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Policies and initiatives
> Direction 7. A greener city >
Policy 7.3
Policy 7.3 – Contribute to national and international
efforts to reduce energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions
Climate change due to the greenhouse effect is
one of the world’s most serious environmental challenges. All
countries and communities are vulnerable. The Government is committed
to an active role in national and global efforts to address this
issue (see the Victorian Greenhouse Strategy) and Melbourne
2030 is another aspect of this commitment. Success will require
action from all Victorians – including State and local government,
business and the wider community.
Reducing fossil fuel consumption has other benefits
for finite natural resources, such as a more secure and diverse
supply and a reduced rate of consumption.
As indicated in the Victorian Greenhouse Strategy,
particular action is proposed on three major fronts:
Reducing greenhouse gas
emissions
The production and use of energy by households, industry and commerce
contributes around 72 per cent of Victoria’s total greenhouse
gas emissions. It is an important focus of our emissions abatement
effort. In particular, the Victorian Greenhouse Strategy seeks to
improve efficiency in energy use. This will require better building
design, greater attention to subdivision design, and the choice
of more energy-efficient equipment and appliances. The greenhouse
intensity of Victoria’s electricity supply will be reduced
through improved technology in electricity generation from brown
coal, and through greater use of renewable energy.
Transport accounts for a further 16 per cent of
Victoria’s greenhouse gas emissions. We must increase efforts
to cut fuel consumption, and to reduce car dependency by building
public transport use (to 20 per cent of all motorised trips by the
year 2020). The increasing use of larger vehicles and car air-conditioning
is offsetting the effect of improved fuel consumption rates. Many
initiatives in other parts of Melbourne 2030 (on subjects
such as integrated land-use and transport planning and improved
urban design) will contribute to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
Protecting and enhancing
greenhouse sinks
Forests play a critical role in storing carbon, and when they are
felled and not replanted we add to carbon dioxide emissions. As
the metropolitan area grows outwards, forests and native vegetation
come under increasing pressure from land clearing for development.
The Government’s land clearing controls (see Policy 7.7) initiatives
to contain the growth of metropolitan Melbourne (see Policy 2.1),
and revegetation programs identified in the Victorian Greenhouse
Strategy will ensure Victoria’s greenhouse sinks are protected
and enhanced.
Adapting to climate change
Human activities are already interfering with the earth’s climate.
Melbourne and the surrounding region may face climate change impacts
that range from reductions in rainfall and water availability, to
extreme weather events and sea level rise (see ‘Climate change
projections for Victoria’). Through the Victorian Greenhouse
Strategy, research is being undertaken to gain a better understanding
of these impacts and of the steps that will need to be taken to
adapt to these changes.
Initiatives
| 7.3.1 |
Introduce five-star energy ratings
for all new residential buildings into the Victorian Building
Regulations, and promote and encourage the inclusion of new
energy efficiency standards for commercial development in the
Building Code of Australia |
| 7.3.2 |
Implement planning policies on
renewable energy, starting with guidelines for wind farms, in
order to integrate the Government’s policy of support for
renewable energy resources across the State with the planning
system |
| 7.3.3 |
Support the development of a series
of energy-efficient, greenhouse-friendly demonstration projects,
for example, Epping North as a sustainable suburb |
| 7.3.4 |
Ensure that all Major Projects
Victoria developments incorporate high levels of energy efficiency |
| 7.3.5 |
Update the Victoria Planning Provisions
and related guidelines to reflect and support the goals and
directions of the Victorian Greenhouse Strategy |
| 7.3.6 |
Introduce changes to Victoria’s
planning and building systems that will be needed to help adapt
to the impacts of climate change – following the completion
of a three-year CSIRO research program funded by the Government |
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The Victorian
Greenhouse Strategy
The Government’s goals under the Victorian Greenhouse
Strategy include:
- limiting Victoria’s greenhouse gas emissions and
enhancing greenhouse sinks
- positioning Victoria to prosper in a future carbon constrained
economy
- developing a greater understanding of climate change impacts
and, where appropriate, initiating adaptation
actions relevant to Victoria.
The Victorian Greenhouse Strategy is supported
by government funding of $100 million over three years. It
includes 59 actions dealing with a wide range of issues. These
include the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from activities
such as energy production and use, transport, waste management
and agriculture.
Its actions also address:
- the enhancement of greenhouse sinks
- research into climate change impacts and adaptation
- awareness-raising in the community of climate change issues
– including the steps that individuals can take to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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Climate change
projections for Victoria
Government and the community need access to the best possible
information on likely future climate change to help plan for,
and adapt to, changed climate conditions. Future changes in
rainfall and temperature patterns and in the frequency of
extreme weather events are likely to affect water resources,
coastal environments, native flora and fauna, agriculture,
forestry and snow cover.
The Government has supported atmospheric
research work by CSIRO to develop regional climate change
projections for Victoria. This work suggests that by 2030:
- Victoria is likely be 0.3°C to 1.6°C warmer than
in 1990, with the warming expected to be greatest in summer
and least in winter
- the frequency of extreme maximum temperatures will increase,
with an increase of up to 50 per cent in the number of hot
days in some areas of the State
- frosts are likely to decrease in frequency, and even disappear
in those parts of Victoria where projected temperature increases
will be greatest
- rainfall decreases are likely – in most regions,
changes are projected in annual rainfall ranging from -9
per cent to +3 per cent – with projected rainfall decreases
strongest in spring through most of the State, and dry springs
likely to become more common
- extreme daily rainfall events will become more intense
and more frequent in many regions
- warmer conditions will lead to increased evaporation which,
combined with reduced rainfall, is likely to increase moisture
stress.
On a global basis, the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change’s Third Assessment report projects
a rise in sea level of between 0.09 and 0.88 metres by 2100
(or 0.8 to
8 centimetres each decade).
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