First published June 2
At long last, the Tasmanian government is finally releasing its long awaited climate change strategy, the fifth such document to be released during the past decade.
Yes, it’s now ten years since the Tasmanian government established climate change legislation and a number of processes for formally dealing with the issue way back in 2007.
Nonetheless, climate campaigners should welcome this latest report because many of us submitted to the draft some two years ago. Moreover, concerned advocates have expressed a growing concern that the strategy may, once again, end up being delivered so late in the term of government that it may never be acted upon.
Our concern over these protracted delays is not directed at this incumbent government alone. Rather, our members and colleagues have a strong sense of deja vu. Many citizens who are concerned about climate change have, in good faith, quietly and patiently prepared submissions in response to each one of these strategies in turn, only to find that there has either been a subsequent change of government or change of ministry, whereby the process has started all over again from scratch.
The upshot is disconcerting. Virtually no comprehensive set of policy initiatives has been implemented throughout those ten years. Climate policy development has been almost totally stymied by failure to gain political agreement on climate policy directions that extend beyond each sitting government’s term of office.
Under these circumstance we have to ask: Tasmania is now plunging headlong into another state election, due in the next year. Will this strategy document suffer the same fate? Why is climate change, of all issues, being treated with dutch deplorable lack of priority and urgency?
Tasmanian Climate Strategy: Mark 1
In 2007 the Lennon Government initiated the first such exploration policy options, establishing an elementary framework for generating an information base. In tandem it had set up a body of experts – the Climate Action Council – to advise it on how to go forward.
The new Climate Act established a broad abatement target for Tasmania, a climate change ministry was established plus the Tasmanian Climate Change Office – a small secretarial unit within the Department of Premier and Cabinet.
Tasmanian Climate Strategy: Mark 2
These initiatives were followed up by a progress report in 2008 reporting on the above initiatives and particularly an assessment of how much carbon pollution could be theoretically achieved in Tasmania (The Wedges Report), it being seen to be necessary to establish an information base to guide policy development.
However, before this work could be consolidated, the 2010 state election resulted in the formation of a minority Labor government and the climate change baton was handed to the minority partner, The Greens.
Tasmanian Climate Strategy: Mark 3
The new ministry did follow up on groundwork that had already been carried out to this point and early in the term published a new strategy document, Tasmania’s Action Plan to Reduce Emissions. However, this document met with significant disquiet on grounds that it had been copied hurriedly and seen to be inadequate.
Accepting that climate policy initiatives would meet resistance in the absence of wide engagement, at this point the Climate Change Office purposefully set out to engage multiple stakeholders. A formidable 18 month process was established whereby citizens, community interest groups, business groups and departmental units were invited to a wide ranging series of workshops to help generate policy directions that would be acceptable and workable.
Tasmanian Climate Strategy: Mark 4
The result of that process was a much more thorough strategy plan, Climate Smart Tasmania, a lengthy report outlining policy directions and initiatives under nine separate major headings: 1 GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS, 2 NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AND MARINE RESOURCES, 3 RURAL LAND USE, 4 ENERGY AND ECONOMY, HUMAN SETTLEMENTS AND INFRASTRUCTURE, 6 SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT, 7 EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, 8 HOMES AND COMMUNITIES, 9 WASTE AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY.
As fate would have it, this reasonably comprehensive document was published just two months prior to the 2014 state election. Labor lost office and a new Liberal government took up the reins.
As happens when government switches sides, reports and advisory boards established by the outgoing government are summarily thrown out and so the whole process starts yet again.
Tasmanian Climate Strategy: Mark 5
Two years into the new administration invited submission responding to a brand new draft strategy, Embracing The Climate Challenge.
This latest draft went back to basics, outlining a skeletal framework and inviting the public to pad it out with policy ideas. Once again, concerned citizens prepared their submissions.
At the time of writing this article, the state government’s final report, outlining how it plans to act on climate change, has yet to be published.
We appreciate that the year 2016 had been diabolical from a climate perspective, the state having endured lengthy drought, a break down of the Basslink interconnector, electricity rationing, severe bushfires and followed by winter floods that caused severe damage to farmlands and road and rail infrastructure.
Nonetheless, it is disappointing that the state is now going into election mode with a climate strategy plan in place that has no greater longevity than the remaining few months of the existing administration. We have to ask: does this mean the whole process starts again from scratch when the next administration and new minister take office?
Meanwhile…. in other places
There’s not space here to describe state strategy plans that have been put in place for other state administrations.
Suffice to say that the ACTs is arguably the most advanced, that administration having gone to great lengths to deliver through devices such as ploying a successful reverse auction on sustainable power delivery.
Why is Tasmania lagging so badly when we should be at the front? I think for two reasons. To give him his due Minister Groom reportedly attempted to get his state strategy ticked off by Cabinet on two or three occasions, but was knocked back, owing to some of his Cabinet colleagues being averse to accepting climate science. (Matthew is fond of describing his party as a ‘broad church’ when it comes to climate change attitudes.
But perhaps the biggest obstacle has been a regressive attitude within the Tasmanian bureaucracy and political culture generally. Sitting in on consultative meetings over the years I heard one particular story repeated many times over. It went like this: “Once a national carbon price has been put into place there won’t by any need for small scale state-based initiatives because climate change will be dealt with at the pointy end”.
And so the focus of climate mitigation conveniently shifted from Hobart to Canberra. Problem is, when the national carbon price got abolished it didn’t ever come back! Those voices went quiet.
*Chris Harries is an environmental educator specialising in energy supply & demand issues. He is a member of the Climate Tasmania advisory body and has played a major role in the uptake of domestic rooftop solar in Tasmanian communities. He has been writing on environmental and social advocacy issues since the mid 1970s.
Background …
Release of Climate Action 21: Tasmania’s Climate Change Action Plan 2017-2021.
The Tasmanian Climate Change Office is pleased to announce the release of Climate Action 21: Tasmania’s Climate Change Action Plan 2017-2021.
Climate Action 21 sets the Tasmanian Government’s agenda for action on climate change through to 2021. It reflects the Tasmanian Government’s commitment to addressing the critical issue of climate change and articulates how Tasmania will play its role in the global response to climate change.
The Tasmanian Government has committed $3 million in new funding to support the delivery of Climate Action 21. This builds on over $400 million already invested by the Tasmanian Government to support action on climate change.
Climate Action 21 includes an aspirational long-term target to achieve zero net emissions for Tasmania by 2050, which aligns with the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to well below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The Tasmanian Government proposes to legislate for this target under the Climate Change (State Action) Act 2008.
Climate Action 21 has 37 actions for the following six priority areas:
1. Understanding Tasmania’s future climate commits to providing up-to-date information on climate change projections and impacts, and tailoring this information to support decision making across key industry sectors.
2. Advancing our renewable energy capability supports national energy security solutions in their transition to a low carbon generation network and delivers energy efficiency programs with local government, households and businesses.
3. Reducing our transport emissions promotes the uptake of electric vehicles and other alternative forms of transport, and optimises the use of vehicles to reduce costs and emissions.
4. Growing a climate-ready economy supports businesses and agricultural producers to reduce their emissions, be prepared for the impacts of climate change, and leverage opportunities.
5. Building climate resilience enhances our capacity to withstand and recover from extreme weather events, and better understand and manage the risks of a changing climate.
6. Supporting community action establishes an emissions reduction target of zero net emissions by 2050, recognises that all Tasmanians have a role to play in tackling climate change, and assists the community to reduce emissions and energy use.Climate Action 21 was prepared in consultation with local government, industry, non-government organisations, research organisations and the broader Tasmanian community.
TCCO would like to sincerely thank everyone who took the time to meet with us face-to-face or send in a submission.Visit the TCCO website to download your copy of Climate Action 21.
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