Subnational governments hold the key to climate solutions

The writer was premier of South Australia from 2002 to 2011

While the world’s attention might be turning to other menacing news and disasters, bushfires continue to ravage Australia. Australian Capital Territory is the latest region to declare a state of emergency as residents in the suburbs of Canberra face an increasing threat. 

Wildfires are a natural part of Australia’s calendar, but the scale, timing and intensity of what is happening now is unprecedented. There are still more than 50 fires burning in New South Wales and Victoria, despite cooler weather and rain and 2019 was the continent’s warmest year on record. 

It’s hard to comprehend the extent of the devastation but more than 27m acres have already been scorched, far more than the amount of land burnt in the most recent Amazon fires, while the catastrophic 2018 California wildfires burnt fewer than 2m acres. 

As a former premier of South Australia, I am outraged by the national government’s inadequate response to the severity of the climate crisis — ignoring repeated warnings over the years about what was coming, and attacking those who made them. 

With its hot climate, and astonishing temperatures now being endured even in major cities, Australia is a “canary in the coal mine” for climate change. It is not surprising that there has been palpable community anger at the prime minister Scott Morrison, who went on holiday to Hawaii during the crisis, and is famous for taunting climate critics by waving a piece of coal in parliament. 

Australia, along with many other countries around the world, cannot afford to wait for national governments to put climate change at the top of their agendas. The need for investment in solutions and mitigation is universal, and thankfully there is a great deal of effective action that subnational governments and businesses can take in the absence of national leadership. 

This can be seen in California — a state that faces similar issues of worsening wildfires as US president Donald Trump adopts regressive policies. Long a climate leader, California has enacted policies that have reduced greenhouse gas emissions and spurred innovative solutions that have spread around the world. And when it comes to their wildfires, recognition of the part that climate change is playing is in stark contrast to the denial we are seeing in Australia.

But Australian states are also taking steps in the right direction. Recently, five states — representing 87 per cent of the country’s population and 80 per cent of national gross domestic product — reported their climate action, goals and progress as part of the latest Global States and Regions Annual Disclosure report from international non-profit groups The Climate Group and CDP. 

Of these, four have committed to net-zero targets by 2050 or earlier, with ACT, Queensland and Victoria also setting intermediate 2030 targets to keep them on track. South Australia, which led the charge in embracing solar and wind (now backed by the world’s largest battery for grid stability), delivers more than 50 per cent of its electricity from renewables.

By comparison, the Australian federal government doesn’t even have a long-term target. And in my opinion the country’s 2030 target under the 2015 Paris Agreement of 26 to 28 per cent reductions in emissions is not remotely ambitious — reinforcing the view that Australia is a reluctant follower on climate action, or worse. Its behaviour at the last year’s UN conference in Madrid frustrated other delegates in a way that seems even more incomprehensible given the current crisis

With temperatures breaking records every year, Australia should see itself as a nation with much to lose from global heating through crippling droughts, serious damage to the Great Barrier Reef, more frequent cyclones and continued catastrophic bushfires.

Time is running out. The science is very clear — we must halve global emissions by 2030 to avoid irreversible damage. New Zealand passed a zero-carbon bill at the end of last year; it’s time for its close neighbour also to put itself on the right side of history. 

Recovering from the scale of the Australian fires will take time and cost billions of dollars. But with worsening climate change, the risk of natural disasters is only going to increase.

Subnational governments hold the key to delivering the necessary long-term solutions. In critical policy areas, such as energy and environmental regulation and finance, many states and regions have power, clout and capability. Given increasingly polarised views in many countries at the national level, it is time to look instead to subnational governments for climate ambition and courage.