Page 3785 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 29 October 2014
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(c) that the ACT has established greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets—targets of zero net emission (carbon neutrality) by 2060 and a 40 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 2020;
(d) the ACT is committed to generate 90 per cent of Canberra’s electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020;
(e) the Government has established a bold and comprehensive strategy to make the ACT a more economic, social and environmentally sustainable city;
(f) the latest OECD Greenhouse Gas Emissions Index ranks Australia as the highest emitter per capita; and
(g) the Abbott Government’s plan to cut the federal Renewable Energy Target will ruin the renewable energy industry, result in the loss of jobs and see investment move offshore; and
(2) calls on Assembly members to:
(a) support the Government’s comprehensive strategy to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and encourage environmental sustainability in the ACT; and
(b) call on the Federal Government to maintain a Renewable Energy Target which provides certainty for investment and growth in renewable energy projects.
This motion today is about climate change and the important work being done by the ACT government to tackle this issue on behalf of the ACT community. Our government and the Labor Party accept that climate change and the threat it poses to our city, our economy and our environment are real. It will affect Canberra and our region. It will impact our health, our economy and our amenity. Climate change is not an abstract problem in the far distant future; it is real and it is happening now.
Weather conditions across Australia show how devastating the effects of extreme weather events can be on our lives, our lifestyles and our livelihoods. Climate projections for our region indicate warmer and drier conditions with increased frequency of national disasters, including drought and bushfire, and the severity of extreme weather events such as wild storms, flash flooding and prolonged heatwaves. As the number of very hot days—days where the temperature gets above 35 degrees Celsius—increases, the number of illnesses and heat-related deaths in the ACT could more than double, with the elderly and the vulnerable being particularly at risk.
Other climate change-related health risks relevant to the ACT include increases in food-borne infectious diseases, increases in air pollution and mental health consequences. The adverse health impacts of climate change will be greatest among people on lower incomes, the elderly and the sick.
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