Climate Change and Greenhouse Emissions Reduction (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2024

The Hon. J.S. LEE (16:56): 

I rise today to speak on the Climate Change and Greenhouse Emissions Reduction (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2024. This bill seeks to modernise South Australia's legislative framework to deliver climate change policy objectives and enshrine the state's short and long-term emissions reduction targets in the legislation.

The bill seeks to replace the existing target of a 60 per cent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions with a target to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This 2050 net zero target was first adopted by the federal government in 2015, meaning that this bill will enshrine in legislation a policy that has been in place already for a decade.

A new short-term target for reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 60 per cent by 2030 has also been proposed. The current act still has an outdated reference to a target for at least 20 per cent renewable electricity generation by 2014, which was achieved almost 15 years ago in 2011. The bill will update this, legislating a state target of 100 per cent net renewable electricity generation by 2027. As other honourable members have highlighted, the latest data shows that currently 74 per cent of our electricity is generated from renewable sources.

The minister will be required to set interim five-yearly emissions reduction targets for the state from 2030 to 2050, building in a greater reduction target each iteration to ensure progress is being made towards the long-term targets. In doing so, the minister must undertake consultation with experts to look to national and international best practice. The bill introduces a requirement for the government to prepare a publicly available statewide emissions reduction plan and to review and update it in line with the five-yearly targets. The plan must set out the government's objectives, policies, programs and initiatives for reducing, limiting or preventing greenhouse gas emissions.

The bill also requires a statewide climate risk assessment to be prepared within two years of the bill being enacted. The risk assessment will be reviewed every five years and will help businesses and communities prioritise climate risk and adaptation planning. In addition, the bill allows the Premier to nominate a public sector entity to prepare an agency or sector plan that addresses emissions reduction and/or climate change adaptation.

During the briefing my office received from the government, we were advised that such plans and sector agreements would be voluntary and would be developed in collaboration with stakeholders to facilitate strategies to meet state targets. That is providing some reassurance to stakeholders. While the bill provides for such plans to be developed in future as needs are identified, these plans are not mandates in the bill. Sector agreements may also include climate change adaptation measures.

The bill will also require government agencies to include details in their annual reports about how they are addressing climate-related risks and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This is intended to increase transparency and accountability and help review progress towards the targets and objectives of the act.

I understand the opposition has raised many valid concerns that the bill may allow for the government to set industry-specific targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and is particularly concerned about the impacts that such targets will have on primary producers and key industries in terms of both the potential for onerous reporting requirements and flow-on effects increasing the cost of food and primary products. I share those concerns. The opposition has proposed an amendment to prevent the minister from setting a sector-based target for the primary production sector, and I can see that this has merit and will warrant some further consideration.

The Greens have also filed a range of amendments intended to further strengthen the targets outlined in the bill and to reform the composition and functions of the Premier's Climate Change Council. I note that the government has also proposed a number of amendments in response to the Greens' proposal, and I will give due consideration to all amendments during the committee stage.