Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I begin by commending the member for La Trobe for bringing this matter to the House. Our climate is indeed changing. The past summer was the hottest on record. As scientists have been predicting for some time, we will see more frequent and more severe bushfires, floods, cyclones and tornadoes. It is now very clear that extreme weather events are becoming all too frequent all around the world, causing loss of life and property, loss of productivity and loss of biodiversity and the natural environment.

When we look at the causes of these extreme weather events one has only to look at the work of John Cook and his colleagues from the University of Queensland. They examined over 12,000 peer-reviewed climate science articles published between 1991 and 2011. That is over a 20-year period. Their conclusion—and that is the conclusion of over 97 per cent of the articles they peer reviewed—was the view that climate change is being caused largely by human activity. Their study was in fact supported by other similar studies carried out by other scientists.

The overwhelming number of climate scientists around the world are in agreement that climate change is real and serious, that humans are contributing to it and that if we change our behaviour it will make a difference. I cannot, and will not, ignore the very clear scientific opinion on this matter. Scientific opinion is that rising carbon dioxide levels and greenhouse gas levels are contributing to global warming and changing our climate. It seems that both sides of this House—in fact, all members of this House, I understand—acknowledge that. That is why both sides of this House support a 20 per cent renewable energy target by 2020.

What can we do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in this country and across the world? The first thing we need to do is to reduce our use of fossil fuels for the generation of electricity, bearing in mind that electricity generation accounts for about 35 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions in this country and in most parts of the world. The reality is that we do have choices. We have choices such as hydro-electric power, geothermal power, solar energy and wind energy. The reality is also that those forms of energy are being used and they are making a difference.

Under Labor, over one million solar panels have been installed around the country and wind generation has trebled. The result is that we have seen a reduction in emissions from the National Electricity Market, now down by 7.4 per cent. And at the seven most highly-polluting power stations, emissions are down by 14 per cent. In addition, the renewable energy industry today employs over 24,000 people. So those people who also talk the renewable energy industry down on the basis that jobs will be lost in other sectors need to take a good hard look at the fact that some 24,000 people are today employed in the renewable energy industry.

Concerns have been raised with respect to the health effects of wind generators and wind electricity generation throughout Australia and perhaps around the world—effects such as noise, vibrations, appearance and injuries to birdlife in particular. I do not dismiss those concerns, and I acknowledge that they need to be addressed. But what I make very clear is that by contrast with the health, environmental and climate change risks associated with fossil fuel burning, the risks associated with wind energy pale into insignificance. If we look at some of the health effects alone with respect to the burning of fossil fuels in this country, there are health effects that affect the nervous system, the cardiovascular system and the respiratory system and that have now been found in many parts of the world. There is no question about them, and it is undeniable that the health effects associated with the alternative to wind energy, which is fossil fuel burning, are much higher than those associated with wind energy. I was pleased to hear that the member for Tangney referred to the state of South Australia which, in fact, is the state with the highest use of wind energy across the country. I think it is a commendable achievement. It is one that I am proud of and one that I know that the South Australian government has implemented through careful regulations and the use of the EPA (Time expired)

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