Download The Honorable Peter Batchelor - Victorian Council of Social Service

1
COMMUNITIES IN A CHANGING CLIMATE
Wednesday, 25th February 2009
The Honourable Peter Batchelor
Minister
for
Energy,
Resources
and
Community
Development
Ms Cath Smith
CEO, Victorian Council of Social Service
Professor John Wiseman
Director, The McCaughey Centre, University of Melbourne
Ms Anne Turley
CEO, Melbourne City Mission
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners and
custodians of the land on which we stand, the Kulin
Nations, and pay my respect to their elders past and
present.
Thank you for the opportunity to open this forum, which
aims to promote debate and discussion regarding the
challenges
that
community life.
climate
change
presents
for
our
2
Climate change and the effects it causes do not have
boundaries which limit the sequelae to a local or national
community but spread throughout the world. This fact
must be recognised as we search for solutions that can
reverse the factors causing the change in our climate and
also how we mitigate the effects of the associated global
warming.
I want to start my talk with words that I often use and
repeat them in case there are sceptics but also to
emphasize that many of the principles that drive our
actions can be considered beneficial to our planet and
long term sustainability. However, some actions that are
proposed may have adverse effects on some sectors of
our community and also global communities.
Surprisingly, as I set a scene globally for you about the
next 40 years, initially, I will not mention the words global
warming or climate change.
Here’s a few thoughts:
 All of us seek better health and longer life and
medical science is enabling this to happen.
 The population of the world is predicted to rise from 6
billion today to 9 billion by 2050.
 Pollution from transport, powerhouses and industry
today kills a million people annually and is
responsible for the ill health of millions more
3
 Daily we read about environmental degradation of
water supplies and the land in many countries and
also of emerging global food shortages.
 We have already passed the peak of oil availability
and need to conserve oil as a fuel for functions where
there is no other alternative
 The developing nations such as India, China and
Indonesia require a 5 fold increase in energy
expenditure per head of population for each of their
citizens to reach a standard of living comparable to
ours.
If we are idealistic and wish to engage with the developing
nations to develop global agreements in Copenhagen at
the end of this year, we will get nowhere fast unless we
accept the notion of global equity.
Global equity to me means that by 2050, all the people in
the world should have been given the opportunity to reach
the same level of life style as in developed countries. If
that were to occur, my conclusion is that we will leave a
very degraded planet unless we each develop a more
sustainable lifestyle, using energy from renewable sources
so that our environmental footprint is much smaller.
Yet global equity needs to drive our long term thinking. We
often hear people in our society making a comment that
4
we must not start first to set up a carbon trading scheme
until the large polluters join the actions.
We, in the developed countries, need to remember that
we put into the atmosphere a large amount of the carbon
dioxide that is causing the rise in temperature and that
every molecule of this gas that we add stays there for
about 100 years.
The second point we need to remember is that a large
proportion of the emissions from countries such as China,
India and Indonesia comes from our desire for goods that
they manufacture and sell to us. In effect, we have moved
our factories to their land to take the benefit of the low cost
of their labour. We even send our iron ore and coal to
them, from which we profit, so that they need to produce
the energy to smelt and manufacture goods that are
returned to us.
The third point, made quietly to me by the High
Commissioner from India, is that the emissions actually
resulting from the personal actions of the bulk of their
billion people can be consider as “survival” emissions
rather than ours which can be considered “lifestyle”
emissions. Think carefully about these concepts during
your discussions today.
5
While still considering the global issues, I want to raise a
couple of other points to highlight the international
dimensions of climate change.
The first of these deals with the consequences of rising
sea levels. This has several dimensions. There is the
issue of climate change refugees such as the people of
Tuvalu, the first nation to encounter a progressively
uninhabitable “country” due to rising sea levels. These are
the vanguard of larger numbers in the future, perhaps in
the nearer future than the distant future, given the rate of
melt of such entities as the Arctic ice.
The second deals with the dimensions of this
progression. Let me remind you that the Stern report
outlined the effects of a rise of one metre in sea level. He
reported that more than 200 million people live on coastal
flood plains around the world with 2 million square
kilometres of land and $1 trillion worth of assets less than
1 metre above current sea levels. Many of the world’s
major cities risk flooding from coastal surges including
Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Calcutta, Karachi,
Buenos Aires, St Petersburg, New York, London and
Miami.
If one sets aside cities, the flooding of the Ganges delta
of Bangladesh, apart from devastation and displaced
populations, will remove a very fertile region from food
6
production creating significant starvation to an ever
increasing population.
The second issue also impacts on agriculture and food
production and highlights the importance of careful
thought before action. President Bush’s support for the
use of corn to produce biofuel diesel has led to a huge
increase in the price of corn, the staple food in many
countries. In a similar manner, the need to produce palm
oil for biofuel production has led to the decimation of
forests and the loss of a valuable carbon sink together
with the removal of arable land from food production.
Added to this is the loss of biodiversity as tropical
rainforests are destroyed and species such as the orangutan are threatened.
Let me now focus for the remainder of my time on the
Australian community.
I have been asked today to consider and discuss the
moral and ethical implications of climate change for the
Victorian community.
I believe strongly that we have a moral duty to ensure that
the environment and our planet is left habitable for future
generations. I believe we have a responsibility to use the
knowledge that we now have to change the way we think,
the way we behave, and the way our society operates.
7
Scientific advancements mean that we have power and
knowledge at our disposal that past generations didn’t.
Ignoring this knowledge, and not using this power to
improve our environmental impact, is irresponsible. If we
do not act, the consequences of our inaction will be felt for
many years to come.
As a community, we need to be clear about the value we
place on managing climate change. The downturn of the
global economy is currently at the forefront of everyone’s
mind. It is consuming the majority of air time on news
services; newspapers are devoting pages and pages to
reporting constant updates. However, as a community,
we need to ask ourselves, is a transitory downturn in the
global economy more or less important than managing
climate change? There are cries to stimulate growth and
spending. Is this a sensible response when we have a
planet with finite resources that is struggling to cope?
In reviewing past history, each economic downturn has had
a finite duration, albeit with a clear recognition of the
hardships. In effect, these downturns challenge the value
systems on which economics is based. Consequently, in
trying to determine whether a transitory downturn in the
global economy is more or less important than managing
climate change, we all need to place a value on the latter.
What is the value we place on having an inhabitable planet
8
in the future? What is the value we place on the diversity of
the flora and fauna of this planet? What is the value we
place on the barrier reef, the alpine environments, the
oceans and the marine life that are dependent on the
availability of krill as a food source? What is really
important to us? If economic stimulation is required, how
should we spend our money? Should it prop up rampant
consumerism that takes no note of the reality that we live
on a planet with finite resources? Or should it be spent on
building a sustainable lifestyle that emphasizes the values
of a society that cares for this planet, that cares for and
values its biodiversity, that creates a framework where
citizens
respect
each
other,
where
children
and
adolescents are nurtured, mentored and cared for and in
return who respect the older generations for their wisdom
and contributions?
Which is more important, a reversible economic downturn
or a progressive warming of the global environment
resulting in irretrievable losses of the biodiversity of this
planet and which threatens the survival of many human
beings? I will leave you to contemplate the answers.
Having determined in your own mind what value you, as
an individual, places on managing and preventing climate
change, you need to determine what you can do at a
personal level. How can you change your lifestyle to leave
9
a smaller environmental footprint? There are countless
actions and you will only be limited by your imagination
and your budget.
What might be some examples happening across
Australia?
 Increased use of public transport and bicycles and
walking for short journeys.
 Walking kids to school, the walking bus and less use
of cars for short journeys.
 Increasing the set point on air conditioners and
wearing more clothes to keep warm.
 Did you know that Melbourne has one of the purest
water supplies in the world yet we have a vast use of
bottled water? It takes 200ml of oil to make the bottle
and get it to you to drink.
Is this a sensible and
sustainable use of oil, a finite resource? Do take a
close look at all you do.
 Reducing power usage by turning off lights not in
use, turning off appliances that remain on standby
and using more energy efficient appliances.
 In your business or at work, you could save power
and emissions by turning off non-essential lighting.
For instance, each night, the view from Government
10
House shows countless burning lights in city
buildings in unoccupied rooms. We could save large
sums of money if these lights were turned off and
considerable
energy
savings
and
greenhouse gas emissions would result.
reduced
What’s
more, measures such as this, implemented across
the community, could even delay the need for
additional power stations for a period of time until
cleaner technologies became available.
 Planting trees, as they are a wonderful way of
improving the environment and also assisting in
converting carbon dioxide to oxygen.
 Then one gets into the area of spending money such
as replacing light globes that reduce power usage,
improving insulation in your roof and walls and water
tanks. Or more expensive matters such as solar hot
water and solar panels to generate electricity. Here
issues of equity arise in that some in our community
may not be able to pay for such changes. How do
assist them? Clearly, one option is a subsidy from
Government from funds derived from a carbon tax or
from an emissions trading scheme.
What can we do as a community and as a nation? Here’s
just a few.
11
 Better
housing
design
to
minimise
energy
expenditure; do we need such large houses when the
average family size has declined?
Do we need
personal tennis courts with lights? What happened
to our sense of community?
 Initiatives for use of solar, wind and tidal generation
of power, even the nasty word nuclear should be
considered, perhaps for countries that already have a
nuclear industry and limited sunlight
 Water saving, water recycling, desalination require
consideration as the rain tap seems to be remaining
off in the South-East of Australia
 Hybrid cars, electric cars, better public transport
Here again one needs to consider how the costs of these
technologies can be fairly borne across our community in
Australia. Should we increase taxation to subsidise lower
income groups? Should there be a tax on those driving
larger cars?
I could go on adding to the list. In essence what this calls
for is a move to reduce our environmental footprint to
minimise our generation of greenhouse gas emissions by
educating the public to recognise the issues and to take
action.
12
How do we achieve this behavioural change?
We have witnessed in the last two weeks the devastating
cumulative effect that years of drought coupled with the
warmest temperatures experienced in this State in 100
years have had on many Victorian communities, and on
the State as a whole. A huge death toll resulted now in
excess of 210 from the direct effects of fire. There is a
hidden death toll from the extraordinary temperatures
which are estimated to have caused a further 200 deaths,
usually in the older population, an issue that Dr Blaski will
deal. These tended to be older people, again a high risk
group at such times. Mitigation strategies need to keep
these groups in mind. Our changing climate is now, and
will in the future, affect us in such devastating ways more
often.
Clear communication and consistent messages are critical
and here, coordinated planning and action of across
different sectors of our economy and life style is required
for maximum effectiveness.
Community education is critical to enable the stage to be
set for government action to legislate to change people’s
life-style, otherwise, with short electoral time-frames;
governments are reluctant to enact unpopular legislation.
13
Unlike war-time approaches where people have tangible
evidence of life-threatening issues, climate change is
insidious and slow to demonstrate its effects. We have,
therefore, been shown to take up the challenge.
How do we get this information out to the public?
 Websites.
 Advertising.
 School education as children can also influence their
parents.
 Local government through newsletters and forums.
 Community organisations, such as Rotary, Lions,
Country Fire Authority, Landcare, environmental
groups.
 Committed and educated business men and women
could stimulate their employees to take action as a
company and also as individuals.
For instance,
companies such as Toyota, whose factory I visited
recently, have implemented policies that are making
a difference over and above the introduction of hybrid
vehicles.
 In Government House, my emphasis on this issue
has reduced our energy usage by 20%.
14
A personal commitment to undertake a more sustainable
lifestyle can start to make a difference within the family, in
the workplace and local community and the ripples of
these actions can make a difference.
I believe that tackling climate change is something that is
in the power of every Victorian, and it is important to lead
by example, to drive real change in our community.
I
welcome all dialogue on this very significant issue.
It now gives me great pleasure to formally open the
“Communities in a Changing Climate” forum, for the
Victorian Council of Social Service.
Thank you.
Professor David de Kretser, AC
Governor of Victoria