18 April 2024
The Greens are urging the State Government to commit to banning gas connections to new homes as latest figures from the Australian Government reveal that SA has outperformed its 2050 net zero objective.
The State and Territory Greenhouse Gas Inventory indicated a 57% decrease in the state’s net emissions since 2005, which exceeds the State Government’s commitment to reducing net emissions by at least 50% by 2030.
“While it is welcome news that SA is reaching its emission reduction targets, we also need to break South Australia’s reliance on gas, which isn’t just fuelling climate change, it’s also expensive and bad for our health,” said Greens SA Energy Spokesperson Robert Simms MLC.
“In 2022, I introduced a bill to ban gas connections to new homes from 2025 and called on the Government to provide rebates to support homeowners, including landlords, to replace old gas appliances with new efficient electric ones. Sadly, the Labor Party joined with the Liberals to vote down this sensible measure. The news that SA is surpassing its emissions reductions goals shows that it is time to take more ambitious measures that will entrench South Australia as a world leader in tackling the climate crisis.”
“Many cities and countries around the world, including the Netherlands, Norway and New York City are going gas-free. In July 2022 the Victorian Government committed to removing requirements for new homes to connect to gas. South Australia must follow their example and join the global movement to phase out gas.”