4 ways the next Australian government can help fix climate change
Today is Blog Action Day, with the topic of the environment. I blog about the environment anyway - about what I do to live a greener lifestyle, and the places in Australia facing environmental problems. But today I want to look at the big picture…
Sydney Opera House mark 2
Originally uploaded by Elfike
Prime Minister John Howard called the federal election yesterday - this means we’ve got 6 weeks to decide who’s going to lead us into a future that’s definitely got climate change on the horizon. Australians have to look at what the country needs right now, look at what’s on offer from politicians, then make the call: who will help us most?
What can the Australian government do to help us prevent the worst of climate change? How can they help ordinary Australians make the right choices? We need to speak up and ask for what we want from them. Here’s what I reckon…
1. Sign Kyoto
The Kyoto Protocol isn’t perfect, but it’s the only international agreement that exists to work on this international problem. Australia should be co-operating with the rest of the world, not hanging back and waiting for a magic-bullet solution. The Kyoto nations are already making advances in technology and legislation that we could be benefiting from if we were to join in - there are investment and education opportunties that we’re missing out on. We could be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
2. No new coal
New Zealand has put a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants for 10 years - it would be easy for us to do the same. Coal already gets many subsidies from the government, from taxpayers’ money. Why are we paying for more greenhouse gas emissions to be put into our environment? If coal companies can build plants that prevent GHG emissions through carbon capture, using their own money, then they can go ahead. But until then, we can stop contributing to their pollution.
3. More renewable energy
Renewable energy, from sources such as solar, wind, geothermal energy, wave power and so on, are a much cleaner way of supplying electricity than the coal we currently use. Currently, our mandatory renewable energy targets are at 2%, and have been since 2000, while our actual renewable use is about 8%. Other countries get much more of their power from renewables: Germany 11% (mostly wind power), Spain 20% (with some regions at 70%), Denmark 20%. Iceland and New Zealand have 70% because they’ve got extensive hydro and geothermal resources to use. Renewable energy is ready for the mainstream. Even 15% would help our climate change problem, but I think we can aim higher. Australia needs to encourage investment in this renewable energy, and make it easier for both large and small businesses to get involved. This could open up new areas of employment, research and investment for us.
4. Efficiency standards
You’ve seen the stickers on appliances showing how energy efficient they are (or aren’t, in some cases). But what if we made it compulsory for all products to meet a minimum standard of efficiency? The government already holds products to safety standards, so why not have efficiency standards as well? They could be phased in over a number of years, and it’d make it impossible for anyone to buy an energy-hog. The standards could apply to new buildings as well - no-one wants to spend a lot of money on a home only to find that it could have been better. Some states are already introducing building standards, but it should be done across the board. Efficiency standards would make it easier for Aussies to reduce their energy consumption without having to learn electronics and construction techniques!
These are some of my ideas - I think our government should be making it easy for us to reduce our pollution and waste, while encouraging innovation and new ways of thinking about how we live our lives.
What could the next Australian government do to make it easier for you to live a greener life?
blog action day
October 15th, 2007 at 9:07 am
I’d like to see financial incentives (tax breaks) for business as well as general public in regards to using green energy, fuel efficient cars and green building practices. Basically if a person or business buys green power I think they should get a tax break because of it. Fuel efficient cars should either get a tax break or have lower stamp duty or licencing fees (though thats a state issue I think). Basically if governments refuse to charge / penalise polluters they should be rewarding those who do the right thing and make it more appealing to everyone else.
October 15th, 2007 at 9:12 am
That’s a good idea - at the moment some of the state governments have advisors to help you make your business greener, but there’s no incentives to get the ball rolling.
October 15th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
Those are all really good ideas, I hope the next government addresses some or all of these. I agree with Dave, tax breaks would help entice business who perhaps aren’t interested in the environment but are interested in tax breaks! And it would reward the ones that care about the environment too.
I think keeping interest rates low is a big one for me. I know if interest rates go up and we start to struggle, some of the first things to go will be the environmentally friendly options that sometimes cost a bit more - such as Green Power or Planet Arc washing powder.
October 15th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
I hadn’t thought about interest rates in terms of the environment! But why is it that the eco-friendly options cost more anyway? As Jacqui said on the Green Power post, it’s not really fair that you get penalised for doing the right thing.
October 15th, 2007 at 3:07 pm
Absolutely. I was pretty annoyed that recently the Green Power rates went up when the regular rates stayed the same. It wouldn’t have been so bad if it was an across the board rate hike, but to “punish” the people doing the right thing? Seemed really backwards.
October 15th, 2007 at 8:43 pm
I definitely agree on rewarding green choices; it just seems much easier (and nicer) than punishing non-green choices, which is a controversial strategy - for example, you can look at the debate on whether car use should be taxed for its environmental cost, and even environmentalists will protest such a solution because it just lets rich people keep driving and never has to actually address the real problem and developing real solutions.
Speaking of which: Perth, and Australia in general, already has good public transport and cycle networks, but that hasn’t weaned people off their cars. So I’d like to see the next government help with car-share programs (where you pay a small yearly (?) fee for use of a community car when you need it). I’ve often thought the only reason we need our car is for night-time and long-distance driving (since we otherwise walk, cycle or go by train), but we still have to pay the full-time costs of owning a car. So low-use regos or car-sharing programs would be a great option and would reduce the temptation to be lazy and just jump in the car to avoid a 10 minute walk too.
October 15th, 2007 at 10:41 pm
It’d be great to get more car-share businesses going. And I think a bit of PR work would really help public transport - we have fast, clean transport but everyone thinks it’s horrible until they actually give it a go, based on out-of-date stereotypes.
October 16th, 2007 at 9:23 pm
More tax on imported goods and encourage local production.
The logistics are crazy, my friend works for Visy in New Zealand and the biggest market for the water bottles is the USA, if you know how much water is shipped to the VS… Don’t they have enough water themselves? This is crazy…. The Netherlands are importing a 75% of their meat from Argentina and sending their own meat elsewhere… swop markets, what’s the benefit?
I know…. A lot of money for the trade markets and logistics…
I am working with local furniture manufacturers who struggle to keep alive by the huge competition from cheap import while competitors send the wood to low cost countries to manufacture and import it back… what a crazy world is this….
So I go for more tax on imported produce which is also locally available!
October 16th, 2007 at 9:42 pm
That’s a good one, Wilma. Imagine all the pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from transporting stuff back and forth like that…
October 17th, 2007 at 8:58 am
Over in the US, we’re trying to get a bill passed that will make US cars need to have an average of 35 MPG by 2020 and then convert our electricity to renewable (solar, wind, etc) to at least 15% of US electricity! This would guarantee the growth of renewable, clean energy. But there is a chance these two key advances won’t make it through to the final bill.
So, here I am. I am working with a coalition to make sure Congress sends Bush a strong energy bill with meaningful changes for our environment and planet.
So, I hope we can get as many people to go to http://www.energybill2007.org and sign the petition! Spread the good word Eco-Friend!