The people's climate White Paper

The people’s climate White PaperA COMMUNITY ACTION PLAN FOR OUR CLIMATE

SEPTEMBER, 2009

The People’s Climate White Paper – A Community Action Plan for our climate, Environment Victoria

The People’s Climate White Paper A Community Action Plan for our climate

Environment Victoria


Table of Contents Why a people’s version of the White Paper........................................................................................................................................................................................ 4 PART A: WHY URGENT ACTION.............................................................................................................................................................................................5 The case for action .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 5 Impacts at Home ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 7 Our Greenhouse Responsibility.........................................................................................................................................................................................................10

The problem with Victoria ............................................................................................................................................................................................................10 Victorian action in a national context ...............................................................................................................................................................................................11 PART B: OUR ACTION PLAN................................................................................................................................................................................................14 A strong state target..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................14 Actions to reduce emissions..............................................................................................................................................................................................................15

A low carbon energy supply : 19 million tonnes reduced by 2020...............................................................................................................................................15 Energy efficiency : 18.9 million tonnes reduced by 2020 .............................................................................................................................................................19 Decarbonising transport and the built environment : 8.8 million tonnes reduced by 2020 ........................................................................................................22 Better land use, agriculture and forestry......................................................................................................................................................................................31 Smart products,less waste – 12 million tonnes reduced by 2020 ................................................................................................................................................32

Actions to help communities adjust ..................................................................................................................................................................................................35

Helping people increase their energy and water efficiency .........................................................................................................................................................36 Providing affordable transport options ........................................................................................................................................................................................36 Adapting to change in the built environment ..............................................................................................................................................................................37 Creating a just transition for communities at greatest risk ..........................................................................................................................................................39

Building up our emergency services..................................................................................................................................................................................................42 Health and well‐being in the face of climate change ...................................................................................................................................................................43

Engaging communities around climate change and sustainability....................................................................................................................................................45

Supporting the Sector...................................................................................................................................................................................................................46 Strategy and coordination for education for sustainability..........................................................................................................................................................46

Providing our natural environment with some breathing space.......................................................................................................................................................47

Managing water resources ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................47


Natural ecosystems ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................48 Green Jobs and Green Economy .......................................................................................................................................................................................................50 Appendix 1: Turning it around: climate solutions for Victoria : The impact of all modeled actions on Victoria’s annual emissions ...............................................54

An Action Plan for our Climate: The People’s Climate White Paper


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Why a people’s version of the White Paper If you spend time with communities active in combating climate change, you’ll soon understand that they know what they are talking about.

They are alarmed by the rapid impact that climate change is having on our environment and communities. They are frustrated that actions to immediately reduce emissions are not being taken and that emissions continue to rise. And they are frightened that without urgent action, our future will be full of drought and devastating bushfires, record temperatures and lost lives.

But they fight on anyway because we all know that urgent action now can turn things around.

Community climate leaders feel strongly that the Victorian government’s Climate Change Green Paper lacked urgent action to solve our climate problem. So we joined with them to take the lead.

This document is a Community Action Plan for our climate prepared by Environment Victoria, with support from climate action groups, community groups and experts. We’ve developed our own version of the Climate White Paper to show the Victorian government what can be done and what must be done to safeguard our climate and our future.

Our Action Plan begins by building the case for state action in Section A and then in Section B sets a clear pathway to reduce emissions. It is based on a detailed analysis completed by the Nous group for Environment Victoria which showed that Victoria could halve its emissions over the next decade. The actions we recommend are big, necessary and require smart policies and regulations, market mechanisms and major investment to make them happen. After all, climate change is the biggest problem we face right now so our actions have to be commensurate with the scale of the problem.

We call on the Victorian government to adopt our proposed action plan. We call on the Victorian government to take the lead in solving the climate crisis. We call on the Victorian government to reap the rewards of immediate action – clean and green jobs, new industries based on renewable energy, lower energy and water prices for households and a better environment for us all. Finally, we call on the Victorian government to set a clear action plan to combat climate change and back that plan with billions of dollars of investment, at least similar in scale to the $38 billion earmarked for the Victorian Transport Plan in 2008.

We have seen some leadership from the Victorian government on climate change in the past. But the stakes are high and the leadership response must be big, decisive and immediate.

Kelly O’Shanassy

CEO Environment Victoria



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Australia needs stronger targets

Professor David Karoly, University of Melbourne

A synthesis of recent climate change science is provided in the key messages from the International Scientific Congress Climate Change: Global Risks, Challenges & Decisions in Copenhagen in March 2009, attended by more than 2,500 delegates from nearly 80 countries:

“Recent observations confirm that, given high rates of observed emissions, the worst‐case IPCC scenario trajectories (or even worse) are being realized.”

“Recent observations show that societies are highly vulnerable to even modest levels of climate change, with poor nations and communities particularly at risk. Temperature rises above 2°C will be very difficult for contemporary societies to cope with, and will increase the level of climate disruption through the rest of the century.”

“Rapid, sustained, and effective mitigation based on coordinated global and regional action is required to avoid "dangerous climate change" regardless of how it is defined. Weaker targets for 2020 increase the risk of crossing tipping points and make the task of meeting 2050 targets more difficult. Delay in initiating effective mitigation actions increases significantly the long‐term social and economic costs of both adaptation and mitigation.”

The Major Economies Forum in July 2009 agreed to a target of keeping increases in global average temperature below 2.0°C above preindustrial, the threshold for dangerous climate change used by the EU. The most rapid emission reduction scenario considered by the IPCC was for stabilization of long‐term greenhouse gas concentrations at around 450 ppm CO2‐e. Unfortunately, this scenario still gives more than 50% chance of global average temperature increases exceeding 2.0°C and a 5% chance of increases greater than 4.3°C.

PART A: WHY URGENT ACTION

The case for action The case for urgent action on climate change is now clear. The world’s most eminent climate scientists are in agreement that unless immediate action is taken to transition our economy and reduce our emissions we will be unable to stop runaway climate change.

Recent climate science shows that climate change is happening faster than had previously been understood. Globally, greenhouse gas emissions have grown at a faster rate than even the worse case scenarios of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicted1.

This means that we already have too much carbon in our atmosphere and it’s already having an impact. The Arctic summer sea ice is now predicted by some scientists to melt completely within five years. Original predictions from the IPCC estimated that this would not occur until the end of the century.

The Australian Government has recently committed to reduce Australia’s emissions in line with a global target of 450ppm (parts per million) of CO2‐e, but only if other nations commit to this target at the 2009 international climate negotiations in Copenhagen.

1 International Alliance of Research Universities, 2009. Synthesis Report – Climate Change: Global Risks, Challenges and Decisions, Copenhagen, pg. 11.



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A 450ppm target globally would create at best a 50 percent chance of limiting global mean temperature increase to 2‐2.4 degrees Celsius above pre‐industrial levels2. The 450ppm target was the basis for the 25‐40 percent emissions reductions target by 2020 for developed countries that was the focus of recent international climate negotiations.

Given Australia’s high per capita emissions levels, Australia should be aiming for the top end ‐ a 40 per cent emissions reduction by 2020 to properly contribute to international efforts. However, even this target is seen by many as reckless given that it would only provide a 50 percent chance of avoiding a temperature increase of 2 degrees. Eminent climate scientist Dr. James Hansen of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies concluded last year that “the safe level of atmospheric carbon dioxide is no more that 350ppm, and may be less”, suggesting that targets of 25‐40 percent are out‐of‐date and in need of review3.

The impacts of even two degrees of climate change will be devastating. Historical emissions have already caused rising sea levels but the growing issue of sea level rise from the melting of Greenland and Antarctica is a much greater threat. Hundreds of millions of climate refugees will be forced to flee from island nations and low lying Asian deltas such as Bangladesh as they become inundated. Fresh water supplies will be contaminated, and agricultural lands left to ruin. Current science suggests that Greenland could reach a point of irreversible melting at only 1‐2 degrees temperature rise4. The world has already seen a temperature increase of 0.7 degrees, with a rise of up to 1.4 degrees now locked into the climate system 5.

2 Meinshausen, M, 2006. What does a 2°C target mean for greenhouse gas concentrations? A brief analysis based on multi‐gas emission pathways and several climate sensitivity uncertainty estimate, in ‘Avoiding dangerous climate change’, H.J. Schellnhuber et al. (eds.), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 265 – 280. 3 http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/2008/TwentyYearsLater_20080623.pdf 4 International Alliance of Research Universities, 2009. Synthesis Report – Climate Change: Global Risks, Challenges and Decisions, Copenhagen, pg. 16. 5 International Alliance of Research Universities, 2009. Synthesis Report – Climate Change: Global Risks, Challenges and Decisions, Copenhagen, pg. 18.



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Impacts at Home Australia will be hit hard by climate change. Already we have seen the devastating impacts of drought on our land, our economy and our communities.

National icons such as the Great Barrier Reef and the Kakadu Wetlands would be devastated by runaway climate change, with a huge impact on Australia’s tourism industry, currently worth $37 billion and employing over 460,000 people. The Great Barrier Reef alone contributes $5 billion a year to our economy, and supports over 60,000 jobs6.

The Murray Darling Basin is often referred to as Australia’s food bowl. It supports a $15 billion industry, 39 percent of Australia’s agricultural production and a third of Australia’s farmers7. But the Murray River system is already on the verge of collapse. With higher temperatures and even less rainfall predicted because of climate change, the Murray‐Darling and the regional economies and communities it supports are on the frontline of climate change impacts.

Rising sea levels will impact on the more than 700,000 Australian homes currently located within three kilometers of the coast and less than six metres above sea level. The affect of rising sea levels on coastal communities and much of our vital infrastructure including housing, services, transport links, sewerage and water treatment will be enormous ‐ and expensive.

6 Australian Conservation Foundation, 2008. Saving Australia’s Special Places: The national icons we stand to lose from a weak response to climate change, pg, 7 Ibid, pg. 4



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Victoria faces a global warming emergency

David Spratt, Co‐author of Climate Code Red: The case for emergency action

"Something is happening in Australia," firefighter Dan Condon of the Melbourne Metropolitan Fire Brigade wrote in an open letter. "Global warming is no longer some future event that we don't have to worry about for decades. What we have seen in the past two weeks moves Australia's exposure to global warming to emergency status." (Los Angeles Times, 9 April 2009)

Observed climate change in Victoria

Victoria's climate is becoming warmer and drier. The daily maximum temperatures has increased by 0.8C (degrees celsius) since 1950. In the extreme heat event of early 2009, both Adelaide and Melbourne set records for the most consecutive days above 43 degrees, and health authorities found that the heatwave contributed to the deaths of 374 people in Victoria.

Rainfall in the Murray‐Darling Basin over the last decade is lower than 50% of the long‐term average. Victorian rainfall in the last decade has decreased 13% compared to the 30 year average (1961‐1990).

The decrease in rainfall is amplified three‐fold in reduced runoff to storage. Water inflow into Melbourne's storages over the last decade is one‐third lower than the long‐term average. Melbourne's water storage record low‐water mark was broken in mid‐April 2009, when storages reached 28.3 per cent of capacity, and the state experienced the equal driest start to the year on record. At winter’s end, storage was lower at 27.8 percent.

The effect of lower rainfall is evident in agricultural production across Victoria and is affecting the viability of rural communities. More than 20 per cent of the fruit trees in the Goulburn Valley have been pulled up in recent years due to lack of water. DSE executive director Campbell Fitzpatrick has warned that a lot of communities in northern Victoria "are pretty close to Australia's first climate change refugees".

There has also been a general trend to more fire weather over the last 30 years. Global warming loads the dice in favour of more extreme fire events, so that higher temperatures, lower rainfall and declining soil moisture can combine to produce a "perfect storm", as happened in February 2009 when a record State temperature of 48.8C following 35 days of virtually no rain unleashed a firestorm with rating index of 190 (compared to 120 on Ash Wednesday, 1983 and 100 on Black Friday 1939) and with the energy of 1500 Hiroshima bombs.

Predicted climate change in Victoria

Based on IPCC figures, predicted "business as usual" impacts to 2070 include extreme impacts on water supplies, high impacts on building in coastal settlements, a 92 per cent decline in value of irrigated agriculture in the Murray‐Darling Basin, and the disappearance of snow‐based tourism in Australia.

Under high‐emissions scenarios, the temperature increase to 2070 in Victoria is estimated at 3C (range 2.1–4.1C) compared to 1950, and the average number of days over 35C would increase from 9 to 20 (Melbourne), from 11 to 28 (Bendigo) and 32 to 59 (Mildura). By 2070 Melbourne's average temperature would be similar to that of Echuca today.



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Rainfall is predicted to decrease and the frequency of drought is likely to increase by between 10–80 per cent in the southern half of the state and by between 10–60 per cent in the northern half by 2070. Run‐off into rivers is likely to decrease by up to 45 per cent in 29 Victorian catchments by 2030. It is forecast water levels in south‐west Victoria's rivers will drop by one‐third in the next 50 years.

By 2020, days of extreme fire danger are forecast to increase 5–25 per cent if climate change is low and by 15–65 per cent if it is high. In 2050, for a high emissions scenario, there may be 100–300 per cent more days of extreme fire danger a year. Are climate change impacts on Victoria being underestimated?

Sadly, these projected impacts do not tell the full story. For example, the last time temperatures were 3C higher than the pre‐industrial level was during the 3 million years of the Pliocene, when the northern hemisphere was free of glaciers and icesheets, and sea levels were 25 metres higher. If warming should reach the upper range suggested by the IPCC of around 5C by 2100, then the question should be how much of Victoria would be liveable at all? A 5C‐warmer world last occurred 55 million years ago. There was no ice at either pole (today that would mean a 70‐metre sea‐level rise), and much of the world would have been desertified.

The IPCC predictions of sea level rise did not consider the effect of loss of ice from Greenland and the West Antarctic, meaning that the predicted increase in sea level to 2100 of well less than a metre is now considered seriously flawed. Scientists are now discussing sea‐level rise of 1–2 metres by 2100, and higher possibilities cannot be excluded. The top government scientist leading Australia's efforts to adapt to climate change has warned that some coastal communities will have to be abandoned in a "planned retreat" because of global warming. Serious climate change impacts are happening both more rapidly and at lower global temperature increases than projected. If just the present level of greenhouse gases were maintained, the unfolding warming would likely be sufficient to result in, amongst other events, the large‐scale loss of Himalayan glaciers and the loss of the Greenland ice‐sheet, placing the lives of two billion people in jeopardy and producing a seven‐metre sea‐level rise over time.

A global warming emergency?

Today, at just less than 1C of global warming, we are already witnessing the destruction of the Arctic ecosystem. The complete loss of eight million square kilometres of Arctic sea‐ice in the northern summer is considered very likely in the near term, and by mid‐century rapid economic and carbon emissions growth could amplify warming of the polar north more than three times the global average ‐ sufficient to trigger large‐scale de‐stabilisation of vast quantities of permafrost carbon.

The restoration of a safe climate requires the reduction of greenhouse gas levels to concentrations within the range that we know will maintain climate stability, probably between 280 and 325 parts per million of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Already, present levels exceed this at almost 390 parts per million.

In other words, there is already too much carbon in the air – a situation that demands the rapid and near total de‐carbonisation of all sectors of the economy, and the sequestration of existing atmospheric carbon pollution. This is a challenging task in terms of the necessary scale and rapidity of action, but there is simply no alternative.



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Our Greenhouse Responsibility In 2007 Australia was responsible for 597 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions8. Our per capita emissions are 28.1 tonnes of CO2‐e which is four times the world average9. Australians are among the highest emitters per capita on earth.

Australia is the 13th largest national emitter of greenhouse gases. Combined, the top twenty national emitters are responsible for more than 80 percent of the world’s annual greenhouse pollution10.

Given our considerable emissions profile, Australia has an important responsibility to engage constructively in international negotiations on climate change. And because of the devastating impacts climate change is having on Australia, it’s in our best interests to drive a strong international agreement to reduce emissions and stop runaway climate change.

The problem with Victoria The state of Victoria has a significant role in driving urgent action on climate change. Victoria has an annual emissions profile of 120.3 million tonnes per year, with a population of over 5 million people. This compares poorly with other developed nations such as Sweden, with emissions of 65.4 million tonnes per year for a population of over 9 million people11, or Ireland with emissions of 69.2 million tonnes of CO2‐e for a population of over 4 million people12.

8Department of Climate Change, National Greenhouse Gas Inventory ‐ Kyoto Protocol Accounting Framework, 2007 9 Garnaut Climate Change Review, 2008. Final Report, pg. 153. 10 Ibid, pg. 54. 11 Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, 2009. Sweden’s National Inventory Report 2009, accessed at: http://www.naturvardsverket.se/en/In‐English/Menu/Climate‐change/Greenhouse‐gas‐emissions/Tables‐on‐greenhouse‐gas‐emissions/ 12 Environmental Protection Agency, Ireland, 2007. Ireland’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions in 2007, accessed at: http://www.epa.ie/downloads/pubs/air/airemissions/GHG_UN_2007_Final_150409.pdf



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Given the size of our emissions, Victoria has a significant role to play within Australia but also globally in order to reduce emissions and actively work towards a safe climate future.

Victorian action in a national context The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) is the Rudd Government’s central policy on climate change. With the proposed introduction of the CPRS, the Victorian government is re‐examining its role in reducing emissions and as a result is not taking decisive action.

We believe that the Victorian government must take immediate and decisive action on climate change for six reasons:

1. The CPRS is deeply flawed and will not drive the necessary transformation towards a low carbon economy13.

Even the upper end of the target range if adopted by the Australian Government is too weak to reduce emissions far or fast enough to stop runaway climate change. Deeper emissions reduction targets will be required in future if the world is to have any chance of achieving a safe climate.

By taking immediate action on climate change to reduce our emissions, the Victorian government can position the state to be ready for the inevitable future strengthening of global targets and take a leadership role in Australia towards tightening future targets.

2. All markets fail from time to time.

The CPRS, like all emissions trading schemes is based upon the premise that a market mechanism is the best way to drive emissions reductions across the economy at least cost. However, as with all market mechanisms market failures will occur leaving some sectors uncovered and areas of significant emissions reduction impervious to the CPRS price signal. For example, the CPRS as proposed excludes agriculture and deforestation and is unlikely to drive emission reductions from transport and energy efficiency14. It also encourages emissions reductions overseas rather here in Australia, delaying the inevitable process of decarbonisation of the economy.

The Victorian government is in a unique position to support and introduce the various complementary measures that will be required to reduce emissions from sectors not covered by the CPRS and to deal with the various market failures that will arise.

3. We can reap the early mover advantages.

13 For further information about the fundamental flaws in the CPRS go to http://www.envict.org.au/file/file/CRPS%20fundamental%20flaws%20final(2).pdf 14 Department of Climate Change, Australian Government, December 2009. Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme White Paper, available at http://www.climatechange.gov.au/whitepaper/report/index.html



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A low carbon future is now accepted by all major economies as being our only future. So why would we wait to invest in low carbon economies? The Victorian government is responsible for driving the transition of the Victorian economy, and for providing the right investment signals for green industries and businesses to establish in Victoria, unlocking billions of dollars worth of investment, and creating tens of thousands of new clean technology jobs.

4. It’s the government’s responsibility

The Victorian government holds the decision making power over many of the infrastructure investments, planning schemes and regulations that are responsible for large amounts of our greenhouse pollution. For example, the Victorian government approves new coal‐fired power stations, road investments, urban sprawl and logging of old growth forests. Conversely, the Victorian government has the power to make decisions that drive investment in renewable energy, public transport, the manufacture of efficient vehicles, sustainable urban development, and the protection of native vegetation. As long as the Victorian government has these decision‐making powers, it has the obligation and the responsibility to ensure these decisions lead to reductions in greenhouse pollution.

The Victorian Government will also hold responsibility for preparing the community and our economy to adapt to and withstand the continuing impacts of dangerous climate change; impacts that are set to intensify as the world continues to warm. As states across Australia will experience very different effects of climate change, state governments are well placed to take responsibility for the infrastructure, community engagement and service provision that will be required for this program of adaptation.

5. It’s what we expect of our government

The Victorian public wants and expects the Victorian government to take action on climate change. In March of this year, polling by The Climate Institute found that 79 percent of Australians were concerned, very concerned or extremely concerned about climate change15. This polling found that a higher proportion of Victorians were concerned about climate change than any other state.

The Victorian public themselves are now taking unprecedented action on climate change. Patronage growth on public transport and cycling rates have increased as never before. Bulk buy groups for solar panels are springing up in suburbs and regional centers across the state. Over 385,000 homes and businesses in Victoria have signed up for GreenPower to support renewable energy and reduce their emissions, the highest proportion of customers of all states16. While Victorians understand that we are all responsible for action on climate change, they also expect that action and leadership to come from their government.

6. This is an emergency and in an emergency, it’s all hands on deck

15 The Climate Institute, 2009. Tracking Climate Change Attitudes, http://www.epa.ie/downloads/pubs/air/airemissions/GHG_UN_2007_Final_150409.pdf 16 Greenpower quarterly newsletter



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Due to climate change, the world has already experienced 0.7 degrees of warming since pre‐industrial times. This level of climate change has already resulted in dangerous consequences including sea level rise, drought, heat waves and bushfires. It’s an emergency that requires emergency action. It’s going to take all of us and all our combined actions to solve this problem. The Victorian Government can not sit back and wait to see what the CPRS will or won’t do before it takes decisive action.

The role of State Governments in tackling climate change from a regulatory/legal perspective Environment Defenders Office, Victoria There is a significant role for all state governments, including the Victorian Government, to take action on climate change. Victoria has power to legislate to reduce emissions and tackle the effects of climate change regardless of whether Australia has a Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) at the Federal level. The federal and state governments have acknowledged that the CPRS will not be the only mechanism to reduce Australia's emissions and prepare Australia for a low carbon future. Indeed, clause 376 of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Bill states that the Act is not intended to exclude or limit the operation of a law of a State or Territory that is capable of operating concurrently with the Act. State based measures will be needed to address areas that the CPRS ignores such as energy efficiency in residential housing, or where the CPRS is not effectively driving change such as the uptake of renewable energy. In addition some issues fall within state responsibility such as approvals of new power stations, urban developments and transport. The Victorian Government must ensure that its planning laws fully incorporate sustainability principles and provide a strong framework for addressing climate change impacts so that new developments are part of the climate change solution rather than increase Victoria’s emissions. The Victorian Government also has a role in developing policy and regulation that will assist the transition to a low carbon economy such as green job creation and support for low emission technologies and industries. There are many regulatory options open to the Victorian Government to reduce emissions and assist Victoria’s rapid transition to a low carbon future.



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PART B: OUR ACTION PLAN

A strong state target Australia’s proposed target range for emissions reductions in the short to medium term is just 5‐25 percent by 2020, based on 2000 levels. These targets, if adopted globally will fail to prevent runaway climate change or secure a safe sustainable climate for future generations. The latest science tells us that we must now make much deeper cuts to our emissions within this timeline.

Victoria has an opportunity to break the impasse of climate negotiations and embark on an urgent program of emissions reductions that would put Victoria at the leading edge of action on climate change in Australia, reap the economic opportunities, and prepare the state for tightening of national and international emissions reduction targets in the future.

Some believe that a state target is not necessary if Australia has a legislated emissions reductions target. However, a state‐based target is important to set clear directions for state government actions and investments, to provide certainty for industry and businesses operating in Victoria and to position Victoria at the forefront of Australian action on climate change.

Action:

1. The Victorian Government should introduce a legislated target to cut emissions by at least 50 percent by 2020 from 1990 levels. This target should be reviewed regularly to ensure it remains scientifically relevant.

The research behind our Action Plan

In 2008 Environment Victoria commissioned The Nous Group to investigate the potential for halving Victoria’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.

The research built on earlier modeling The Nous Group undertook for the Victorian government to assess how the government could meet its 50 percent reduction target by 2050. We shared the same methodology and many of the same assumptions. However our research accelerated the uptake of measures and modeled additional actions.

Our report, Turning it around: climate solutions for Victoria found that Victoria’s emissions can be slashed by 54 percent by 2020 from 1990 levels, and further reduced by 77 percent from 1990 levels by 2030 1.

The biggest actions to reduce emissions are: Annual CO2 reduction (Mt) by: 2020 2030

Sustainable products and consumption 12 25.3 Energy efficiency

Overhaul of our building stock 8.7 16.3 Industrial energy efficiency 6.5 11.7 Equipment efficiency 3.7 4.9

A low carbon energy supply Renewable energy 10.7 12.9 New gas replacing coal 5.1 3.4 Cogeneration 3.2 4.6

Transport 8.9 16.1

See Appendix 1 for a detailed breakdown.

Our action plan is based on this research and focuses on the areas where we can achieve the largest and most rapid reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Our scenario is a leadership scenario on climate change. While Victoria cannot solve climate change by itself, pursuing significant emissions reductions would minimise Victoria’s carbon liability and position Victoria at the forefront of the new low carbon economy.



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Actions to reduce emissions A low carbon energy supply: 19 million tonnes annual reduction by 2020

Victoria’s energy supply represents one of the state’s largest challenges for reducing our greenhouse emissions. It is also one of our biggest opportunities.

57 percent of Victoria’s emissions come directly from our stationary energy sector. By tackling this challenge, Victoria will be well on the way to significant emissions reductions. 95 percent of Victoria’s electricity is produced from brown coal17, the dirtiest form of large‐scale electricity production in Australia. Until now, the Victorian Government has focused investment and support towards Carbon Capture and Storage technology, in the hope that this as‐yet unproven technology will prolong the life of Victoria’s polluting power stations. This is a high risk approach to Victoria’s energy future. CCS technology is as yet unproven on a commercial scale, and is not predicted to achieve any significant emissions reductions for at least a decade, if ever. By investing in alternative, clean technologies such as gas and renewable energy, the Victorian Government can reduce Victoria’s reliance on brown coal, create new jobs in clean industries, and create less risk for our energy supply, jobs and communities if CCS does not meet the coal industry’s expectations and delivery timelines.

By switching early from coal to gas as a transition fuel, Victoria can achieve early and significant greenhouse emissions reductions. A recently buoyant market in Victoria for investment in gas fired base‐load generation means that gas alternatives to coal will be available in Victoria within the next few years. However key to the success of this option is the simultaneous decommissioning of Victoria’s brown coal fired power stations.

The Hazelwood power station is responsible for up to 18 million tonnes of greenhouse pollution each year (15 percent of the state’s annual emissions), and is one of the most polluting power stations in the developed world. Hazelwood’s owners International Power have already signaled to the Federal Government that they would be willing to retire the power station early with the right support18. Hazelwood could be replaced, for example, by combined cycle gas generation in around two years which could lead to net emissions reductions of more than 12 million tonnes annually.

The Victorian Government should also seek to implement a ban on new conventional coal‐fired power stations. The targets for emissions reductions required in order to prevent runaway climate change cannot be achieved if the state continues to allow the development of inefficient and unsustainable technologies. A standard for new fossil fuel generation of less than 0.4kg CO2‐e /kWh should be introduced, which would rule out all coal‐fired power stations bar those that have 100% carbon capture and storage in operation, and would rule out 17 http://www.theclimategroup.org/images/data/the_greenhouse_indicator/2008_annual_report.pdf 18 In their submission to the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Green Paper, International Power signaled to the Federal Government that they would be willing to close the power station early if paid to do so – see http://www.climatechange.gov.au/greenpaper/consultation/pubs/0633‐international‐power‐australia.pdf. International Power is in a tenuous financial situation and, having paid too much for the power station to begin with, now must refinance $445 million by February 2010 – see http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25406342‐664,00.html.



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inefficient gas‐fired power stations. Any new fossil fuel plant that meets this standard should only be brought online to replace existing fossil fuel plants, not to meet additional electricity demand.

A sliding‐scale standard for fossil fuel generation could be extended to existing power stations to ensure a planned and smooth phase out of inefficient and polluting generators.

The Victorian Government should simultaneously seek to boost investment and support for renewable energy across the state to aid Victoria in the shift towards a renewable energy future. The Victorian government’s renewable energy target paved the way for the expanded national Renewable Energy Target (RET) which will ensure 20 percent of Australia’s energy supply is from renewable energy by 2020. This will lead to substantial investment in new renewable energy projects in Victoria. However additional measures are required if we are to achieve higher market penetration of renewables in Victoria, which we will need to achieve safe climate targets. While the Victorian government has committed some conditional support to two new solar power stations, investment and policy support for renewable energy from the Victorian government will need to increase to drive the implementation of renewable technologies.

Unfortunately as the CPRS will begin with a low carbon price, it is unlikely that market forces alone will drive the uptake of renewable energy generation. In the first instance, the Victorian Government should look to build on the national RET by introducing a Victorian specific target of at least 40 percent by 2020, double the national target. This would allow Victoria to attract a significant amount of investment under the national target, and capitalise on the state’s investment potential in renewable energy while preparing Victoria as an investment hub for new technologies and jobs. Additional policy support from the Victorian government will also be required. This should include a strong gross feed‐in tariff, support for small‐scale distributed renewable energy and cogeneration, support for waste‐to‐energy technology, removal of regulatory and related barriers to entry of renewable energy for example ensuring fair access to energy grids, support in developing industry clusters and value chains and support for development along the value chain, looking at the development of parts manufacturing capacity where appropriate.

The Latrobe Valley should be a priority location for new gas and renewable energy manufacturing jobs. This will help the local economy and jobs transition away from coal dependency.

In this context, Victorian Government plans to develop a brown coal export industry would lead the Latrobe Valley in the precisely the wrong direction, further entrenching coal dependence in the Latrobe Valley, and exposing more workers and families to the consequences of an inevitable shift away from a reliance on coal. The proposal by Exergen to export 12 million tonnes of brown coal each year would effectively increase Victoria’s emissions by 10 percent. It would also require billion of dollars of state government investment into new and upgraded road, rail and port infrastructure. This money would be much better spent on infrastructure to reduce our emissions and grow green jobs and economies in the Latrobe Valley.



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Finally, the change to our stationary energy sector required over coming years to shift away from polluting fossil fuels towards clean, renewable energy will not only require policy shifts and industry development but a change in community expectations related to energy pricing and demand. Community education and engagement around climate change and related energy issues will need to be a key part of creating community acceptance for the energy transition. The Victorian government will have a key role to play in assisting with the community adjustment and adaptation to these changes.

Actions:

2. Over the next five years, the Victorian Government should phase out the most polluting coal fired power stations beginning with Hazelwood, and replace these with gas and renewable energy.

3. The Victorian Government should implement a ban on new conventional coal‐fired power stations. A standard for new fossil fuel generation of less than 0.4kg CO2‐e /kWh should be introduced, which would rule out all coal‐fired power stations bar those that have 100% carbon capture and storage in operation, and would rule out inefficient gas‐fired power stations. Any new fossil fuel plant that meets this standard should only be brought online to replace existing fossil fuel plants, not to meet additional electricity demand.

4. The Victorian government should seek to build on the Federal government’s Renewable Energy Target of 20 percent by 2020, by introducing a Victorian specific Renewable Energy Target of at least 40 percent by 2020. This target should be reviewed every few years to assure that the target remains a significant driver for renewable energy investment in Victoria.

5. The Victorian Government should immediately introduce a strong gross feed‐in tariff to drive the uptake of small scale renewable energy and advocate for a national gross feed‐in tariff.

6. The Victorian Government should support distributed energy generation through small scale renewable energy, cogeneration and waste‐to‐energy.

7. The Victorian government should redirect public spending and subsidies from coal‐based infrastructure and major energy users such as the two aluminum smelters, to renewable energy19.

19Turton, Hal, The Australia Institute, The Aluminium Smelting Industry, 2002, p.24. This report estimates that $110 million is provided annually from the Victorian government to aluminum smelters in Victoria in the form of subsidised electricity.



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Supporting Victorian households to invest in renewable energy and reduce their emissions

Ian Porter, CEO of the Alternative Technology Association

The priorities for supporting distributed generation in Victoria

The Victorian government should develop an approach to energy security that explicitly recognises diversity in supply and the benefits to the network of distributed and small scale generation – particularly renewables. This would require a move to locational signals in distribution and transmission pricing, and a move towards a strong gross feed‐in tariff.

The Victorian government should work closely with the Australian Energy Market Commission and the Ministerial Council on Energy to address the perverse incentives inherent within distribution and transmission networks for continued network augmentation and greater energy sales across the National Electricity Market.

The Victorian government should ensure that all government buildings are powered by 100% GreenPower.

The Victorian government should continue to invest heavily in research and development, demonstration and commercialisation of small scale and distributed generation and smart networks, particularly reflecting the need for technologies at a small scale which are accessible by people and local communities.

What's needed to encourage Victorian households to cut their emissions

The Victorian government should support a national emissions trading policy framework that recognises the emissions reductions undertaken by householders, whether by energy efficiency measures or investment in GreenPower and small scale renewables. ASBEC has shown that energy efficiency measures in the Australian built environment (as one example) can achieve an additional 52 million tonnes of abatement annually by 2030.

The Victorian government should offer a strong suite of complementary policies which enhance energy sustainability by providing stronger incentives than the weak CPRS price signal and address specific market failures (particularly in rental housing). These measures should include dramatically strengthened building standards (7 star or better), disclosure of energy rating at point of sale or lease, financial incentives (building on VEET) and loans to support improved appliance efficiency and building retrofits.

The Victorian government should also continue to pursue intelligent grid technologies such as smart metering that will allow householders to have greater access and control over the way in which they use energy, coupled with the introduction of time‐of‐use pricing, including peak pricing at times of very high demand on the electricity grid.

The Victorian government should support an extensive program of building retrofits for low income and related housing, building on and extending the successes of the Neighbourhood Renewal Program.



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Energy efficiency: 18.9 million tonnes annual reductions by 2020

Improvements in energy efficiency and a reduction in energy demand are ‘no regrets’ opportunities that should be immediately driven by the Victorian government at a large scale.

Energy efficiency programs usually have a short pay back period or are cost negative. While the Victorian government supports ‘least‐cost’ abatement and has implemented energy efficiency policies and programs, the scale of implementation is limited, particularly compared to the opportunity at hand.

Almost a quarter of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions (23 percent) arise from energy use in our buildings (including both residential and commercial buildings)20. Yet through energy efficiency measures such as retrofitting existing buildings, ensuring the strongest water and energy efficiency standards for new buildings, and energy efficiency standards for materials and appliances, the use of energy and generation of greenhouse gas emissions from our building sector can be dramatically reduced.

The report Turning it around: climate solutions for Victoria estimates that it is possible for a 50 percent electricity and natural gas efficiency improvement in the Victorian commercial and residential building sectors by 2030. This would deliver annual emissions reductions of 8.7 million tonnes by 2020 and over 16 million tonnes by 203021. Additional emissions reductions could be achieved through improved lighting efficiency in commercial buildings and energy efficiency in industrial processes.22

To achieve change on this scale, Victoria will require a government initiated program with strong industry and community partnerships to deliver a planned retrofit for energy and water efficiency for Victoria’s entire building stock by 2020, and significant engagement and education to ensure that householders and commercial building managers are able to manage their buildings efficiently in the longer term.

The Victorian government should start immediately to develop and implement a plan to retrofit one million Victorian homes (half of Victoria’s building stock) for energy and water efficiency over the next five years. This would create up to 6,900 jobs, reduce emissions by 3 million tonnes and save 32,500 million litres of water each year23. It would also shield low income households from rising utility bills due to climate change and water shortages.

The one million homes target could be achieved by creating a large‐scale and comprehensive audit and retrofit program targeting low income households that combines and builds upon existing energy and water efficiency programs. Environmental performance standards for housing should also be developed that would need to be met prior to the sale or lease of properties. A detailed case study on this initiative can be

20 Centre for International Economics, September 2007. Capitalising on the building sector’s potential to lessen the costs of a broad based GHG emissions cut, pg. 3. 21 The Nous Group, 2008. Turning it around; Climate solutions for Victoria. 22ibid 23 Environment Victoria, 2009. Victoria‐The Green Jobs State: Seizing the Opportunities.



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found in Victoria‐The Green Jobs State: Seizing the Opportunities24. While it may be attractive for government to deliver a diluted version of a retrofit program to households, this will only lead to the need for repeated visits to households in future, increasing costs to government and increasing community confusion and frustration. The Victorian Government should implement a comprehensive retrofit program from the outset.

Retrofitting half of Victoria’s existing homes by 2015 in this way would cost $556 million per annum. However, the Federal and Victorian Governments are already set to spend $370 million on efficiency programs in Victoria each year over the next two and a half years25.

Having said this, improvements to building design, equipment efficiency and industrial systems should be viewed as a cost saving. For example, the Industry Greenhouse Program run by EPA Victoria has achieved savings of 1.23 million tonnes per annum with an average payback period of 20 months26.

The Victorian government should also seek to reduce emissions from new buildings with an ultimate aim of zero net emissions, ‘climate safe’ buildings. The buildings we erect today will still be standing in 50 years. It is far more expensive to retrofit buildings for energy efficiency compared to designing and building for efficiency. Victoria’s building energy star rating standards can help achieve energy efficiency. Standards for new homes should be immediately lifted from 5 to 7 stars and standards for commercial buildings should be boosted to 5 stars.

Greenhouse emissions from the average home can be reduced by more than 75 percent with energy efficient design and appliances27. By supplying power through renewable energy they can reduce greenhouse emissions even further. To ensure that the homes we build into the future are ‘climate safe’, the Victorian Government should commit to a goal of ‘climate safe’ zero net carbon homes by 2020, and establish a high level cross‐sector task‐force to develop a plan to deliver this goal.

Actions:

8. The Victorian government should commit to an overhaul of Victoria’s entire building stock for energy and water efficiency.

9. The Victorian Government should commit to a program to retrofit one million Victorian homes (half of Victoria’s housing stock) for energy and water efficiency by 2015. To achieve this, the Victorian Government should increase the current commitment from the Victorian and Federal Governments to energy and water efficiency from $370 million annually over the next two and a half years to $556 million annually over the next five years.

24 Environment Victoria, 2009. Victoria‐The Green Jobs State: Seizing the Opportunities. 25 Environment Victoria, 2009. Victoria‐The Green Jobs State: Seizing the Opportunities.pg. 25 26 EPA Victoria, 2007. Delivering business benefits from energy efficiency: the achievements of EPA Victoria’s industry greenhouse program, pg.5. 27 Foliente , G. et. al. (2009)



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10. The Victorian government should commit to a goal of achieving ‘climate safe’ zero net carbon homes by 2020. The government should create a cross‐sector task‐force to report to government within 12 months, charged with developing pathways to achieving this goal and defining standards for ‘climate safe’ homes.

11. The Victorian government should take substantial steps towards ‘climate safe’ new homes and energy efficient buildings in the next 18 months by committing to the following measures which are practical and affordable now:

Fast‐track the introduction of 7 star standards for new homes and renovations and 5 star standards for new commercial buildings by end 2010

Introduce a minimum 40 percent water efficiency target for new homes by 2010

Encourage greenhouse efficient hot water for all new homes

12. The Victorian Government should introduce minimum performance standards for energy and water efficiency in residential (and commercial) properties at the point of sale or lease by 2012. In addition, the Victorian Government should develop minimum standards for all other types of buildings including schools, hospitals and warehouses. The government should ensure that ratings cover building fittings such as heating, ventilation and cooling; lighting; water heating; and wired‐in appliances

13. The Victorian government should develop and implement a state energy efficiency strategy that should include increasing the Victorian Energy Efficiency Target and extending it to the commercial sector by 2010 and establishing a revolving fund and loans scheme for capital works to improve the energy and water efficiency of commercial and industrial buildings.

14. The Victorian Government should also provide information, incentives and support for building industry adjustment.



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Commercial building energy efficiency

Commercial buildings account for at least 10 percent of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions, with emissions from this sector having grown by 87 percent between 1990 and 2006. In 2006, commercial buildings were responsible for 60 million tonnes of carbon emissions. The growth of emissions and energy use from the commercial sector reflects continued growth of the economy, growth in the services sector, increasing square meters in commercial spaces, intensification of energy use, changed behaviour such as a trend towards café/restaurant eating and increased service levels notably increased use of airconditioning and feature lighting.

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) has committed to improving energy efficiency in new commercial buildings from 2010, and to phasing in mandatory disclosure of energy efficiency in commercial buildings and tenancies in 2010. This is a very welcome and timely commitment towards efficiency in our building stock that will drive emissions reductions from this sector.

Unfortunately, the recent COAG commitments to mandatory disclosure apply only to commercial office buildings, leaving the retail and wholesale sub‐sector and other significant contributors outside the scope of this scheme.

The various retail and wholesale sub‐sectors combined are recognised as a significant contributor to the emissions profile of the commercial sector and are therefore in need of a policy response. In fact, a report by the Centre for International Economics investigating the potential for emission reductions in the building sector found that the retail and wholesale sub‐sector accounted for 43 percent of energy consumption by commercial buildings28. This sub‐sector creates an enormous challenge for policy development given the diversity of energy uses and demands and the lack of information and data available.

There is a significant need for improved data collection and research and development in the field of commercial energy efficiency. This is an area that the Victorian government should look to take a lead. Through retrofitting commercial buildings, improving appliance and equipment design and knowledge across commercial sub‐sectors (including product and design knowledge for builders and shop‐fitters etc) and phasing out inefficient technologies the Victorian Government could put the Victorian commercial sector at the front of commercial energy efficiency globally, with significant economic and employment benefits for the Victorian economy.

Decarbonising transport and our built environment: 8.9 million tonnes annual reductions by 2020

Transport is responsible for 17 percent of Victoria’s greenhouse gas emissions, making it second only to stationary energy as a contributor to our state’s carbon footprint29. While this is a significant emissions profile, what is particularly concerning is that since 1990 Victoria’s emissions from transport have increased by 19 percent. Further, our built environment, infrastructure and urban form currently exacerbate our greenhouse gas emissions and will need to change dramatically over the coming decade in order to facilitate the shift to a low carbon economy.

28 Centre for International Economics, September 2007, Capitalising on the building sector’s potential to lessen the costs of a broad based GHG emissions cut, pg. 15. 29 Australian Government Department of Climate Change, State and Territory Greenhouse Gas Inventory 2006, pg. 17



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Cars and public transport

Victoria’s transport emissions will need to be tackled through a variety of measures including improved fuel efficiency of our vehicle fleet, increased vehicle occupancy, significant mode shift towards public transport, cycling and walking, and travel demand management (traveling less distance, and less often).

Improved fuel efficiency of Victoria’s vehicle fleet has been shown to have the largest impact upon reducing emissions from transport30. A number of policies and mechanisms are at the Victorian government’s disposal to drive vehicle efficiency in Victoria.

A recent Federal Government discussion paper reported that 75 percent of Australian made vehicles are sold into vehicle fleets, with government purchases making up 45 percent of these31. Government fleet purchase decisions can send a strong signal to the Australian car manufacturing industry. This opportunity is particularly relevant to the Victorian Government given the state’s vehicle manufacturing industry.

The Victorian Government made a welcome announcement in the State Budget this year that the government will set mandatory carbon emissions targets for government vehicles, however this is under the proviso of the government’s policy of buying locally manufactured vehicles. The fact that Australian car manufacturers currently produce predominantly medium‐large vehicles will undermine this, unless action is taken to address the cars manufactured in Australia. The Victorian Government should seek to work with the manufacturing industry to encourage local manufacturing of efficient vehicles. The Victorian Government should also look to immediately introduce a sliding scale target for government vehicle fleets that will influence purchasing decisions of government fleet managers, and indicate the direction that the vehicle fleet is moving to manufacturers. To further encourage manufacturers to move to lower emissions and smaller vehicles, the Victorian Government could also work with other state, federal and local government agencies, as well as business and industry to assist those agencies introduce similar sliding scale vehicle fleet targets. The next step for the Victorian Government is to seek a strong national agreement on efficiency standards for new vehicles of at least 5 litres per 100km or better for all cars sold in Australia by 2015. This is in line with world’s best practice in the Japanese and European Union markets.

The Victorian Government should also spur action towards vehicle efficiency by introducing stamp duty and registration concessions for fuel efficient vehicles. The Victorian Government’s Green Light Report released in 2008 found that 84 percent of Victorians supported rewarding owners of efficient vehicles through mechanisms such as registration32.

Victoria faces a further challenge with our vehicle fleet in relation to car occupancy. The average vehicle occupancy in Melbourne is just 1.2 people per car33. This figure represents an extremely inefficient use of road infrastructure. The Victorian Government has recently committed

30 The Nous Group, 2008. Turning it around; Climate solutions for Victoria. 31 Australian Transport Council and EPHC Vehicle Efficiency Working Group, Vehicle Fuel Efficiency, p. 12, September 2008. 32 Victorian Government, 2008. Green Light Report, pg. 9 33 VicRoads, Performance Monitoring Information Bulletin, pg. 13, 2005/2006



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$5.4 million of funding to promote and encourage carpooling. This is a welcome start, but given the low base Victoria is starting from, further policy mechanisms to increase car pooling including high‐occupancy transit lanes and price signals to create a disincentive for private transport must also be implemented.

Reducing transport emissions will also rely on significant mode shift towards public transport, cycling and walking, and an overall decrease in demand for travel. By making a serious commitment to sustainable planning and design the Victorian Government can drive improvements in travel demand management and shifting travelers on to public transport.

Government figures show that 40 percent of trips in Melbourne are less than 2km long, and almost two thirds are less than 5km34. With better planning and infrastructure many of these trips could be made using sustainable transport alternatives such as cycling and walking. Widespread investment across the public transport network is also important to ensure that public transport services are meeting the current demand and providing for future patronage growth across Victoria and particularly in new growth areas.

The Victorian Government has recently made numerous commitments to improve the public transport network including the long awaited rail line to South Morang, electrification of the Sunbury line, and the first stages of the Doncaster Rapid Area Transit. Commitments to future projects including the Metro Rail Line have also been welcome. These improvements are complemented by the Federal government’s decision to fund urban public transport (in particular the Regional Rail Link), and the release of the Victorian government’s Victorian Cycling Strategy.

While these commitments are welcome, it is disappointing to note that the Victorian Transport Plan released last December (in which many of the above commitments were made) will actually lead to a rise in Victoria’s emissions from transport by 202035, despite the commitment to public transport investment it provided. The plan has flagged a significant number of major road projects that will lead to increased emissions from transport, including a Victorian Government commitment of $700 million to the new Frankston Bypass prior to the project receiving its environmental approvals.

Freight

Victoria’s freight transport emissions will also require infrastructure investment and policy response in order to drive emissions reductions from this rapidly growing sector over the coming decade.

Greenhouse gas emissions from freight have been a policy blind spot. While the Victorian Government is predicting a growth in freight volume of 50 percent by 2020, there seems to be no plan for reducing emissions from this sector over the short, medium or long term.

34 State of Victoria, Meeting Our Transport Challenges, pg. 56, 2006 35 Victorian Department of Transport, 2008. The Victorian Transport Plan, pg. 119.



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The Victorian Government last year released its policy document Freight Futures following the release of the Victorian Transport Plan. Unfortunately, Freight Futures outlines the future for the freight industry in Victoria as being largely road based, and does not include any target for mode shift away from road transport to rail freight or plans to reduce emissions.

Rail freight requires less than one third of the fuel of road transport. As an example, one freight train between Melbourne and Sydney replaces 150 semi‐trailers and saves 45,000 litres of fuel and 130 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions compared with road haulage36. Rail freight is still twice as energy efficient as road even after fuel use has been included for rail line haul and road pick up and delivery, to and from rail terminals.

The Victorian Government has indicated a desire to develop intermodal freight hubs across Melbourne to assist in reducing unnecessary freight trips. This commitment is welcome, but this will only reduce emissions from freight by 5‐6 percent from business as usual emissions levels37.

Victoria must get smarter about our freight task. We need less freight movements, and more of those movements on rail. We need to make our freight system more efficient, and stop the excess running of empty trucks across the city.

The built environment

Melbourne is currently one of the largest sprawling cities on earth. With a population of less than four million people, Melbourne has one of the largest urban footprints of any city in the world.

This sprawl leads Melbournians to demand more resources, more water, more energy and have greater transport needs than would otherwise be necessary. Our way of life, based on our urban sprawl is totally unsustainable. Many of our regional centres are developing in a similar fashion and as the growth of regional hubs continues, these cities will face similar challenges to the capital.

With the threat of climate change coupled with rising petrol prices and water shortages, Melbourne needs a new development paradigm to help us restructure our city for a very different future.

The Victorian government’s development and commitment to the planning blueprint Melbourne 2030 in 2006 signified that the government recognised the need to limit urban sprawl, and to instead focus development on urban infill to increase density and foster a more sustainable approach to growth. Unfortunately, while Melbourne 2030 was initially enshrined in the planning scheme, the principles have not been widely implemented.

The Victorian Government has further moved away from this policy by releasing large swaths of new land on the urban fringe for development by expanding the urban growth boundary. This new commitment to sprawl will limit density of development, increase transport demands of

36 Victorian Department of Infrastructure, 2007. Rail fuel consumption of four litres per 1,000 gross tonne kilometre (PNL); road fuel consumption of 49.3 litres per 100 kilometres (Updating Heavy Vehicle Charges – Technical report, National Road Transport Commission 1998, p76); assumes road pick up and delivery of 20 kilometres. Cited in Victorian Rail Freight Network Review, Switchpoint: The template for rail freight to revive and thrive, pg. 18. 37 Victorian Department of Transport, 2008. Freight Futures; Victorian Freight Network Strategy for a more prosperous and liveable Victoria, pg. 65.



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Melbournians, increase energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, destroy green wedges and biodiversity, and displace market gardens and agriculture that the city relies upon.

Following an audit of Melbourne 2030 last year, the Victorian Government has recommitted to the development of a number of priority Central Activity Districts (CADs). This is aimed at consolidating urban renewal and inner and middle suburb growth in key CADs with strong sustainable transport access. This recommitment is welcomed and will hopefully spurn the rapid and thorough redevelopment of these activity districts.

However, there are other initiatives that the Victorian Government could be implementing simultaneously to drive sustainable development across the city, and to prepare Melbourne for a future of climate change and rising energy and water bills.

A recent report commissioned by the Victorian Department of Transport and the City of Melbourne has found that through redevelopment of inner areas along key tram and bus routes, Melbourne could accommodate two million people along these routes, while also saving an estimated $300 million per 1,000 housing units, or more specifically for Melbourne $110 billion over the next 50 years38.

This approach would allow Melbourne to immediately begin the transition to becoming a city for the future that is more liveable, more environmentally sustainable, and more economically productive.

While this specific plan would alter development along sustainable transport routes, we must also consider the sustainability and future productivity of our suburbs. We must embrace ways to make our current infrastructure and buildings stock part of the solution to climate change.

While our housing stock and large backyards are generally very energy and water inefficient, this does not have to be the case. With the right design of our general civic infrastructure (including roads, footpaths, nature strips, train stations etc) we could further reduce our greenhouse emissions and water use and prepare our cities for unavoidable climate change from historic emissions.

Through turning our backyards and into productive gardens and our rooftops into green spaces we can meet some of our food needs, reduce emissions from food production, while also reducing the heat island effect on our cities during summer.

Infrastructure decision making

The infrastructure that we build today will be with us for decades to come. We must ensure that all new infrastructure built in Victoria is part of the solution to climate change, not part of the problem. Our roads network, public transport networks, water and energy infrastructure as well as civic spaces all have significant impacts upon our greenhouse pollution. Regardless of the CPRS or other price signals that may occur, other regulations will be required to drive investment and decision making towards more sustainable infrastructure investment. As a recent example, the proposed Frankston Bypass in Melbourne was recently given approval by the Minister despite the fact that the greenhouse gas emissions

38 City of Melbourne and Victorian Department of Transport, 2009. Transforming Australian Cities: for a more financial viable sustainable future.



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from the project had not been properly assessed. The panel appointed to consider the proposal under the Environmental Effects Act 1978 noted in their final advice to the Minister that while they agreed that the greenhouse pollution from the project had not been properly assessed as technically required by the EES process, this would not be of consequence as the Victorian Government policy documents The Victorian Transport Plan and Melbourne @ 5 million, had purportedly considered sustainability issues, and that this road project should not be viewed outside of those processes. Unfortunately, this example makes apparent the failure of alternative government policies to adequately drive investment in sustainable infrastructure. Building of inefficient and unsustainable infrastructure will exacerbate our greenhouse gas emissions, and actual emissions reductions will be made much harder for the rest of the Victorian community.

In order to ensure that new infrastructure helps the Victorian community to reduce emissions rather than increasing greenhouse pollution, the Victorian Government should ensure that all future infrastructure decision making is put through a ‘climate test’, that seeks to guarantee that all new infrastructure in Victoria will not increase greenhouse gas emissions, and will instead help the Victorian community to reduce emissions. This climate test should also apply to policy, programs and investments undertaken by the Victorian Government.

Actions:

15. The Victorian Government should introduce a vehicle efficiency target for government vehicle fleets by mid‐2010 that strengthens over time. This would influence purchasing decisions of government fleet managers, and indicate the direction that vehicle fleet decisions are moving to Australian manufacturers. The Victorian government should also work with local manufacturers to assist them to move toward manufacturing of efficient vehicles.

16. The Victorian Government should work with other state, federal and local government agencies, as well as business and industry to assist those agencies introduce similar sliding scale efficiency targets for vehicle fleets with the intention of influencing local manufacturers.

17. The Victorian Government should advocate and work towards a strong national agreement on efficiency standards for new vehicles of at least 5 litres per 100km or better for all cars sold in Australia by 2015.

18. The Victorian Government should introduce stamp duty and registration concessions for new efficient vehicles, and higher rates for new inefficient vehicles by mid 2010. The government should also introduce registration concessions for efficient vehicles currently on the road.

19. The Victorian Government should increase average vehicle occupancy through investment in high‐occupancy transit lanes on existing arterial roads, supporting car pooling programs, re‐establish behaviour change programs targeting community and business, and introducing price signals to create a disincentive for private car travel.



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20. The Victorian Government should increase investment, beyond that in the Victorian Transport Plan, in public transport, cycling and walking infrastructure and services. In particular, the Victoria Government should look to:

Provide frequent and connected public transport services on all priority routes seven days a week (every 10 minutes, 6am to Midnight)

Provide new bus services to growth areas and those not current serviced by high frequency buses.

Ensure on‐road priority for buses and trams

Extend train lines into highly populated and newly developing areas of Melbourne

Invest in cycling and walking facilities and infrastructure in middle and outer suburbs, and combine this with a behaviour change program aimed at encouraging mode shift towards these low impact modes for short trips.

21. The Victorian Government should commit to sustainable land use planning and design, and urban consolidation to facilitate reduced travel demand.

22. The Victorian Government should introduce a moratorium on new major road projects, and instead direct this funding towards public and sustainable transport alternatives.

23. The Victorian Government should commit to moving freight to rail by investing in intermodal hubs in the short to medium term and by committing to a target for mode shift from road to rail freight by 2015 and 2020, and investing in freight rail infrastructure.

24. The Victorian Government should commit to increasing road freight efficiency through engaging industry in Collaborative Distribution programs whereby companies may share logistics and distribution networks, services and facilities to cut distribution and supply chain costs, and importantly greenhouse gas emissions.

25. The Victorian Government should recommit to principles of urban consolidation, and reverse their decision to expand the Urban Growth Boundary.

26. The Victorian government should continue with plans to redevelop Central Activity Districts across the city, and consolidate additional growth along on‐road sustainable transport routes such as tram and bus route, with mixed‐use developments including a percentage of affordable housing.

27. To ensure that transport emissions are not disproportionately increased by new development, the Victorian Government should commit to no new development without adequate sustainable transport infrastructure in place prior to development.



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28. The Victorian Government should ensure that all new government polices, programs, investments and future infrastructure decisions, are put through a ‘climate test’ that guarantees that they will not increase greenhouse gas emissions, and will instead help the Victorian community to reduce greenhouse pollution.



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Climate change: hitting Victoria’s poor first and worst

Cath Smith, CEO of the Victorian Council of Social Service

The best scientific evidence available clearly states that unless we radically change our relationship with non‐renewable energy and the way we manage our land and water resources we are facing a harsh future.

The speed and size of the changes we need to make to reduce the risks of climate change present enormous policy challenges. If these changes are not implemented swiftly and fairly existing inequalities will be exacerbated and impacts on the health, wellbeing and viability of our communities are likely to be catastrophic.

We know that acting early on climate change not only maximises the chance of averting the worst impacts, but also will cost us less in both financial and human terms.

The Victorian Climate Change White Paper provides an important opportunity to get policy and investment settings right to smoothly and fairly transition Victoria to a low carbon society.

Many of the structural changes required to reduce Victoria’s emissions also have substantial social benefits and will help to ensure Victoria is prepared to make the big emissions reductions required over the coming decades without unfairly further disadvantaging low income and vulnerable Victorians. VCOSS is calling for:

• changes to Victoria’s planning policies to guarantee the sustainability of new developments;

• increased investment in public, active and community transport;

• minimum standards for public and private rental properties;

• expansion of targeted assistance programs to help low income households afford efficiency upgrades and appliances; and

• investment in planned structural adjustment guided by local communities.

Climate change is already affecting Victoria, and further climate change is locked in. Unprecedented drought, bushfires and heatwaves have already taken an enormous toll. To support vulnerable Victorians, VCOSS is calling for:

• better systems to protect people at risk during heatwaves;

• investment in essential services including health, public transport, energy and water to ensure service delivery through extreme weather;

• emergency response and recovery systems which are better able to protect and support those most at risk; and

• ongoing support for communities effected by drought and water scarcity.



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Better land use, agriculture and forestry

Forests

Victoria’s forests are amongst the most carbon dense on the planet, meaning that their protection plays an important role in our climate change response. Recently‐published research by the Australian National University shows that unlogged eucalypt forests of south eastern Australia have far larger carbon stocks than had been recognised under the Kyoto carbon accounting process.

The ANU scientists concluded that “The remaining intact natural forests constitute a significant standing stock of carbon that should be protected from carbon emitting land‐use activities. There is substantial potential for carbon sequestration in forest areas that have been logged if they are allowed to re‐grow undisturbed by further intensive human land‐use activities.”39

The Garnaut report found that the sequestration potential from allowing logged forests to recover their natural Carbon Carrying Capacity is 136 million tonnes CO2e each year for one hundred years (which is equivalent to 24 percent of Australian’s annual greenhouse gas emissions).

Protecting our native forests and other key natural ecosystems could help Victorian make deep and early cuts to our emissions. It would also provide the most robust path to increasing carbon sequestration, and would assist nature survive the impacts of moderate climate change. The relative resilience of natural ecosystems to fire, pests, disease, and climatic variability conferred by natural selection and their biodiversity makes these natural ecosystems a far sounder long term climate investment than monocultures of trees.

Agriculture

Victoria’s agricultural sector poses a particular challenge for the Victorian Government to drive emissions reductions. This sector is currently not covered by the CPRS and will therefore be unaffected by a price signal to drive emissions reductions.

Approximately 75 percent of Victoria’s agricultural emissions are methane from ruminant animals, cattle and sheep, where about 20 percent of the ingested carbon is lost as methane. Agricultural emissions could be reduced by 40 percent through a range of initiatives aimed at reducing ruminant emissions from animals. These include animal breeding and selection, improved farm management strategies, and the introduction of improved dietary strategies. Increased community education about the carbon intensity of meat and dairy based diets would allow Victorians to make more informed choices about their diet and consumption decisions.

39 Mackey, B., H. Keith, S. Berry & D. Lindenmayer, Green Carbon: The role of natural forests in carbon storage. Pt. 1. A green carbon account of Australia’s south‐eastern eucalypt forests, and policy implications. ANU E Press, Canberra, 2008. Available at http://epress.any.edu.au/green_carbon_citation.html . Page 7.



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Improvements to soil management can also achieve at least a 10 percent reduction from agricultural emissions. Nitrous Oxide emissions can be reduced through changes to both grazing and cropping activities including chemical interventions, strategies to avoid water logging and compacting and improved cropping technologies and strategies.

Actions:

29. The Victorian Government should halt the clearing, logging and degradation of all native vegetation, and establish ongoing funding mechanisms for its long‐term management in order to reduce carbon emissions and protect carbon stores, biodiversity and water.

30. The Victorian Government should encourage additional carbon sequestration by protecting remnant native vegetation from degrading processes such as grazing and by encouraging regrowth; and replanting biodiverse native vegetation in strategic locations that also enhance connectivity and ecological functioning.

31. The Victorian Government should develop a robust carbon accounting system for emissions uptake and loss from land use, agriculture, forestry and land use change.

32. The Victorian Government should ensure that vegetation planted for the purpose of mitigating climate change (mandatory or voluntary carbon offsets) is indigenous to the planning site and has permanent legal protection. The Victorian Government should develop methods to measure and account for biodiversity outcomes (as distinct from carbon outcomes) in bio‐sequestration projects.

33. The Victorian government should support farmers and industries to reduce emissions through investment in research and development in animal breeding and selection, improved farm management strategies and improved dietary strategies, as well as through changes to grazing and cropping activities. The government will also provide information to communities about the carbon (and water) embedded in food products.

Smart products, less waste – 12 million tonnes annual reductions by 2020

The way we produce and consume stuff (products and services) is a major greenhouse problem.

The stuff we buy takes a lot of energy to make. It is estimated that the consumption of stuff accounts for almost 50% of greenhouse gas emissions. In other words, the ‘embodied’ energy of the things we consume is almost equal to our combined energy use for all other purposes, like transportation, heating and cooling, lighting and the operation of appliances. Unfortunately, this part of our greenhouse problem is rarely discussed.



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Clearly, we need to get much smarter about the way we design and consume our products, to get real greenhouse gas reductions.

Research done for Environment Victoria by the Nous Group40 found that by being smart about the way we produce and consume stuff, we can reduce Victoria’s greenhouse emissions by 12 million tonnes (10%) by 2020 and 25 million tonnes (20%) by 2030. This shows that while our production and consumption cycles are a big part of the climate problem, doing it smarter is a big part of the solution.

There are four key reasons why we currently are not smart about the way we produce and consume stuff:

1. Governments and businesses fear that it will hurt the economy and cost jobs.

2. There is a real lack of policy debate on smart forms of producing and consuming stuff.

3. People don’t yet connect buying stuff with greenhouse gas emissions.

4. There are no financial drivers (its cheaper to use products once and then dump them in landfill then it is to recycle them).

It has long been feared that getting smart on production and consumption will mean less jobs and put pressure on our economy. But the truth is just the opposite. Smart production will grow new low carbon economies and jobs and will help secure existing jobs in clean technologies like recycling. But none of this will happen without the right policies drivers, incentives and regulations.

The government’s requirement for Environment and Resource Efficiency Plans from large businesses is a good response to this need to reduce embodied energy and water in products. However, the Victorian Government has thus far failed to act on their 2006 commitment to establish a Sustainable Production & Consumption Taskforce41. The Taskforce was to be charged with developing the business case for smart production and consumption. It was to develop key ideas for practical action, and to assist in the policy development process. It is critical that this policy gap is immediately filled.

We must also provide communities with information about the energy embedded in the things they buy. This gives people the choice to buy greenhouse friendly products and encourages businesses to low carbon and durable products. Broad scale awareness and behaviour change programs could achieve this and drive down energy use through consumer goods.

Finally, we must provide a price signal for smart products and recycling. Victoria has traditionally led the country on recycling and now recovers 62 percent of all solid waste42. But this increase in recycling has only kept pace with the growth in solid waste. As a result, Victoria has continued to send about four million tonnes of waste to landfill for each of the last 15 years43.

40 The Nous Group, on behalf of Environment Victoria, 2008. Turning it around: climate solutions for Victoria. 41 Victorian Government, 2006. Environmental Sustainability Action Statement 42 Victorian Government, 2006‐07. Towards Zero Waste Progress Report. 43 Victorian Government. Towards Zero Waste Strategy and Progress Reports.



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Recorded greenhouse gas emissions from waste ‐ mainly the decomposition of organic material in landfill ‐ account for about 3% of Australia’s total emissions44. Environment Victoria estimates that increasing recycling rates to 80% in Victoria would stop methane generation in landfill equivalent to 1.9Mt of CO2, and recover embodied energy from materials equivalent to another 0.9Mt of CO2

45.

The Victorian Government has made good on some of their commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through recycling. The recently released Metro Plan46 sets out the path to dramatically increase green waste recovery. However, this plan is unlikely to become a reality unless, as promised by the government, landfill levies are uses to “provide incentives to reduce waste”47.

Actions:

34. The Victorian Government should deliver on its 2006 commitment to establish a Sustainable Production & Consumption Taskforce as a matter of priority. The taskforce should be required to develop a plan to realise the emissions reductions possible from smarter production of the stuff we consume.

35. The Victorian Government should increase the landfill levy to bridge the gap between the cost of landfill and the cost of recycling. This will reduce emissions from landfill, and help increase the rate of recycling, which will in turn create jobs.

36. The Victorian Government should introduce stronger product standards to improve resource efficiency. Two examples of this include regulation requiring that all packaging material should be recyclable, and establishing maximum mercury levels for fluorescent lights. Extended producer responsibility schemes should be introduced to increase away from home recycling and to deal with problematic materials, beginning with container deposit legislation and a mandatory take‐back scheme for electronic waste, including mercury containing lamps.

37. The Victorian Government should fund research programs examining and testing the ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from policy measures which encourage sustainable production and consumption.

38. The Victorian Government should increase comprehensive community education and behaviour change programs to ensure Victorians can make informed choices on the embedded energy and water when purchasing consumer goods.

44 Department of the Environment and Waste Resources Australian Greenhouse Office, 2005. National Greenhouse Gas Inventory 2005, 45 Environment Victoria, 2008. Own analysis of Victoria ‐ The Green Jobs State: Seizing the Opportunities. 46 Victorian Government, 2009. Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Strategic Plan 47 Victorian ALP Platform, 2006. Environmental Sustainability and Resources



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39. The Victorian Government should introduce landfill bans on resource streams which are either problematic or for which the recycling industry is established, starting with packaging materials, electronic waste and unstable organic material. They should also deliver the commitment to phase out free single‐use plastic bags by 2009.

Actions to help communities adjust Australian communities and economies are set to be hit hard by climate change. In Victoria, we have already experienced the devastating consequences of prolonged drought, heat waves, and bushfires. The whole community will be affected, and it is essential that the Victorian Government lead action to enable our communities to adapt to the levels of climate change that are now unavoidable.

Efforts to reduce emissions and prevent runaway climate change are an important part of any adaptation strategy. Climate change mitigation reduces the rate and magnitude of global warming, increasing the likelihood that remaining risks can be adapted to. However, with existing amounts of greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere and a lag in the climate system, global temperatures will continue to rise and the impacts of climate change will increase. Even with a rapid reduction of emissions and eventual return to a stable climatic system, the short and medium term consequences of climate change cannot be avoided.

Climate change will hit the most vulnerable members of our community first and worst, with low income households being disproportionately affected by increases in extreme weather events. Those on lower incomes often live in higher‐risk areas, marginal lands and poor quality housing. They will typically have fewer financial resources to cope with climate change, including a lack of comprehensive insurance cover. Residents in deprived areas are also likely to be less aware and worse prepared for extreme weather events like floods. Health impacts will be more severe for those already in poor health. Indigenous communities in remote areas with inadequate infrastructure, health services and employment will be particularly hard hit.

Preparing a population for unavoidable climate change is an immense task.

Action:

40. The Victorian Government should invest in, and seek a proportion of CPRS revenues to invest in, helping communities adapt to climate change. This should include actions such as boosting energy and water efficiency, transitioning communities to low carbon and low water lifestyles and industries and providing sustainable transport choices to outer Melbourne, regional and rural communities.



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Helping people increase their energy and water efficiency

Energy and water efficiency will be an essential component of climate change adaptation in Victoria.

Both energy and water prices are set to rise in coming years as our energy supply networks and technologies adapt to a world of climate change and water becomes more scarce. Given the impact this will have on Victorian families, it is essential that the government is working to assist families prepare for and minimise their exposure to these increased costs.

Higher energy and water prices will disproportionately affect those living on low incomes, in poor quality housing, large families, people with medical conditions, older people, rural households and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) households who are more likely to miss out on information and opportunities to take up efficiency measures.

Improved housing and thermal efficiency will lead to more affordable energy and water bills and greater health and comfort for Victorian households. Through a program of planned retrofitting of Victoria’s entire building stock, focusing in the first instance on retrofitting one million low income Victorian households for water and energy efficiency, the Victorian Government can endeavour to protect Victoria’s most vulnerable communities and families from these increased costs of climate change.

Actions:

41. The Victorian Government should introduce mandatory minimum standards for water and energy efficiency in rental properties to ensure that Victorians in the rental market are not disproportionately affected by energy and water price rises. And by mandating for zero carbon homes by 2020 with a first step of improving the minimum standard to 7 stars, the government can ensure that Victoria’s new housing stock is prepared for a future of climate change.

42. The Victorian Government should ensure that information on water and energy efficiency products, incentives, rebates and behavior change also be provided in appropriate language, formats and media by trusted sources. The Victorian Government should support the roll‐out of this information and auditing programs that can be best delivered to the community from local government community and environmental organisations with strong links and relationships with those communities.

Providing affordable transport options

Climate change will impact adversely on Victoria’s transport affordability. The combination of peak oil and a price on carbon will lead to continued increases in petrol prices. The impact of this will be that people living in regional and rural Victoria, as well as those living in Melbourne’s outer suburbs will be most hard hit. Unfortunately, these communities are also those least serviced by public and sustainable transport alternatives.



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In order to assist Victorian communities to adjust to the increased cost of transport, the Victorian Government should first focus on the need to reduce the overall demand for transport by enabling people to travel less distance, and less often. Through redesigning our cities and regional centres, and focusing development in mixed‐use Central Activity Districts and along sustainable transport routes, the need for travel across long distances for work, services and social purposes is reduced. While redevelopment of cities and suburbs is a medium to long term strategy, implementation of this strategy should begin immediately to ensure all new development is preparing Victorians for a future of climate change. This strategy should be coupled with locally targeted education and behavior change programs to educate Victorians about the impact and ‘real costs’ of driving and benefits of reduced travel, and alternatives forms of travel, efficient forms of driving and to encourage traveling less distance, and less often.

While some parts of our cities and suburbs are able to be redeveloped, this will not be appropriate for many other areas, and most regional and rural communities. While some behavior change will be possible, government should look to focus on providing sustainable transport alternatives that reduce dependence on car travel. Through investing in public transport, cycling and walking infrastructure and services, the Victorian Government can provide sustainable and affordable alternatives, enabling families to reduce car dependence.

As previously discussed, driving vehicle efficiency should be another arm of the Victorian Government’s strategy to create a sustainable transport network into the future. By improving the efficiency of vehicles, the government can ensure reduced greenhouse gas emissions as well as reduced petrol costs for motorists. While this should be an important part of the government’s adaptation strategy, it should also be noted that improvements in vehicle efficiency are unlikely to impact on low socio‐economic demographics in the short term given the limited financial resources and reliance of these families on the second hand car market. It is therefore essential that the Victorian Government simultaneously continue to improve and extend public transport infrastructure and services across the Victorian community to meet the community’s transport needs.

Action: In addition to previous actions

43. The Victorian Government should invest in urban consolidation and mixed‐use development in activity centers and along sustainable transport routes to assist people to travel less distance, less often. This should be combined with an education and behaviour change program aimed at informing Victorians about the ‘real costs’ of driving, and the benefits of reduced travel.

Adapting to change in the built environment

Our built environment, including infrastructure, housing and commercial buildings have been designed and constructed to suit climatic conditions of the past, unaffected by global warming. A report to the Victorian Government prepared by the CSIRO and a number of industry partners titled Infrastructure and climate change risk for Victoria shows that little of our built environment will be untouched by climate change.



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The report states that under a high climate change scenario to 2030 (the scenario the science tells us is now most likely), water, power, telecommunications, transport and building infrastructure are all at significant risk. To 2070, water, power, transport and building sectors all face high and extreme risk, while telecommunications face high risks48. The IPCC warns that extreme weather events are likely to trigger simultaneous infrastructure system failures49. The 2009 heatwave and bushfire dramatically illustrate this vulnerability with the electricity network failing due to overload from demand surges or parts of the distribution system itself being ravaged by bushfires50. Further, Victoria’s public transport system during this time was in meltdown, with buckled lines within the metro area, overheating of carriages, and several regional lines burnt.

Sea level rise presents another unique challenge to human settlements and the built environment our communities rely on. Sea level rise could initiate a number of adverse impacts on human settlements, infrastructure, amenity, biodiversity, our economy and industries – with likely knock‐on adverse consequences for public health and wellbeing. The Victorian Government is currently investigating the possibly implications of sea level rise on the Victorian coastline through the Future Coasts program which seeks to map projected impacts and the physical vulnerability of coastal areas to sea level rise and extreme storm event. Models prepared for the program map sea level rise of up to 10 meters, and give some indication of the devastating impact rising seas will have on Melbourne and Victoria’s coastal townships51. One project related to the Future Coast program undertaken by Monash University maps the projected impact of rising sea levels on Lakes Entrance at Victoria’s Gippsland Lakes. Adjusting the interactive map, users can see the physical impact that sea level rise could have upon the town of Lakes Entrance.

Actions:

44. The Victorian Government should conduct a detailed mapping of climate change vulnerabilities within the built environment. This mapping should then lead to a state‐wide built environment adaptation plan which seeks to ‘join‐up’ mitigation and adaptation measures within the built environment.

45. The Victorian Government should incorporate climate change adaptation into the Environment and Planning Act, and all planning provisions, building and engineering codes to ensure the infrastructure and buildings we build in the future are prepared for the impacts of climate change, while also reducing emissions.

46. Victoria currently lacks the skilled workers to create the level of transformation in our built environment that is required to cope with the impacts of climate change. The Victorian Government should therefore seek to initiate or further develop professional and

48 CSIRO 2007, Infrastructure and climate change risk assessment for Victoria: Report to the Victorian Government, prepared by CSIRO, Maunsell Australia Pty Ltd, Phillips Fox, CSIRO 2007. 49 Ibid. 50 Thousands may be without power for weeks, The Age February 10th 2009 [online] http://www.theage.com.au/national/thousands‐may‐be‐without‐power‐for‐weeks‐20090209‐82ds.html [accessed May 28th 2009] 51 Victorian Department of Sustainability and the Environment, 2009. Future Coasts, program information available online at http://www.climatechange.vic.gov.au/index.html



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trades training programs to ensure that architects, engineers, designers and the building trades are proficient in meeting new built environment standards and codes.

47. Preparedness for changes of this scale to our built environment will require that the Victoria Government properly engage the community in these processes, prioritizing vulnerable populations or groups, to ensure community understanding and involvement in local or regional resettlement and adaptation planning.

Creating a just transition for communities at greatest risk

While all Victorians will be hit hard by climate change, some communities will be more adversely affected than others.

Some communities, due to their geographic location will be more affected by changed weather patterns and water availability. This is particularly so for communities in Western Victoria, and the state’s north. Other communities like those in the Latrobe Valley, are economically dependent on one or two industries that will be affected by the shift away from polluting and energy‐intensive industries.

The need to support these communities to transition to low carbon economies and to the impacts of climate change is widely recognised. This will be a difficult and emotionally challenging program of change for these communities to engage in. However the situation will only deteriorate if action from government is delayed. Some communities are already beginning these conversations and planning processes including farmers in northern Victoria and unions in the Latrobe Valley.

As workers, businesses, community services and the public will all be impacted, they must be deeply engaged in developing the necessary adjustment strategies for their regions. This will ensure that the knowledge and skills of the communities are used to identify the best policies for their region, and will have the greatest chance of the community taking ownership of changes that will occur.

Coping with a dry future

The Victorian Government has spent over $400 million on drought relief in the last three years. While this money has provided welcome relief for farmers, much of it has been used to support the status quo. The Productivity Commission in its recent review of government drought support suggests that the funding could be better directed towards research, extension and professional advice to assist farmers improve their business management skills and self reliance in the face of climate change.

Some irrigation districts in Victoria are no longer viable and some will not be viable into the future under climate change. Farmers and communities in these areas are struggling financially and emotionally and business as usual is no longer an option. Government needs to help these communities move away from irrigation towards sustainable and viable industries. Structural adjustment packages need to be developed for these regions that provide assistance for alternative industries (e.g. dryland farming, ecosystem service provision or carbon sequestration)



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or exit packages to enable farmers to leave the industry with dignity. Water in areas no longer suitable for irrigation needs to be purchased and provided back to rivers. Areas where irrigation has a long term future should be made as efficient and productive as possible.

In its 2007 Catchment Condition report, the Victorian Catchment Management Council makes strong recommendations for halting and reversing the observed decline in catchment condition. A key recommendation is to ‘develop and increase investment opportunities through market‐based instruments’.

While government investment in the ecoMarkets project is strongly supported, this program needs rapid expansion and further investment to keep up with the rapid rate of decline in catchment condition. In particularly, markets that protect wetlands, land and biodiversity and the water, oxygen and food they provide are required. Government should harness the financial capacity and growing interest of superannuation funds, banks and other investment institutions to increase investment in eco‐markets. For example, government should consider a large scale eco‐market pilot with organisations like VicSuper (Future Farming Landscapes Fund) and MECU (LandBank program).

Eco‐markets not only provide a way to restore damaged ecosystems but offer alternative income for landholders whose land is no longer productive due to global warming, salinity and soil acidification. Eco‐markets offer a way to preserve the social fabric of rural communities. Implementing a large scale ecosystem service market pilot as a means of structural adjustment alongside a targeted water buyback program offers a way to address the negative social impacts of modernization and irrigation reconfiguration (which includes retiring marginal land and a trend towards larger farms and smaller rural communities).

Transitioning from carbon dependent industries

Some Victorian communities are dependent on pollution and energy intensive industries, in particular the Latrobe Valley. Without intervention, these communities will be adversely affected by a shift towards a clean energy and clean technology economy. However, this industrial shift does not have to spell the end of those communities. If handled early and comprehensively by government, these communities can continue to thrive under the new clean economy of the future.

In order to maintain their economic viability and social fabric, communities currently dependent on emissions‐intensive industries should be prioritised for clean industry development opportunities. A 2008 report demonstrated that the Hunter Valley in NSW, Australia’s largest coal producing region, could transition to a hub for renewable energy, providing an additional 14,290 jobs by 202052. Similar opportunities in manufacturing, renewable energy production and other industries could also be created in the Latrobe Valley.

In order for this strategy to be successful, the Victorian Government should immediately seek to develop a comprehensive transition plan for the Latrobe Valley, including new industry opportunities, training, and support for social and community infrastructure that will be affected by

52 Centre of Full Employment and Equity, on behalf of Greenpeace Australia Pacific, 2008. A Just Transition to a Renewable Energy Economy in the Hunter Region, Australia.



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this degree of structural adjustment. This transition plan should be developed in partnership and consultation with the local communities. This plan should then be supported by state investment to develop identified new clean energy industries in the Latrobe Valley.

Unfortunately, under current state government planning there is no ‘Plan B’ for the Latrobe Valley. The eggs are squarely in the one basket of developing Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) in an attempt to prolong the life of the brown‐coal industry in Victoria. CCS has not been proven in the electricity sector, and is unlikely to operate on commercial scale until 2030, if at all. Given that Australia and Victoria will need to make deep cuts in emissions by 2020, waiting on technology that won’t be available until at least 10 years after this time is gambling with the future of people in the Latrobe Valley. Further, a number of the largest coal‐fired power stations currently operating in the Latrobe Valley are becoming increasingly financially unviable in the short‐term. The Victorian Government must move immediately to investigate alternative opportunities for the Latrobe Valley, and to develop a transition strategy that will serve the Valley over the coming decade and into the future.

Actions:

48. The Victorian Government should assist farmers adapt to climate change by redirecting drought relief to developing more sustainable agricultural practice to provide for regional development and renewal. Government assistance should include structural adjustment packages and development of alternative industries for some irrigation areas that are or will become unviable in the face of climate change.

49. The Victorian Government should boost its investment in eco‐markets to restore ecosystems. An essential first step is to create a price for ecosystem services by setting scientifically determined legislated targets for landscape and river restoration. The Victorian Government should seek to harness the investment capacity of the private sector to boost investment in eco‐markets.

50. The Victorian Government should immediately begin work to develop a comprehensive transition plan for the Latrobe Valley. This plan should identify new industry opportunities appropriate for development in the Latrobe Valley, and programs to help industries and workers transition. The plan should also be backed up by government investment to develop and bring to commercial operation those newly identified industries.

51. The Victorian Government should conduct a skills audit of communities in the Latrobe Valley and in northern Victorian irrigation districts and provide retraining and skills development, direct income support, priority access to employment services, and broad support for community services and facilities that may be affected by demographic and social changes as a result of the transition to adapt to climate change. The transition plan and support packages should be developed in partnership and consultation with the local communities.



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Building up our emergency services

Emergency service planning in Victoria incorporates considerable awareness of climate change, making it the arm of government that has done the most to acknowledge the depth of the climate challenges we face53. However, planning for climate change and recent increases in funding are unlikely to fully address service and recovery needs in a high climate change scenario.

Community engagement is an established element of emergency preparedness, seeking to involved community members as active participants in risk management, raising awareness and preparedness, and drawing on local knowledge54. However, with the onset of climate change it is unreasonable to expect that community involvement in emergency planning will happen in isolation of broader, local and regional adaptation planning. Nor is it reasonable for the emergency service agencies to assume an unfair burden of adaptation responsibility – a responsibility more appropriately shared across government.

The emergency preparedness, response and recovery continuum involves a network of non‐government organisations, agencies at all levels of government, the community, and relies significantly on volunteer efforts. The ongoing challenges of maintaining volunteers is rightly acknowledged by emergency service planners55, and has been made obvious through the loss of 900 experienced volunteers from the Victorian Country Fire Authority (CFA) in the months following the February bushfires56. With increased demands due to climate change, volunteer fatigue is likely, requiring greater reliance on a professional response capacity. A larger more highly trained and resourced response and recovery force is also likely due to the more frequent and severe nature of extreme weather events.

Actions:

52. The Victorian Government should ensure emergency response and recovery planning occur in the broader context of local and regional adaptation planning. Further to this, community engagement regarding emergency response should also then occur in the broader context of climate change education, understanding the likely local impacts, and active participation in adaptation risk management.

53. Response and recovery forces will need to be highly trained and professional to compensate for likely volunteer fatigue, and the increased frequency and severity of extreme weather events in the future. The Victorian Government should implement

53 53 For example, Living with fire: Victoria’s bushfire strategy 2008, [online] http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/CA256F310024B628/0/7ADDFA79BA8835C8CA25751C000E9C62/$File/LWF+Strategy+Part+1+.pdf [accessed May 29th 2009] 54 Office of the Emergency Services Commissioner, Information Sheet, Issue 1: Individual involvement [online]http://www.oesc.vic.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/OESC/resources/file/eb9d7f4fd2d74bf/Issue%201%20‐%20Individual%20Involvement.pdf [accessed May 29, 2009] 55 Office of the Emergency Services Commissioner, Information Sheet, Issue 2: Volunteering in emergency management [online] http://www.oesc.vic.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/OESC/resources/file/eb9d804fd2d74c8/Issue%202%20‐%20Volunteering%20in%20Emergency%20Management.pdf [accessed on May 29, 2009] 56 As noted by ABC online in Race against clock to train new recruits for fire season (21 July, 2009) http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/07/21/2631764.htm [accessed on July 21, 2009]



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recommendations by the Royal Commission into the bushfires that seeks to address this issue in relation to dealing with future climate change impacts.

Health and well‐being in the face of climate change

The evidence is clear that climate change presents a clear and present danger to the health and wellbeing of Victorians. Preserving health and wellbeing security should be a major organising priority in a comprehensive Victorian Government adaptation strategy.

Heatwave related deaths have already been witnessed in Victoria, with 374 Victorian deaths attributed to the heatwave in late January 200957. Without adequate planning, the rise in deaths from heatwaves is likely to rise from 1115/year to 2,300‐2,500/year by 2020, and 4,300‐6,300/year by 2050 across Australia’s capital cities, with much of this increase occurring in temperate cities58.

Most heatwave deaths occur in people with previous cardiovascular disease (heart attack and stroke) or chronic respiratory diseases. People living in urban environments are more at risk than those in non‐urban environments. Thermally inefficient housing and the heat island effect (whereby inner urban environments, with high thermal mass and low ventilation, absorb and retain heat) amplify and extend the rise in temperatures, particularly overnight59.

Bushfires are another significant impact of climate change that we have recently experienced in Victoria with devastating consequences for our communities. Fire season length is likely to be extended and higher rates of bush‐fire related deaths, injuries, trauma and social dislocation will be experienced. Bushfire smoke is also likely to play a role in increasing occurrence of asthma60.

Warmer temperatures and increased rainfall variability due to climate change are likely to increase the intensity and frequency of summertime food‐borne and water‐borne diseases. There are likely to be alterations in the geographic range and seasonality of some mosquito‐borne diseases. An increased variability in Ross River virus in temperate and semi‐arid regions and increased risk of dengue fever in both tropical and temperate latitudes is likely.

The mental health impacts of climate change will also be significant. The combination of drought, suicide and severe mental health already experienced in numerous rural Victorian communities suggests that the impact of climate change on the mental health of communities is a

57 Victorian Department of Human Services, Office of the Chief Health Officer, 2009. January 2009 Heatwave in Victoria: an Assessment of Health Impacts. 58 Hennessy, K., B. Fitzharris, B.C. Bates, N. Harvey, S.M. Howden, L. Hughes, J. Salinger and R. Warrick, 2007: Australia and New Zealand. Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, M.L. Parry, O.F. Canziani, J.P. Palutikof, P.J. van der Linden and C.E. Hanson, Eds., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 507‐540 59 McMichael, Woodruff & Hales 2006, Climate change and human health: present and future risks. Lancet [online] http://nceph.anu.edu.au/Staff_Students/Staff_pdf_papers/Rosalie_Woodruff/Lancet_2006.pdf [accessed on 4th May 2007] 60 Victorian Department of Human Services, 2007. Climate change and health: An exploration of challenges for public health in Victoria .



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great risk. The recent Victorian Bushfires are another case‐in‐point. The trauma and mental health impacts associated with extreme weather events and other emergency scenarios caused by climate change are likely to increase61.

Some emergency events can trigger multiple and simultaneous impacts across the community i.e. heatwaves leading to heat‐related deaths, fires, smoke pollution, respiratory illness, power black‐outs, and buckling of railways – again, impacts that were all felt following the 2009 Victorian heatwave. These impacts of climate change as predicted by climate scientists and analysts have been in the pubic domain for years. The Victorian Government must take urgent action to ensure Victoria is well‐prepared for these extreme weather events and to ensure Victorians are better prepared for the seemingly inevitable repeat of many of these scenarios.

However the force of other climate change impacts on the health and wellbeing of our communities are not always so immediately obvious. For example, food production is likely to be reduced over much of southern and eastern Australia, with food supplies possibly needing to be maintained by drawing on currently exported surpluses62. Higher and unstable food prices are likely, and vulnerability to food prices is likely to increase, particularly for disadvantaged community members already experiencing food insecurity.

Further, it is understood that workplace stress increases the risk of disease. The economic impact of climate change will likely contribute to workplace stress as some industries become threatened or totally unviable63.

Actions:

54. The Victorian Government should engage the community and facilitate participation in education about climate change impacts and adaptation planning, prioritising those groups vulnerable to health and wellbeing impacts. These vulnerable groups should be identified, and involved in developing systems and supports to protect them from dangerous climate change. Local government, community, health and environmental organisations should also be engaged and supported to roll out community engagement for this purpose.

55. The Victorian Government should assess health and wellbeing infrastructure and services for ‘climate change readiness’, and climate change will be incorporated into risk management planning in the health and human services sector. The government should build and support workforce training and capacity building in the health and human service system to cope with altered or increased

61 Blashki G, Burke S, Fritze J, Wiseman J, 2008. Hope, despair and transformation: climate change and the promotion of mental health and wellbeing McCaughey Centre University of Melbourne 62 Hennessy, K., B. Fitzharris, B.C. Bates, N. Harvey, S.M. Howden, L. Hughes, J. Salinger and R. Warrick, 2007: Australia and New Zealand. Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, M.L. Parry, O.F. Canziani, J.P. Palutikof, P.J. van der Linden and C.E. Hanson, Eds., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 507‐540. 63 Stern 2006, Stern Review on the economics of climate change [on‐line] http://www.hm‐treasury.gov.uk/independent_reviews/stern_review_economics_climate_change/stern_review_report.cfm [accessed on 2nd May 2007] p. 131.



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requirements. Funding should be provided for research into health and wellbeing impacts, demographic changes and service requirement trends that may alter due to climate change.

56. The Victorian Government should link adaptation planning for the built environment and health and wellbeing to develop and implement measures to abate the heat island effect, ensure transport and service access across the network, and provide security of electricity supply through distributed generation systems.

Engaging communities around climate change and sustainability The scale of change needed to transform our state to a low carbon economy is large. Clearly it can not be achieved without extensive community engagement and leadership.

Resourcing community education and engagement initiatives

While most Victorians are concerned about climate change, there are many who find the issues confusing, particularly with many conflicting views in the popular media. Some want to do something to reduce their climate change impact but do not know where to start, while others who have taken some action need support to keep going. What we do know is that people need ongoing support of different types at different stages of their journey to take action on climate change64 . Community education and engagement programs are widely recognised as being a critical way of doing this65, and they need to be significantly ramped up to ensure the whole Victorian community is active in addressing climate change.

Community education and engagement programs are currently being delivered by many different organisations across Victoria – from environmental groups like Environment Victoria, to community organisations, local governments and schools. There is a growing body of evidence to show the effectiveness of these programs in engaging communities on climate change and other environmental issues, and are successful in engendering long term change towards more sustainable action66.

These programs need to be delivered in many ways to cater for the great diversity of people that call our state home. From newly arrived refugees to our senior citizens, if we want to engage all people and support them to act on climate change, we need to invest in flexible program designs that are targeted to particular learning and engagement needs.

64 J. Fritze, L Williamson and J Wiseman, 2009. Community Engagement and Climate Change: Benefits, Challenges and Strategies, McCaughey Centre, Melbourne University. 65 Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability, 2007. Assessment of Community Education for Sustainability – A Framework. This document clearly states the critical value of community education. 66 For example Environment Victoria’s three year evaluation of it’s landmark Regional Sustainable Living Program, funded through ‘Our Environment, Our Future’ Victorian Government Sustainability Action Statement, has showed significant increase in knowledge and uptake of sustainable behaviours.



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The research clearly shows that information alone is not enough, long term behavioural change and engagement in climate change needs a community based, social learning approach67. Learning and sharing experiences in a social setting also promotes the development of local ideas and actions, and can be empowering for individuals and communities.

While the Victorian Government has in recent years invested in this area, it is well below what is currently needed. We need to significantly ramp up the investment in this area so we can directly engage with many more Victorians around the urgent and critical issue of climate change.

Actions:

57. The Victorian Government should significantly ramp up its investment in community engagement and education around climate change and sustainability.

Supporting the Sector

While a diverse sector has grown to meet this community need, providing valuable community and environmental outcomes, it is still fragmented. There is little co‐ordination with few organisations having the resources to undertake this role. As such we are missing vital opportunities to collaborate and increase our learning – there is a great untapped potential to increase the effectiveness of these programs, and the community and environmental outcomes.

The Victorian Government has provided some support in this area, but more needs to be done. We need resources for a better coordinated and networked sector, capacity building and skills development. A fully supported sector will help create the urgent change we need to address climate change.

Action:

58. The sector that has developed to engage and educate the community around climate change needs support to grow and develop if we are to get all Victorians involved in the change we need. The Victorian Government should ramp up its investment to support organisations that deliver behaviour change and education programs and coordinate activities to ensure maximum benefit and minimum cross‐over.

Strategy and Coordination for Education for Sustainability

At present the Victorian Government, despite recognising the importance of community engagement and education in numerous programs, has no current overarching policy or framework to guide its role or investment. Learning to Live Sustainably was a draft strategy document released

67 S. Maloney and M. Bates, 2008. Behaviour Change – Review of Initiatives, Stage 1 Summary Report, Carbon Neutral Communities, Centre for Design, RMIT.



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in 2005, but four years later has not been finalised. This leaves this sector in a state of flux, with no direction or leadership from the state, or security in investment.

The Victorian Government needs to urgently develop a government wide strategy to outline its commitment to community engagement and education, including a clear direction, support for the sector, funding and investment and a focus on coordination across the various departments and authorities currently funding or delivering programs in this area. This will give greater transparency and clarity to the sector, and provide a strong direction for co‐investment.

Action:

59. The Victorian Government should urgently develop an overarching framework and strategy for community engagement and education for sustainability sector, outlining direction, investment, support and coordination mechanisms.

Providing our natural environment with some breathing space Managing water resources

Victoria’s rivers and wetlands are on the brink, degraded by over‐extraction and exacerbated by a changing climate. In 2008 nine out of 10 Victorian basins in the Murray Darling Basin were found to be in very poor health68. The last assessment of river health in 2004 found only one fifth of major rivers and tributaries in Victoria were in good or excellent condition, and the situation has deteriorated since then. Rivers are bearing a disproportionate burden of drought conditions, threatening the livelihood of towns and communities that depend on their health for their ongoing viability.

The Victorian Government should renew commitment to providing rivers with the environmental flows they need to survive. This will require increased cooperation with the Commonwealth on water buybacks and new resources for structural adjustment for unviable irrigation areas in the face of climate change.

As the steward of Victoria’s rivers and at the same time as being responsible for providing water for consumptive use, the Victorian Government is compromised. During these dry times where water is limited, the environment’s water is often the first to be qualified or taken for consumptive use. There are many examples of this, including:

17 billion litres of promised environmental flows withheld from the Yarra River and a further 10 billion litres taken to avoid Stage 4 restrictions in Melbourne;

68 Murray Darling Basin Commission , 2008. Sustainable Rivers Audit



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Qualification of Rights currently in place in all regulated systems except the Barwon and Macalister Rivers;

Cessation of passing flows in the Moorabool, Campaspe, Loddon and many other rivers

During times of low inflows, the current allocation system reduces environmental flows more than it reduces water for consumptive use69. Rivers and wetlands have very little dedicated environmental water and it is widely recognised that increased environmental water rights are required to meet a minimum level of health for aquatic ecosystems. Taking what little water the environment has is not sustainable, particularly as the globe warms, water availability reduces and rivers are further stressed.

Actions:

60. The Victorian Government should establish an independent body that manages environmental flows, including making decisions as to when environmental flows will and will not be delivered. These decisions need to be made from an independent assessment based on the needs of rivers and wetlands rather than consumers of water.

61. The Victorian Government should establish a fund to begin buyback of water for environmental flows, prioritising in the first instance greatest areas of need.

62. The Victorian Government should remove market barriers to water purchase by other parties, for instance the 4 percent rule for trade out of irrigation districts. The government should also seek to follow up on the positive announcement of new River Red Gum National Parks by accelerating efforts to provide environmental watering to these wetlands and forests.

Natural ecosystems

Victoria is the most cleared state in the Commonwealth and our native species and natural ecosystems are already under severe stress with 44 percent of native plants and 30 percent of native animals already threatened species70. According to Victoria’s 2008 State of the Environment Report, it seems likely that Victoria’s native species and natural ecosystems will experience severe stress as a result of climate change. Many species are at risk because they are restricted in geographical and climatic range. If the capacity of species for evolutionary adaptation is exceeded and opportunities for migration to a more suitable climate are limited, significant species extinctions are likely. Species reliant on ecosystems that are already stressed due to past clearing, fragmentation and modification are especially vulnerable, as are alpine species. This pressure on natural systems is in addition to the ‘extinction debt’ of our activities over the last 170 years.

In addition to the direct threat posed by climate change, human responses to climate change may pose further risks to Victoria’s biodiversity. Examples include expanded biofuel cultivation, monoculture carbon offset plantings, reduced availability of water for the environment and

69 Victorian Government, 2008. State of the Environment Report. 70 CSIRO, 2004. Environmental Sustainability Issues Analysis for Victoria.



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clearing to reduce fire risk and inappropriate fire regimes. Our response to the enormous challenge of climate change must recognise natural ecosystems, both in regard to their vulnerability, and in their role as part of the solution.

We do not have a clear idea of the implications for the vast majority of Victorian plant and animal communities because adequate investigations and modelling have not yet been undertaken. But steps can be taken to improve the ability of ecosystems to withstand the projected changes.

Actions: In addition to previous actions

63. The Victorian Government should undertake a major investigation, including modeling and mapping, in to the likely impacts of climate change on ecological processes, ecosystems and species in Victoria, and recommend strategies to assist adaptation.

64. The Victorian Government should set clear, ambitious and achievable statewide targets for biodiversity and land health. A systematic and long‐term ecological monitoring program should be put in place to monitor progress against the targets.

65. The government should increase its investment by ten fold for the on‐ground work needed to protect, restore and revegetate wildlife habitat across the state.

66. The Victorian Government should develop whole of landscape approaches based on protecting natural heritage and special places, and restoring the ecological processes that maintain biodiversity. This would include:

a. Completing and properly resourcing the management of the protect area system

b. Identifying and protecting climate refugia such as riparian zones

c. Protecting and re‐establishing ecological connectivity across the landscape and the viability of ecosystems through restoration of vegetation, habitats and environmental flows

d. Restoring habitat and maintaining viable populations of species to enable adaptation

e. Dealing with other direct threats from invasive species, development, inappropriate fire regimes, lack of environmental flows, logging and clearing of native vegetation.



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Green Jobs and Green Economy Much of the discussion about climate change has been on the economic costs, both of climate change and of taking action to prevent climate change. However solving climate change will require major economic innovation and renewal, and presents an enormous opportunity for early movers to develop new green industries. Water scarcity, the crisis in biodiversity and inefficient production systems also need innovative new solutions‐based industries and skills.

It is now clear that the choice between economic growth and environmental protection is a false one. We can do both. A green job helps, not hinders our environment. A green job is always in demand because we will always need a safe environment in which to live. Green jobs not only deliver the double dividend of economic stimulus and environmental solutions, they can also deliver the third dimension of social equity and job creation for disadvantaged workers.

However, these jobs won’t just emerge. They need to be identified and supported through deliberate policy measures and economic stimulus packages that create stable growth for green industries, and the workforce training and skills these jobs needs.

Environment Victoria released a report at the Summit Victoria – The Green Jobs State which showed that by targeting government support, much of which is already committed, Victoria could achieve 26,000 new green jobs in five years across just five industries – solar water heating, rail manufacturing, energy and water efficiency in residential buildings, recycling and wind energy manufacturing. It found that while these industries are already significant contributors in terms of employment, economic activity and environmental benefits, there is great scope to expand these industries. These jobs could be created largely through improvements or minor amendments to current regulations, policy and programs. Importantly many of these jobs would suit low or semi‐skilled job seekers, particularly in the fields of energy and water efficiency and recycling.

In April 2009, Environment Victoria and the Brotherhood of St Laurence held a ground‐breaking summit to look at the potential for Victoria to become a world leader in green jobs. The summit drew more than 180 leaders from the state's business, government, union, social sector and environment movement.

The Green Jobs Summit explored a number of pathways to achieving Victoria’s potential for a green jobs future. A number of the recommendations were compiled and delivered in a report of the Summit by The Nous Group on behalf of Environment Victoria and the Brotherhood of St Laurence

The three high level themes that emerged on the day highlighted the need for effective governance of the State’s green jobs agenda, encompassing strategies to encourage the generation of green jobs, enable the supply of suitably trained employees, and ensure all Victorians are able to participate in the shift to a low carbon economy.



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The Victorian Government has signaled interest in the opportunity for new jobs and industries, and has introduced some policies that will spur green jobs growth. However an industry development package that explores and weaves together opportunities across industries is yet to be delivered. Premier Brumby announced in his 2009 Statement of Intent that the Victorian Government would deliver a Green Jobs Plan and a Green Economy Plan by the end of the year in order to stimulate economic and employment growth in new green technologies and clean energy industries. These plans should seize these opportunities and more to begin the transition to a low carbon economy and position Victoria at the forefront of climate change and environment solutions.

Workers need certainty By Brian Boyd, Secretary Victorian Trades Hall Council There are a number of Victorian government initiatives that have trigged a need for green skill development for Victorian workers. Such initiatives include the renewable energy target and the energy efficiency target. Despite this, the growing ‘green’ sector has had a number of false starts. Changing polices and programs at both state and federal levels. This has resulted in an attrition of talent, investment and lost opportunities. To have real reductions in greenhouse gas emissions needs a more concerted, coordinated effort. During this current time of economic instability and growing unemployment, certainty where ever possible to drive skills/ training and future employment is essential. The development of Victoria’s position on climate change is a great opportunity to ensure our workforce can be ready to face the challenges of tomorrow. To enable this to occur, a strong stable policy framework is essential to drive market certainty, private investment and demonstrate a consistent need for skill development to today’s students and workers. The introduction of a gross feed‐in tariff would help deliver stability for investors and workers alike within the growing renewables industry. With the economy starting to turn around the opportunity to introduce such a tariff is timely. To allow Victoria to continue being a leader in this field, substantial new investment, comparable to Victoria’s Transport Plan must be committed by the Victorian Government. These funds in part should be targeted at ensuring the development and delivery of necessary training packages across identified ‘green’ job growth areas. Skill shortages must not be used as an excuse to prevent acting on climate change. We must begin planning and delivering the necessary skills for the growing green economy now.



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Actions: In addition to previous actions

67. The Victorian Government should establish a green jobs council to advise on the green economy and the development of green jobs. The council would advise government on Victoria’s competitive advantages in green jobs and how low carbon and sustainable industries should be supported. The council should also provide advice on pathways for unemployed and disadvantaged job seekers to access the new employment opportunities. The council should be supported by government, industry and unions and engage the community sector.

68. The Victorian Government should develop a green jobs economy plan by mid 2010 that sets out actions and investment to help transition Victoria’s economies and jobs to help reduce greenhouse emissions.

69. The Victorian Government should develop and legislate for social and environmental employment targets to ensure that disadvantaged sections of the community are able to participate in the emerging green jobs markets.

70. The Victorian Government should provide up to date and accurate supply and demand data for green skills and undertake a skills audit for Victoria with a focus on regions and disadvantaged groups. From this government should develop a regional green jobs plan.

71. The Victorian Government should seek to work with industry bodies and associations to include sustainability in their qualification and accreditation requirements, and develop a network/exchange mechanism for training and professional development in green skills.



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Why I’m taking action on climate change

Andrew Bray: Member and volunteer of Ballarat Renewable Energy and Zero Emissions (BREAZE – a local community action group).

After volunteering on an occasional basis for a year or two, I stepped up my involvement at the start of this year so that I'm now volunteering three days a week or so with BREAZE. There are a number of fantastically organised, competent and energetic people in BREAZE and it’s very exciting to be part of the group. I'm concentrating on government engagement and building community awareness of climate change and what people can do about it.

During the summer break I had some time to think a bit more deeply about climate change and who was going to take responsibility for it. I was struck by the urgency of the situation on one hand and the lack of political leadership on the other. If climate change really is 'the greatest moral challenge of our time', as Mr. Rudd says, then why aren't governments all across the country shouting it from the rooftops? And why, for that matter, aren't more people involved in doing something about it? It seemed to me that, with some notable exceptions, the public is pretty hazy on the gravity of the situation and governments don't see it as being in their interests to rectify this.

Talking to people around Ballarat I get a strong sense that they want to know more about climate change and are keen for governments to help them. For instance, I've spoken at schools in Ballarat about climate change and kids really get it. 'If we stop putting pollution into the air, can the earth fix itself?' asked one 11 year old. This young bloke understands something that seems so far to have escaped men and women with far more life experience than him – that the earth can look after itself if we just stop messing it up.

I'd like to be able to say my kids and grandkids that I helped in my own little way to stop us messing up the planet – and that it worked!



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Appendix 1: Turning it around: climate solutions for Victoria : The impact of all modeled actions on Victoria’s annual emissions

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

160,00019

90

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

2012

2014

2016

2018

2020

2022

2024

2026

2028

2030

SPC wedge

Overhaul of new and existing building stock

Lighting (commercial)

Industrial energy efficiency

On-site and off-site reneables for theresidential sectorEquipment efficiency improvement incommercial and residential sectorNew gas

Renewable Energy

Cogeneration

Waste to energy

Coal drying

CCS

Travel demand management

Mode shift away from private transport

Increased vehicle occupancy

Improved fuel efficiency

Livestock efficiency

Soil management

Accelerate afforestation -- new harvestableplantationsAccelerate afforestation -- revegetation

Cement extenders and/or geopolymer cements

Avoiding landfill

Total Baseline less wedges



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This submission to the Victorian Government Climate Change Green Paper is endorsed by:

Ararat Greenhouse Action Group Maroondah Climate Change Action

Ballarat Renewable Energy and Zero Emissions (BREAZE) Mooney Valley Climate Action

Bendigo Sustainability Group Mt Alexander Sustainability Group

Blackburn District Tree Preservation Society Otway Ranges Climate Action (ORCA)

Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance Portland Sustainability Group

Chelsea Heights EarthCarers Southern Otway Landcare Network

Climate Action Moreland Surf Coast Energy Group

Communities Combating Climate Crisis (C4) Healesville Sustainability in Stonnington

Dandenong Ranges Renewable Energy Association Trentham Sustainability Group

Families Facing Climate Change (Ashburton) Victorian Climate Action Centre

Field Naturalists Club of Ballarat Victorian Cool Climate Action Group (St. Kilda)

Future Makers Hamilton Warrnambool Environment Action Group

Healesville Environment Watch Inc. Wodonga and Albury Towards Climate Health (WATCH)

Locals Into Victoria’s Environment (LIVE) Yarra Climate Action Now

Lighter Footprints (Boroondara climate action group) Yarra Valley Climate Action Group

Environment Victoria thanks the following individuals and organisations for their contribution and/or input to this submission:

Professor David Karoly Alternative Technology Association Victorian Trades Hall Council

Professor Peter Christoff Environmental Defenders Office Environment Victoria’s 120 member groups

Mr. David Spratt Victorian Council of Social Service Victoria’s 40 community Climate Action Groups

Mr. Andrew Bray, BREAZE Victorian National Parks Association

Phone: (03) 9341 8100

Fax: (03) 9341 8199

PO Box 12575

A’Beckett Street, Victoria, 8006

www.environmentvictoria.org.au

Documents

The people's climate White Paper