Australia leads way on climate change

The Federal Member for
Nicholls, Damian Drum.

The News is running a continuing series of interviews with community leaders about their views on climate change.

We asked four questions:

1: What is your position on global warming and climate change?

2: Are we doing enough to mitigate the impact of climate change in the region?

3: Do community and business leaders have a role in advocating for more action, and positioning our region to take advantage of emerging opportunities?

4: What is your number one priority to help mitigate the impacts of climate change? 

Today we feature the responses of Federal Member for Nicholls Damian Drum.

What is your position on global warming and climate change?

I defer to the scientists who have accepted that human behaviour is having an impact on our changing climate. I also accept that there are many scientists who believe that there are other factors at play in our changing climate in addition to human activity.

Are we doing enough to mitigate the impact of climate change in the region?

Australia is leading the way among all other countries in the world by a considerable margin in relation to renewable energy, particularly rooftop solar energy panels. According to a recent paper by Australian National University, Australia’s current per capita renewables deployment rate leads the world at 250 watts per person per year, ahead of Uruguay in second at 125 watts, and Germany in third at 100 watts.

Australia currently contributes approximately 1.3 per cent of global emissions.

The 2030 Paris Agreement target we are working towards will see our per capita emissions decrease by more than 50 per cent, and at present we estimate we are five years ahead of these targets.

Our reduction over this time, combined with changes from other countries, is expected to decrease our global contribution to approximately 0.7 per cent by 2030.

We have signed, ratified, and maintained our commitment to the Paris Agreement, unlike many of the ‘dirty’ polluting countries including Iran and Turkey, or the United States of America who will officially withdraw from the agreement altogether in November 2020.

These facts continually get ignored by those who are trying to push a narrative that Australia is not doing enough.

It is also important to remember that mitigating the impact of climate change comes at a cost.

I firmly believe that we not only have a responsibility to move Australia towards a renewable energy future, but also to provide our families and businesses with access to low-cost and reliable energy.

Do community and business leaders have a role in advocating for more action?

The role of community and business leaders is to ensure that this transition towards even more renewable energy takes place in a manner that doesn’t devastate family and business budgets.

Our electricity and gas costs, both at a domestic and commercial/industrial level, have already risen significantly as we transition away from fossil fuels towards renewable energy.

We need to be mindful that it is often the poorest families in our communities who often live in the least energy-efficient homes. Our community and business leaders also have a role in advocating for the truth to find its way to the mainstream media.

What is your number one priority to help mitigate impacts of climate change?

My number one priority is to continue to push the fact that Australia is leading the way in mitigating the impacts of climate change. However, if we all accept that our environment is drier, and that the climate is changing, then we also need to accept that we can’t apply the same rules and regulations that we’ve had in the past to this new drier environment.

At this stage, the biggest effects of climate change are being felt in agriculture. If we are going to receive less rainfall into the future, we can’t continue to have the agricultural sector carry all the cost of having less water. As it stands, we have taken too much water from agriculture in our endeavours to create a healthier river system, and we need to correct this situation to have the environment share in the compromise required by a future with less water.

We also need to accept that we have a role to play in reducing fuel loads in our forests and on our roadsides. We need to give our departments greater flexibility to carry out fuel reduction burns, and allow people an ability to clear more than just 10 m away from their house on their own land if necessary to reduce their fire risk.

I FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT WE NOT ONLY HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO MOVE AUSTRALIA TOWARDS A RENEWABLE ENERGY FUTURE, BUT ALSO TO PROVIDE OUR FAMILIES AND BUSINESSES WITH ACCESS TO LOW-COST AND RELIABLE ENERGY. — DAMIAN DRUM

Story from The Shepparton News -  “Australia leads way on climate change.”

More needs to be done

During the next few weeks, The News will run a series of interviews with community leaders about their views on climate change.

We need to act fast: Greater Shepparton City Council chief executive
Peter Harriott with one of council’s two new electric cars — the Nissan Leaf.

We asked four questions:

1: What is your position on global warming and climate change?

2: Are we doing enough to mitigate the impact of climate change in the region?

3: Do community and business leaders have a role in advocating for more action, and positioning our region to take advantage of emerging opportunities? 

4: What is your Number One priority to help mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Today we feature the responses of Greater Shepparton City Council chief executive Peter Harriott.

Position on global warming and climate change: I would firstly like to point out that these are my personal views not necessarily those of the council.

The evidence has been with us for many years, the International Panel on Climate Change reports are the appropriate reference source for the scientific facts and they indicate that by 2050 the Earth’s temperature is on track to increase by at least 1.5 degrees and that rising sea levels will have major impacts on our coastal regions and urban port cities.

Recent reports indicate that our mitigation measures are not providing the turnaround required and that the temperature increases could be higher if we do not take significant action.

The Pope's Encyclical, ‘‘On Care of our Common Home’’ accepts the IPCC science and calls for ‘‘swift and unified global action’’ and also calls upon us to take care of mother earth in general.

Proposed mitigation measures for global warming and climate change are all measures that have an ability to utilise modern technology, provide positive economic activity, promote research and provide for a healthier planet and lifestyle. Many still seem wedded to ideological and political positions that don’t relate to where smart entrepreneurs are already taking us and making the economics of climate friendly solutions work.

Are we doing enough? No. Much more needs to be done and quicker. Often it is said ‘‘hold the role sustainable energy sources’’ because we do not have the network capability to handle this new form of energy.

When we transformed from horse and cart to the automobile Henry Ford didn’t wait or have much interest in traffic lights or road construction.

Others developed expertise in these aspects of modern transport and rapidly found the solutions.

The solutions for sustainable network connections are known and being rolled out already.

It seems the leadership for change to a better way of life is varied. South Australia has lead the way, the ACT has set zero-emission targets and the Victorian Government has ambitious sustainable energy targets.

The Federal Government is funding environmental issues including pumped hydro.

Local government is transitioning to 100 per cent sustainable power and most councils in Victoria will reach this target when existing contracts run out over the next couple of years.

This will mean that local government will not be using coal-fired power in the very short term.

And why will this be the case, it’s good for the environment and a cheaper whole-of-life source of power.

At Greater Shepparton among a range of actions we have just purchased two 100 per cent electric vehicles, which are charged from the power generated by our roof-top solar panels.

We aim to convert our whole vehicle fleet within three years.

This represents 20 per cent of our emissions and will see a significant reduction in fossil fuel purchases.

Do community and business leaders have a role in advocating for more action? Yes they do and they are already advocating in their actions.

Several businesses in Greater Shepparton have taken up Environmental Upgrade Agreements, which is a means of funding sustainable energy installations to assist in providing greater reliability into their power source and also reducing their energy costs, which are the major cost components for a lot of our local businesses.

Council has partnered with GV Community Energy to do a largescale solar development at the GV Link site and this is an example of community-driven action, which others are learning from and following.

Community in the form of youth are obviously active in advocating for more action and in this regard I encourage anyone to go to the sheppartonstatement.com site and observe what the youth of Greater Shepparton are saying in relation to climate change. Things like ‘‘it’s time to act’’, ‘‘we cannot wait’’.

These comments come from those who will lead our community in the future and those who have to live and deal with the climate of the future and should be listened to.

Number one priority to mitigate

climate change: I refer to a recent Harvard Kennedy school publication Our one Earth where six experts in climate and energy answered a similar question.

The answers were, immediate and deep cuts to CO2 emissions, carbon pricing, assistance for developing countries, science-based policy, improved funding for research and education, rapid transition to solar energy transport systems. From these I would say carbon pricing as most economists will say that this is the most effective and cost efficient means of funding climate action.

The reality is of course that this does not win elections for some reason and therefore the major political parties are not willing to go down this path at the moment.

The usual argument is that this will price our industry out of business if it is not introduced across the world. I look at it differently and note that banks will soon not lend unless businesses or development proposals have sound environmental practices and insurance companies will not provide cover unless developments relate to and understand the environment, this is particularly so for coastal development.

If we were to take a lead in carbon pricing and drive innovation the world would observe and want to learn from us and invest in our carbon free ways. Therefore if carbon pricing is too hard the practical number one priority is for individuals to take action, for the youth to take action, for families to take action, for businesses and local government to take action and have a ground-up push for change that ignores the policy vacuum that exists at some levels at the moment.

Story from The Shepparton News - ‘More needs to be done’.

Shepparton's hottest October start on record

Darren Linton writes on the front page of today’s Shepparton News, in a story headed “Hot times ahead”, about what is an obvious sign of how climate change is beginning to truly make its presence felt in the Goulburn Valley.

S

hepparton is facing its hottest start to October on record with four consecutive days over 30°C.

The Goulburn Valley Football League grand final on Sunday will be played in a scorching 32°C, the hottest since September 27, 1987, when Shepparton United defeated Echuca in the same conditions.

The warm temperatures will be a test for the players as well as the fans packed into Deakin Reserve.

Unusually warm temperatures and the lack of rainfall in September is also hitting farmers, with some grain growers considering cutting their crops as hay.

Bureau of Meteorology records dating back to 1965 don’t record four days above 30°C in the first two weeks of October.

The current forecast for 30°C on AFL Grand Final Day, 32°C on Sunday, a peak of 35°C on Monday and a fourth 30°C plus day on Tuesday would set a net benchmark.

Shepparton’s rainfall for September was well below average as the region experienced warmer than usual temperatures.

The rainfall total for the month  was just 15.4mm, only 28 per cent of the long term average of 54.8mm and less than half of the average from 1986 to 2014 (37.2mm) which included a severe drought.

While the average overnight temperature of 4.7°C was only slightly above the norm for September, the daytime average of 18.6°C was 1.6°C above the long-term average.

The highest temperature for the month was 26.5°C on September 14.

Warmer weather is set to continue during the longer term with the bureau confirming that the tropical Pacific Ocean and atmosphere are reinforcing each other, maintaining a strong El Niño that is likely to persist into early 2016.

Tropical Pacific Ocean surface temperatures are more than 2°C above average, exceeding El Niño thresholds by well over 1°C, and at levels not seen sin 1997-98,

Yes, things are about to change - it's heating up

Things are about to change.

The world endured record-breaking heat in the year just ended and January, at least here in Victoria, has been rather mild, but that is about to change.

The Melbourne Age warns its readers that it is all about to warm up.

And today’s Shepparton News, the Goulburn Valley’s daily newspaper, it was reported that people there are in for four days of forty degrees Celsius. However, because of how these things are calculated, the days will only be hot, but not constitute a heatwave.

The Age story, headed: “Here comes the sun: mild Melbourne set to heat up” said it is expected that Wednesday will be the last mild day for at least a week, with an extended run of days in the 30s just around the corner.

Support for fellow Wisteria member

Beneath the Wisteria supporter, Robyn Lipshut, has leapt to the support of fellow member Bill Brown in that she has written to the Shepparton News articulating the failings in a letter by Shepparton’s Keppel Turnour critical of Bill’s views.

Robyn, of Tatura, wrote:

“Thanks to Keppel Turnour “Great times ahead” (letter to The Shepparton News, 2/2/13 for reassuring us that all is well with the world and that some un discovered technological advancement, at some future time, will save us from global warming, overuse of resources, overpopulation, environmental degradation, decreasing bio diversity, poor distribution and use of food etc etc.

It seems that it is easy to hope that we can leave it to chance but maybe we all need to become more informed of how the world has to act, individual countries have to act, communities have to act and individuals have to act. It is not a competition to see who starts first and does more or less. It is lovely to look at the world through rose colored glasses but we have to be circumspect enough to take the predictions and data seriously. The issue is not just climate change as such, but of global warming and the impacts of that. It is all interconnected with human occupation and manipulation of the environment over the last couple of centuries and an Industrial age that has changed the planet forever.”