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Next Climate Change Action Plan and Review of Act
Media release – Peter Gutwein, Premier and Minister for Climate Change, 4 August 2021
Next Climate Change action plan and review of Act
Tasmania is a leader in climate change and we have achieved our net zero emissions target in six of the last seven years and also the last five years in a row.
The four-yearly statutory independent review of the act and our target is well underway, and we are developing Tasmania’s next whole-of-government climate change action plan.
Over 250 Tasmanians, community, research and industry organisations participated in consultation earlier this year and I want to thank all who took part.
Today I am releasing the ‘What We Heard’ Report and the Youth Consultation Report which summarises the feedback on our next climate action plan.
A key message from Tasmanians, is that our existing target of net zero emissions by 2050 – the same as a number of our mainland peers – could be more ambitious, given our emissions reduction performance.
Many of the more than 250 individuals and organisations that the Independent Review heard from proposed a range of targets from maintaining net zero emissions including from now to 2030, 2035 or 2040. However I have been very clear that any target must be based in both science and economics, which is why the government commissioned economic analysis which it is currently considering on what a more ambitious target could look like, and its impact on our economy and jobs.
Importantly, the analysis shows that more ambitious targets, are both achievable and credible, and continue to grow our economy and create more jobs, over and above business as usual.
The government is sensibly working through this and consulting further, with a view to releasing the review of the act, the new target, and our new action plan, later this year, as we work to secure our future.
Also today, I am releasing the final Report Card for Climate Action 21, our first climate action plan, which concluded earlier this year and demonstrates that the vast majority of actions have been completed or are being progressed.
All reports are available at: www.climatechange.tas.gov.au.
What We Heard (abridged)
Read the full report here.
Climate Action 21 Report Card
- Download a copy of the Climate Action 21 Report Card 2021 (PDF 5MB)
- Read the Climate Action 21 Report Card 2021 (webpage)
Climate Action 21
Climate Action 21: Tasmania’s Climate Change Action Plan 2017-2021 (Climate Action 21) and the Climate Action 21 Implementation Plan were released in 2017.
Climate Action 21 set the Tasmanian Government’s agenda for action on climate change through to 2021. The Climate Action 21 Implementation Plan committed to releasing a Report Card each year. Report Cards were released for 2017-18, 2018-19, and 2019-20.
The 2021 Report Card contains information on progress against the actions contained in Climate Action 21. This is the final report card for Climate Action 21.
Development of a new whole-of-government climate change action plan is currently underway.
Key achievements
- Electric Vehicle Working Group
- Smarter Fleets Program – supported Tasmanian Government, local government and heavy vehicle fleets to improve fleet efficiency and prepare for electric vehicle uptake
- ChargeSmart Grants Program – investment of over $600,000 to support a statewide electric vehicle destination and fast charging network
- Transitioning government vehicle fleets to 100 per cent electric vehicles by 2030
- Community ‘try and drive an EV’ days
- Business Resource Efficiency Program – supported 11 Tasmanian businesses to reduce waste
- Power$mart Businesses Program – supported 28 businesses to undertake energy efficiency audits and reduce energy use
- Forty eight businesses completed continuity planning to prepare for and respond to extreme events
- Climate change research
- $750,000 in grant funding for 16 priority climate research projects
- undertook priority research on compound extreme events
- updated enterprise suitability mapping for key crops to support agricultural decision making
- Climate Resilient Councils – supported 17 councils to understand and improve how climate change is considered by their council when making strategic and financial decisions
- Tasmanian Climate Symposium – held three annual symposia in 2018, 2019 and 2020
- Climate Change and Health Roundtable
- Coastal Hazards Management for Existing Settlements and Values Project
- Twelve statewide workshops for financial counsellors to better assist vulnerable clients to manage their energy use and power bills
- An additional 339 hectares of land now irrigated with effluent under Fert$mart
- Conducting energy audits of government buildings
- Provided nearly $200,000 to partner with organisations on local climate change initiatives, including:
- Curious Climate Tasmania
- Food and Waste Solution Hub event
- Tasmanian Youth Climate Leaders Conferences
- Climate Justice Conference
- Autonomous electric bus trial
- Energy efficiency audits of nine aged care facilities and a range of resources developed to support the aged care sector to prepare for, and respond to, extreme heat events.