Page 3791 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 22 November 2006
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In developing the climate change strategy, comprehensive community consultation was conducted. A discussion paper was released in March 2006 to seek the views of stakeholders and the general public on the development of the strategy. Consultation included public meetings across Canberra, targeted meetings with interested stakeholders and the distribution of papers to interested parties and stakeholders. In total over 45 written submissions were received. A range of views were expressed through the consultation process on a variety of issues, including increased community education and awareness raising, building energy efficiency, planning, sustainable transport, renewable energy and greenhouse gas reduction targets.
The discussion paper flagged that the ACT government would consider a target of a 60 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050 as an appropriate long-term target for the ACT and would support the adoption of this target at a national level. In addition to long-term targets, the discussion paper sought views on the use of short and medium-term objectives that will enable the ACT to reach long-term targets. There was strong support in the consultation for the inclusion of targets in the new climate change strategy.
The ACT is also active in the development of a national carbon trading market that will draw on the successes of the existing ACT and New South Wales scheme and will place a realistic price on carbon emissions. Hopefully the federal government will develop a full national carbon trading scheme which will aid the success of the ACT program. Furthermore, the ACT government is a foundation member of Green Power, the only accredited green energy product in Australia, and has recently agreed with other members to increase the promotion and marketing of this product.
The government itself has shown it is committed to tackling climate change, with 23 per cent of the government’s own electricity supplies drawn from renewable sources. This makes the ACT second only to Tasmania in the percentage use of green electricity among all Australian governments. The purchase of electricity from green sources for existing sites from 1 July this year is estimated to save approximately 30,180 tonnes of CO2 equivalent. There have been several initiatives in residential buildings to cut back on energy use. These include mandatory energy-efficient ratings.
On 25 November 2005 the Australian Building Codes Board agreed to introduce a five-star energy rating to the Building Code of Australia by May 2006. Current requirements are that all new buildings must achieve five stars. The ACT energy wise program, which was announced in December 2004, provides home energy audits and rebates for energy-efficient improvements. It is a three-year program of $30,000 per year, funded until 2007-08.
The structural design of homes can reduce the need for energy through heating and cooling, therefore reducing greenhouse emissions. ACTPLA is working to strengthen the links between the land subdivision and the building construction stages so that new subdivisions can be designed in a manner that maximises the energy efficiency and solar energy access of the blocks. Further, neighbourhood design includes emphasis on abatement through transportation plans. Street layout, bicycle and pedestrian paths and bus routes are all aimed to encourage more sustainable transport.
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