2021-11-05
The ACT Government has signed onto the Global Coal to Clean Power Transition statement, reaffirming its commitment to accelerate a transition away from coal power generation.
The statement, launched at the UN Conference of Parties (COP) climate summit today, was developed by the Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA) which the ACT Government is a member of. The statement was led by the UK Government as the COP Presidency and one of the PPCA co-chairs.
The ACT is the only Australian state or territory to sign the statement.
The statement commits to the following actions to drive this global transition forward:
- To rapidly scale up our deployment of clean power generation and energy efficiency measures;
- To rapidly scale up technologies and policies in this decade to achieve a transition away from unabated coal power generation in the 2040s globally;
- To cease issuance of new permits for new unabated coal-fired power generation projects, cease new construction of unabated coal-fired power generation projects and to end new direct government support for unabated international coal-fired power generation;
- To strengthen our domestic and international efforts to provide a robust framework of financial, technical, and social support to affected workers, sectors and communities to make a just and inclusive transition away from unabated coal power.
The ACT Government has notified the Department of Foreign Affairs of this commitment in accordance with the Commonwealth’s Foreign Arrangements Scheme.
The following can be attributed to Chief Minister and Minister for Climate Action, Andrew Barr:
“The ACT Government recognises that climate change poses a real and immediate threat to our city, our country, and the world. That is why we are committed to taking real action on climate change and has reached significant achievements to date.
“The ACT Government is already investing in jobs to support a clean energy future, build our capacity and support continued growth in the renewable energy sector.
“We remain committed to phasing out fossil-fuel-gas, supporting energy grid stability, supporting all households to reduce their footprint and reforming the ACT’s building and planning systems to transition to environmentally sustainable and climate-ready buildings.
“While our work demonstrates significant progress to reduce emissions, we know we cannot manage the impacts of climate change alone. Only with national commitment, strong collaboration and participation across government, industry, research institutes and the community will we see the capacity to reduce emissions align with global climate goals.”
The following can be attributed to Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction, Shane Rattenbury:
“This statement shows the many cities, states and countries around the world are willing to do what it takes to keep global warming to below 1.5 degrees. This gives me great hope as we face the challenges of the coming decade. It is a shame that the Federal Government has not committed to this Statement, because if Australia is to be serious with climate action, we need them to sign and honour this statement.
“All the evidence tells us that we have only a limited window to solve the climate crisis. We must leave coal and gas in the ground and power our economies with zero emissions, renewable energy. Keeping global warming to below 1.5 degrees means moving beyond the polluting fossil fuel era and shifting to a zero emissions future.
“About one third of the coal mined in Australia is used domestically — overwhelmingly for power generation, while the other two-thirds are exported to other countries.
“The fact that the Federal Minister for Emissions Reduction has headed to Glasgow and is promoting Australia as a reliable destination for investment in fossil fuels is making a mockery of climate action and the COP26 summit in Glasgow.
“In my role as ACT Energy Minister, I will continue to adamantly oppose any fossil fuel subsidies or plans that extends the life of polluting coal and gas-fired power stations.”