website: www.climatecampaign.info
Archive
Take Action Now on
Ten Days of
Disastrous Decisions
for Climate Change
Walk Against WarmingSydney, 4 Nov.06
photo by Gemma Romuld
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website: www.climatecampaign.info |
Archive Take Action Now on Ten Days of Disastrous Decisions for Climate Change |
Walk Against Warming Sydney, 4 Nov.06 photo by Gemma Romuld |
A series of disastrous climate change decisions in NSW over the last 2 weeks, show that it is absolutely essential that Federal and State governments work together to create a national energy policy and set targets for emissions reduction.
On 7th September,
in the shadow of APEC, the NSW government approved yet another coal mine.Moolarben, 40 kms north of Mudgee, equal in size to the controversial Anvil Hill mine, is expected to yield 10 million tonnes of coal a year for 21 years, or 504 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. Vast amounts of water will be required to process the coal, in an area suffering from prolonged drought. Underground mining will come within 120 metres of the Goulburn River, threatening damage to underground and river water supplies.
On 11th September,
, NSW's Greenhouse Gas Abatement Scheme was on the verge of collapse. A plunge in the state's carbon price put jobs and millions of investment dollars at risk, killing the incentive for householders to cut soaring electricity consumption.On 12th September,
the Owen Enquiry into the Supply of Electricity in NSW released its report, recommending that the government privatise both its retail electricity business and its power stations.|
The Report showed that demand for electricity is slowing due to improved energy efficiency and greater public awareness of the need to conserve energy. However, the Premier Morris Iemma scoffed at the idea that demand management and energy efficiency coupled with renewable energy technology could meet NSW's needs, saying that NSW will still need a new base-load power station. |
Professor Owen said that it was critical for government to set a price for emitting greenhouse gases. This price was what would drive new technology and change how people used electricity.
On 17th September,
a scathing internal report by a project team within the Department of Planning found that 14% of Sydney's energy demands could be saved at no cost to the State Government by imposing basic energy-saving rules on developers. It claimed that the resulting reduction in demand for electricity would offset the need for infrastructure spending.|
A national energy policy could be introduced through the Council of Australian Governments (COAG). Through modification of the National Electricity Rules, strategies could be developed to reduce electricity consumption overall, promote energy efficiency and encourage renewable energy industries, thus lowering carbon emissions. |
A copy of the prepared email to Malcolm Turnbull, Minister for the Environment with a cc. to Peter Garrett (Shadow Minister for Climate Change) is shown below.
Regards from the Citizens Climate Campaign Committee
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The Hon. Malcolm Turnbull, Dear Mr Turnbull, A series of disastrous climate change decisions in NSW over the last 2 weeks, show that it is absolutely essential for Federal and State governments to work together to set targets for emissions reduction and create a national energy policy. This could be done through the Council of Australian Governments (COAG). Strategies could be developed to reduce electricity consumption overall, promote energy efficiency and encourage renewable energy industries. I am appalled that flawed policies of the NSW and Federal governments have caused the demise of the NSW Greenhouse Gas Abatement Scheme. It is critical for the Federal government to set a price for emitting greenhouse gases. I call on the Federal government to use its influence with the States to prevent the privatisation of the NSW electricity supply. A national energy strategy should include the ability of the Federal government to over-ride decisions such as the approval of the Moolarben coal mine development in NSW, because of its implications for carbon emissions and potential damage to scarce water supplies. Name: |