Emissions cut but causes remain



Friday 16 September 2011

Emissions cut but causes remain

Queensland had made the biggest annual cut to greenhouse gas emissions of any state according to a new report published by the State Government.

State Member for Cook, Jason O'Brien, welcomed the report. “This report shows that Queensland is leading the nation when it comes to cutting greenhouse gas emissions,” Mr O'Brien said.

“Since 2008, we’ve managed to make the biggest cuts to emissions of any state or territory both in absolute and per capita terms.

“The report also shows our total emissions have actually declined by about nine million tonnes from 2008 to 2009, and remain below our 1990 level.

“That’s despite Australia’s absolute emissions increasing by 2.7 per cent between 1990 and 2009."

The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) agreed that the State's emissions were below 1990 levels, however qualified the statement by saying that the banning of land clearing in the last decade was the reason for result.

"The only way Australia could meet our Kyoto protocol commitments on an international scale was because Queensland stopped land clearing," said ACF Climate Change Campaigner, Claire Maries.

"So if you include land clearing then your emissions are quite low compared to 1990 levels. However, aside from land clearing all the emissions are still going up.

"Stopping land clearing was a fantastic thing to do, but it's a one-off win. You can't stop land clearing twice.

"Unless you're stemming the causes of emissions growth you've still got problems on your hands," she said.

Mr O'Brien said one way Cook residents could help cut emissions and save money was the ClimateSmart Home Service.

“The ClimateSmart Home Service is a great success story – helping hundreds of thousands of householders to reduce their energy use and their power bills,” Mr O'Brien said.

“That’s why we invested $34.5 million in this year’s budget to help even more householders to become ClimateSmart."

Under the ClimateSmart service, Cook householders who sign up for the service will be able to save up to $480 each year and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 2.5 tonnes.

“These savings are possible thanks to a range of power saving devices including a remote controlled standby power eliminator that allows appliances to be completely switched off when they are on standby," Mr O'Brien said.

To book a $50 ClimateSmart Home Service, call 133 600 or register online at www.climatesmarthome.com.