CLEAN SA Positions Statement
as at 18/11/09
The Climate Emergency Action
Network of SA (CLEAN SA) recognises that:
(a)
The world now faces a climate emergency which
requires urgent action to prevent humanity and the
biosphere from
suffering
the
catastrophic effects of dangerous climate change
over the next few decades.
(b)
The
climate emergency has been very largely caused by
the excessive use of fossil fuels for the production
and consumption of goods and services in the world’s
materially wealthy and industrialised nations.
(c)
As the
wealthy nations of the world have very largely
caused the climate emergency and have unfairly
exploited many of the poorest nations’ people and
natural resources, the wealthy nations owe a very
substantial duty to compensate materially poorer
nations by providing them with financial aid to
develop green energy infrastructure and to enable
them to raise their standards of living to
reasonable levels.
(d)
Wealthy nations, due to their privilege and economic
power, must play a leading role in mitigating
climate change and be willing to make much more
substantial cuts in their greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions, in absolute and relative terms, than
poorer nations.
(e)
In dealing with the climate emergency, all solutions
to the emergency must be based on the principles of
both ecological sustainability and social and
economic justice between all nations and between
individuals within nations.
(f)
Using
the nuclear fuel cycle for generating electricity
from nuclear power plants is highly-expensive and
dangerous, when the costs and risks of: mining and
enriching uranium, plant security, meltdowns,
radiation leaks, waste management, plant
decommissioning and nuclear weapons proliferation
are all taken into account.
CLEAN SA has
the following goals:
(1)
To promote urgent community and government action to
return our Earth to a safe climate zone, i.e. where
the concentration of carbon dioxide in the Earth's
atmosphere is stabilised at a level below 350 parts
per million.
(2)
To help educate the public and politicians,
especially South Australians, about the need to
recognise that we have a climate emergency caused by
anthropogenic global warming and that action
urgently needs to be taken to prevent catastrophic
climate change.
CLEAN supports the following specific measures:
(1)
The
expeditious production of an equitable,
science-based, legally-binding and comprehensive
agreement by all nations, under the auspices of the
United Nations Framework Convention for Climate
Change (UNFCCC), to urgently reduce global GHG
emissions to a level which will return our planet to
a sustainable and safe climate zone.
(2)
The goal of 100% renewable energy infrastructure for
the generation of electricity for powering the
Australian national grid and as much transport as
possible by 2020.
(3)
A green energy transition scheme, which, among other
things, requires the Government to:
(a)
rapidly develop and commit to a plan to replace all
of Australia's large-scale GHG-emitting electricity
generators with ecologically-sustainable and
renewable (green energy) electricity generators;
(b)
facilitate and invest in the rapid growth of green
energy infrastructure industries for the
construction of energy harvesting, storage,
distribution, management and related infrastructure;
(c)
fund the development of publicly-owned green energy
infrastructure by: interest-free loans to relevant
public utilities; the abolition of all subsidies and
tax breaks for carbon-based fuel production; and the
reduction in public expenditure on lesser
priorities, such as new freeways and
locally-produced military hardware.
(d)
Implement an effective carbon pricing mechanism,
such as the Carbon Tax with 100% Dividend scheme, to
encourage the development of green energy sources
and the equitable distribution of the revenue
collected from the carbon price paid.
(4)
Opposition to the Rudd Government’s Carbon Pollution
Reduction Scheme (CPRS) and any type of Emissions
Trading Scheme (ETS) unless the ETS to be
implemented can be clearly shown to be effective in
reducing GHG emissions to the levels required for a
safe climate and is socially and economically just
to all people.
(5)
The goal of a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions
for wealthy nations of at least 60% below 1990
levels by 2020 and zero emissions by 2040 with
complimentary and substantial cuts by poorer
nations, or whatever trajectory of GHG emissions
reductions is required, to ensure a climatically
safe return to an atmospheric concentration of CO2
that stabilises at a level below 350 parts per
million.
(6)
The Federal Government implementing a loans scheme
to make the installation of local green energy
systems financially and administratively feasible
for households and small businesses.
(7)
All workers in the fossil fuel industries are
provided the opportunity for retraining on fair pay
for suitable alternative employment in ecologically
sustainable industries.
(8)
All commercial manufacturers of machines that use
electricity or combust carbon-based fuels are
required to incorporate minimum regulated energy
efficiency standards, which are consistent with
world's best practice for energy efficiency, in the
design and manufacture of those machines.
(9)
All new commercial, industrial, retail and
residential buildings are required to be built to a
high level of energy efficiency, in accord with
world's best practice for energy efficient or green
buildings.
(10)
An
immediate ban on the destruction of old growth
forests, including unsustainable tree-felling and
deforestation.
(11)
The
inclusion of forestry and land use change in a
general emissions reduction program, so that logging
and land clearing incur full carbon charges and the
long term accumulation of biological carbon stores
generate carbon payments.
(12)
As part
of a general emissions reduction program, CLEAN
calls for adequate funding of research programs,
appropriate incentives and broad consultation aimed
at creating a rural sector which:
·
Maximises the potential for carbon sequestration
through on-farm forestry and improved soil
management;
·
Reduces the use of fossil-based fertilisers through
organic farming methods; and
·
Minimises emissions of enteric methane through the
inoculation, nutrition management, breeding, or
substitution of ruminant livestock and the control
of feral ruminant animals.
(13) A ban on nuclear power plants for
electricity generation or for any kind of energy
generation; the closure of all uranium mines and
uranium enrichment facilities; and opposition to the
existence of the nuclear industry.
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