Page 265 - Week 01 - Thursday, 14 February 2019
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Annual Reports (Government Agencies) Act, pursuant to section 13—Annual Report 2017-2018—Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate—ACT Government Procurement Board—Corrigendum.
ACT greenhouse gas inventory 2017-18
MR GENTLEMAN (Brindabella—Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Minister for Planning and Land Management, Minister for Police and Emergency Services and Minister assisting the Chief Minister on Advanced Technology and Space Industries) (3.07): Pursuant to standing order 211, I move:
That the Assembly take note of the following paper:
Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act, pursuant to subsection 12(4)—Annual report by independent entity—ACT Greenhouse Gas Inventory 2017-18.
MR RATTENBURY (Kurrajong—Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability, Minister for Corrections and Justice Health, Minister for Justice, Consumer Affairs and Road Safety and Minister for Mental Health) (3.08): I am pleased that the ACT government’s greenhouse gas inventory for the 2017-18 reporting period has been tabled. The annual greenhouse gas inventory provides a comprehensive picture of the territory’s emissions. It identifies the sectors responsible for greenhouse gas emissions, which assists us to tackle these sources in pursuit of our legislated target of net zero emissions by 2045 at the latest.
I am pleased to inform the Assembly that for the 2017-18 period greenhouse gas emissions in the territory have reduced by a further 14 per cent. This demonstrates a further decoupling of our emissions from both population and economic growth. The current greenhouse gas inventory estimates emissions from the territory in the 2017-18 period as 3,367.5 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. This is the largest reduction we have had in recent years. It reflects a number of changes, including the role of our growing share of renewable electricity. Per capita emissions fell from 9.64 to 8.09 tonnes per person. We continue to be well below our per capita emissions from 1990 levels, which peaked at 11.45 tonnes of carbon emissions per capita.
The defining achievement in this reduction of emissions comes from our renewable energy policy. In the 2017-18 year renewable electricity generation grew from 30 to 49 per cent. This year electricity emissions fell by 27 per cent. This was as a result of a large increase in the volume of electricity acquired by the ACT government from contracted renewable generators. Two of the largest windfarm contracts from our award winning reverse auction process, Ararat and Hornsdale 1, started in the later part of 2016-17 and were in place for the whole of 2017-18.
At this point electricity remains the largest single source of emissions in the ACT, accounting for 44 per cent of emissions. With a move to 100 per cent renewable electricity, the pathway to zero emissions will need to focus on the remaining sectors, especially transport, gas, waste and land use. These sectors are likely to be more challenging and will require greater involvement from the community.
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