundance of wind and solar resources our state has to offer. In 2007, it was a South Australian Labor government that introduced the Climate Change and Greenhouse Emissions Reduction Act, making South Australia the first state to legislate targets to reduce greenhouse emissions. In 2017, it was a South Australian Labor government that built the world's largest lithium-ion battery.
It has been Labor governments that have protected our environment, and we will build upon this legacy by taking ambitious and immediate action to address climate change. It will be a Malinauskas Labor government that builds a hydrogen power station, an electrolyser and a storage facility to generate clean energy and power new jobs and industry in South Australia. There is such an incredible opportunity available to us, and our Labor government is ready to take advantage of the international hunger for green hydrogen. We do this for our environment. We do this for our jobs. We do this for our economy. But, let me say again, we do this for our environment.
The Malinauskas Labor government's Hydrogen Jobs Plan will deliver three key elements: a 200-megawatt hydrogen power station, harnessing South Australian renewable energy to supply cleaner and cheaper power to South Australian businesses, factories manufacturers and miners, creating new jobs and helping attract new industry to South Australia; 250-megawatt electrical capacity of hydrogen electoral electrolysers, using excess renewable energy—so instead of switching off the solar panels and just letting the energy go to waste, instead of the need to remotely switch it off like that—to unlock a $20 billion pipeline of renewable energy projects in South Australia; and we will deliver a hydrogen storage facility holding the equivalent of two months' operation or 3,600 tonnes of hydrogen, providing additional capacity when required.
The Malinauskas Labor government is also moving quickly to introduce legislation to repeal the electric vehicle tax that those opposite seem to think was a great idea. It truly just shows how out of touch the Liberals are. In a warming world, where we want to decrease our reliance on fossil fuels, they make it more expensive for people to move to electric vehicles. We are repealing that tax because we want to encourage more South Australians to buy an electric car and reduce their emissions. We do not want to make it harder.
We have also committed to updating the Climate Change and Greenhouse Emissions Reduction Act to reflect short-term targets, consider carbon budgets and government adaption plans; but this is just the beginning. The federal election showed us clear as day that Australians are demanding action on climate change.
Australians have spoken: they want action and they want it now. They do not want a 'I'll just leave it to the next guy' Liberal climate policy. They do not want climate wars. They understand that reducing carbon footprints is not enough. They understand that while our individual choices do make a difference, it is collective action and the power of government that will create the transformative environmental change we need to leave an Earth that our children can thrive on.
I hear them, and I hear the voices of those in my electorate. I hear the voices that come from the younger members of our community, who are genuinely scared for their future, young people like those fantastic activists in the Australian Youth Climate Coalition. I hear the voices that come from those who are worried about their grandchildren. I hear the voices of those showing their children why climate action is needed and fighting for them, like Australian Parents for Climate Action. I hear you. The Malinauskas Labor government hears you. Today, this parliament hears you. We are in a climate emergency, an emergency we must act upon today.
