Climate Change Green Paper
Part 6 - A shared responsibility
Green Paper part 6 - A shared responsibility (Printable version PDF - 579 KB)
We all share a responsibility to take action to respond to climate change
6.1 Communities and climate change
6.2 Government leading the way
6.3 Making decisions in a time of climate change
Our climate change goals
Three of the Government’s proposed long-term goals are relevant to sharing the responsibility for responding to climate change across Victoria:
Goal 8 - Work in partnership with Victorians to provide the knowledge and information needed to respond effectively to climate change
Goal 9 - Help to ensure vulnerable communities are not further disadvantaged as a result of climate change
Goal 10 - Take action to reduce emissions across government operations and ensure that climate change is considered in all government decision making
Responding successfully to climate change is a shared community responsibility. As the impacts of climate change become apparent, all Victorians will need to make some changes in our lives to reduce emissions, conserve resources and manage our exposure to climate change risks.
For many of us, this will involve making signi. cant changes in the way we do things on a daily basis. Some people, groups and communities will experience more hardship than others in making these changes and will need help to deal with the impacts of climate change.
We all share a responsibility to take action to respond to climate change: individuals, households, businesses, industries, communities and governments.
For most of us, this will mean making changes - some large, some small - in our daily lives. Many of these changes will involve personal choices, decisions and lifestyle changes as we weigh-up the costs and benefits of taking, or not taking, action. In most instances, households and businesses are best placed to make these decisions for themselves, with governments providing support by giving people current, accurate information and advice.
However, the broader impacts of climate change - and the need to meet statewide and national goals - mean that governments must lead the way in many areas, actively promoting and supporting community responses to climate change, as well as encouraging more widespread changes in behaviour and attitudes. Across Australia, the Commonwealth Government, State and Territory Governments, and Local Government will need to work together, cooperating to ensure that policies and programs are effective and well-targeted.
Partnerships between the Victorian Government, local councils and community groups will also be essential in strengthening the resilience of communities in the face of climate change and encouraging local action to maintain community liveability as the impacts of climate change become more apparent.
Governments will also need to change their own practices and operations, leading by example in reducing emissions from public services and facilities such as schools and hospitals and becoming ‘first movers’ in using new technologies and adopting new ideas.
Sharing the responsibility: things we can all do
The Victorian Government's consultations on climate change show that most Victorians are keen to play their part in tackling climate change. However, many people see climate change as a daunting global problem which they have no control and they are confused about what they can do as individuals.
There are many things we can do in our homes and workplaces to reduce the impacts of climate change. Some of these things are relatively eas; others will require major changes in lifestyles and habits. Depending upon our circumstances, most of us can take at least one or two of these actions to reduce the risks, impacts and costs of climate change in our lives, while making a contribution to national and international efforts to address climate change.
- Change our travel habits - consider using public transport more often (especially for commuting to work or going to and from school), walking or cycling for shorter trips, using car pools or combining trips to reduce the number of car journeys we make each week.
- Change our car ownership habits - consider purchasing a more fuel efficient car or think about whether a smaller car would suit your daily needs
- Change our energy use habits - consider upgrading to more energy efficient appliances, replacing ineffecient light globes, installing low emissions hot water systems or simply thinking more carefull about our use of energy (such as turing off appliances when not in use, using air conditioners less often and drying clothes outside
- Change our water consumption habits - consider buying and using water saving devices, intstalling a rainwater tank or thinking how we use water (such as reducing the time we spend in the shower or washing clothes only when we have a full load)
- Change wasteful consumption - consider refusing expensive packaging, purchasing more fresh food and less pre-packaged food, eating more local produce, reducing our use of plastic bags, repairing appliances and furniture rather than replacing them, buying second secondhand goods and recycling as much material as we can
- Change our approach to the natural environment - consider the eefects of our actions on natural ecosystems, such as not littering our beaches and riverbanks, planting more trees on our properties or joining a LandCare or Coastcare group
- Contibute to changes in our local community - consider shopping locally more often, getting involved in community activities such as tree planting or setting up neighbourhood alternate energy schemes or participating in local programs designed to reduce car use (such as school 'walking buses')
- Adapt to the risk of climate change - consider adapting our homes to protect them from the impacts of climate change such as the increasing risk of bushfires or floods, purchasing insurance to protect against catastrophic events, and gathering information on climate change that might directly affect our lifestyles.
6.1 Communities and climate change
All communities across Victoria will be affected by climate change - although some communities will face more dramatic and damaging consequences than others.
Developing the capacity of communities to become more resilient, maintain their liveability and secure their economic futures in the face of climate change will take action by governments, households, businesses and community groups. These actions may range from making relatively small changes in our daily lives (such as walking to our local shops instead of driving) through to large scale community activities (such as developing new emergency plans or building new infrastructure to prepare for rising sea levels or the higher risk of bushfires).
What we need to do
In helping communities to respond to the challenges of climate change and the introduction of the national emissions trading scheme, the Victorian Government intends to work in partnership with local councils and community groups to deliver programs that will assist Victorians to adapt and adjust to the changes ahead. In particular, the Government intends to deliver information and education programs that support changes in lifestyle and build the capacity and resilience of Victorian communities.
The Government proposes to focus its efforts through the Climate Change White Paper on:
- Helping people and communities to reduce their energy use, access renewable energy, save money and make the most of new opportunities
- Strengthening the resilience of Victorian communities to meet the challenges of climate change and enhancing people’s capacity to contribute to the ongoing liveability of their local communities.
Our Focus - Helping people to change their behaviour
For many of us, the uncertainty and complexity surrounding climate change can make it dif. cult to work out the personal and household options that are available to reduce our contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, adjust to the introduction of a carbon price and adapt to the impacts of climate change. However, it is clear that changing our current patterns of consumption could prove vitally important for Victoria in addressing climate change.
As the impacts of climate change become more evident, we will need access to current, accurate and relevant information to enable us to make decisions about changing our behaviour and taking action as members of our neighbourhoods and communities.
The Victorian Government already provides a number of information and education programs to help Victorians to adapt to climate change. Programs such as the Black Balloons Campaign, GreenHome, and our EcoLiving Centres offer hands-on sustainability advice to households and provide the support to design, deliver and evaluate behaviour change initiatives. However, as the demand for information about climate change grows, the Government may need to expand investment in information, education, community engagement and behaviour change initiatives and place an even greater emphasis on making sure that information is locally relevant, practical and easily accessed.
The Government also believes that action by communities is a powerful tool in promoting behaviour change and that communities across Victoria should be encouraged to design and deliver groundbreaking climate change projects that will generate significant and lasting benefits.
Our Focus - Building resilient communities
‘Community resilience’ refers to a community’s ability to cope with change over time and how well it responds to and recovers from emergencies. The Victorian Government has a clear role in working with local government and communities to increase their resilience to climate change and carbon pricing. The Government can assist by:
- Supporting research and the sharing of information, tools and models
- Encouraging community innovation
- Providing knowledge and resources to support local expertise
- Identifying gaps, barriers and priority areas for action
- Supporting local networks
- Investing in community infrastructure
- Acting as a coordination point, offering information and support to leverage government and other investment, and providing existing service delivery mechanisms that can be used by the Commonwealth Government and local agencies.
What we’ve already done
The Victorian Government already operates a range of programs to help Victorian communities to meet climate change challenges, including:
- The highly successful Black Balloons Campaign that aims to give Victorians an understanding of how their activities at home are linked to emissions and climate change
- Programs such as GreenHome, the Regional Sustainable Living Program and EcoLiving Centres, which give hands-on sustainability advice to Victorians
- Support for local councils to develop sustainable energy precincts (known as Smart Energy Zones) to bring energy generation closer to communities
- The ResourceSmart Program, which provides practical support to reduce emissions in businesses, schools, households and communities
- The Victorian Solar in Schools Program, which is installing grid-connected solar photovoltaic systems in 500 schools and community buildings across the state
- The Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative (AuSSI Vic), which provides a framework for schools to incorporate education for sustainability into school operations and infrastructure
- The Victorian Local Sustainability Accord, an agreement between State and Local Government aimed at promoting Local Government action on sustainability.
Local Governments helping communities to tackle climate change
Victorian Local Government has, for more than a decade, been working to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, largely by the development and implementation of mitigation strategies. The focus of initiatives has been to reduce emissions from day-to-day operations. Councils have also sought to assist community and local businesses progress their emissions reductions; often through partnerships andincentive programs for improved practices.
With the introduction of a national Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, councils will look for further opportunities to improve the effi ciency of their activities to reduce their corporate exposure to a carbon price. They will provide strong community leadership and education, in collaboration with the other levels of government, on the implications of a carbon price. Collaborative action will assist communities make a smoother transition to a low-carbon economy.
Vitally important to Local Government activity on climate change is adaptation to the impacts arising from change in the climate system. This stems from recognition that our national and global emissions reduction efforts will not be sufficient to prevent a wide range of impacts occurring. Local Government acknowledges that climate change has thecapacity to dramatically affect the viabilityof regions; shifting patterns of food supply, reducing rain-fed water supplies and causing destruction of many of the ecosystems that we value and rely on.
In recent times, some Victorian councils have undertaken research to inform their understanding of the vulnerability of their community to the impacts of climate change. Such studies have considered change to the biophysical environment and flow through implications on the local or regional economy, social structures, health and wellbeing, natural landscapes and cultural assets. Equipped with this knowledge, councils are planning their long term future; ensuring adaptation to climate change is a central tenet of all decisions made.
Councils are, and will continue to, adapt the way they do business, operate their facilities and manage their assets to be more resilient to the impacts of climate change. Councils are at the forefront in supporting their communities build resilience in the face of climate change.
Whilst climate change presents a great many challenges, it also presents opportunities. As community leaders, and economic and strategic planners councils are positioning themselves to attract new industries to their region that provide solutions to climate change.
In addressing the three facets of mitigation, adaptation and adjustment councils are working hard to ensure their communities remain viable and vibrant places to live, and able to respond to climate change.
Rob Spence
Chief Executive Offi cer, Municipal Association of Victoria
A question to consider
What do you think are the barriers to people changing their behaviour to address climate change in your community and across Victoria?
6.2 Government leading the way
The Victorian Government’s operations cover a wide range of activities and assets. Almost all of these operations will feel some impacts from Victoria’s changing climate - ranging from short-term and relatively minor effects to substantial, long lasting consequences.
Across all of its operations, the Government is a substantial greenhouse gas emitter. For example, Victorian Government buildings are responsible for around 1.5 per cent of Victoria’s energy consumption and 1.2 per cent of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. The Government spends approximately $150 million on energy every year. In particular, health care and educational facilities are responsible for around 75 per cent of Victorian Government building energy consumption. There are substantial opportunities for emissions and costs from
these sources to be reduced.
The introduction of the CPRS will have a significant impact on the Victorian Government’s operations. Like the rest of the community, the Government will face increased energy costs and will need to take action to reduce its emissions and become more energy efficient.
Through the Climate Change White Paper, the Government proposes taking action across three key operational fronts to reduce emissions and promote more sustainable practices:
- Further improving the energy efficiency of government buildings and infrastructure
- Reducing emissions from government travel
- Reducing the emissions intensity of products and services used by government
Questions to consider
- How should Government lead the way in reducing its own emissions and adjusting to a carbon price?
- In which areas can Government use its significant expenditure on goods and services to drive Victoria’s green economy?
What we’ve already done
The Government is already taking action to improve its performance. We have:
- Increased the energy effi ciency of key buildings by 15 per cent between 1999-2000 and 2006-07
- Commenced energy performance contracts (EPCs) in 16 key Government-owned offi ce buildings, aiming to achieve a 30 per cent energy reduction across these buildings
- Started developing a program to make government buildings more energy efficient (as part of signing the 2008 MOU with the Clinton Climate Initiative)
- Made a commitment (in the Victorian Transport Plan) to establishing an emissions target for the Victorian Government fl eet and to purchasing 2000 hybrid Toyota Camrys
- Introduced 150 hybrid vehicles into the Government fleet and achieved a net reduction of 8 per cent in greenhouse gas emissions from departmental vehicle fleets between 2002-03 and 2006-07.
6.3 Making decisions in a time of climate change
Making good decisions across government is a complex, but vitally important, factor in Victoria developing a successful response to climate change.
What we need to do
Climate change means that decision makers are working in changed economic and environmental circumstances. For example, local councils now need to consider sea level rises when granting planning permits; transport planners need to address infrastructure needs to support new vehicle technologies; and water managers need to take into account greater variability in inflows.
Climate change also means that decision makers have to use different tools and see problems differently. They have to take into account the unprecedented time and geographic scales that are involved in climate change science and policy, with greenhouse gas emissions having impacts that reach far in time and location from their sources. Long-term challenges are complicated further by the fact that in some cases efficient adaptation requires early action while, in other cases, the best option is to respond closer to the time of the projected impact. All
these factors have significant implications for government decision making.
In dealing with these challenges, it will be important to ensure that all levels of government and public sector authorities recognise the changed decision making environment in which they are operating and have the capacity and skills to respond to these changes.
Our Focus
The Government has identifi ed a number of areas where action could be taken in the Climate Change White Paper to embed climate change considerations into all government decision making:
- Mainstreaming climate change
Consideration of climate change will need to become part of wider discussions across government and become firmly embedded in mainstream government decision making. This includes ensuring that climate change impacts are explicitly recognised by all decision makers and incorporated across all areas of government through departmental adaptation plans. Existing procedures will be improved through new decision making processes and tools.
- Building capacity
A better decision making environment requires everyone involved to have the appropriate level of knowledge, skills, tools and resources. Training, education and information could improve the sophistication of decision making in relation to the impacts of climate change and a carbon price.
- Aiding decisions
Building capacity to deal with climate change issues will involve the development and roll-out of a range of tools to aid decision making - especially in areas dealing with risk and managing uncertainty. It will also be important to give the ‘right’ people access to the ‘right’ tools to support their decision making.
- Getting structures right
skills and information staff will need to deliver the required changes. Such a process could be coordinated centrally to optimise the shared use of resources and focus on climate change risks across critical areas of government service provision.
Questions to consider
- How can Government ensure that climate change is central to its planning, policies and decision making?
- What elements of the Government’s climate change agenda should be enshrined in legislation through the Climate Change Bill?
Backing action with legislation
At the 2006 state election, the Victorian Government gave a commitment to introduce a Climate Change Bill to ensure that actions taken on climate change are backed by legislation and
protected under Victorian law.
Since 2006, a number of the measures that were originally planned for inclusion in the Bill have been delivered through separate state legislation (including feed-in-tariffs for solar panels for households and the Victorian Energy Efficiency Target Act) or through the emissions reporting requirements that will underpin the CPRS.
The Government remains committed to introducing a Climate Change Bill, recognising the importance of conveying Victoria’s intentions, policies and actions on climate change simply and clearly within one piece of legislation. Such legislation is necessary to ensure that government agencies have the authority - including powers of enforcement in some instances - to implement the range of policies being developed through the White Paper process. Legislation is also important to give people and businesses certainty about Victoria’s climate change regime.
The Premier’s Climate Change Reference Group has recommended that the Government introduce a Climate Change Bill, noting that such legislation can be used to achieve several goals, including:
- Ensuring enduring whole-of-government and whole-of-society commitment to mitigation and adaptation
- Assisting in the coordination of activities across State and Local Government, industry sectors and communities.
As part of the process of developing the Climate Change Bill, the Government intends to consider any amendments that may be required to existing legislation to take greater account of Victoria’s climate change goals.
The Government plans to introduce the Climate Change Bill into the Victorian Parliament around the same time as it releases the Climate Change White Paper. The Government welcomes suggestions as to what should - or should not - be in the Bill and how the Bill could best be used to drive further action on climate change.
Page top
