The Tasmanian Government has launched its strategy to be using renewable energy for 100% of its electricity by 2020 and exporting the surplus, as well as a new interim 2020 target to reduce carbon emissions to 35 per cent below 1990 levels.
Tasmania joins the ACT Government which has a 90% renewable electricity target by 2020 and South Australia which is heading to more than 50% renewables by the same time.
The Tasmanian Government says it has enough renewable energy resources (wind and biomass in the short-term, geothermal in the medium-term and wave and tidal in the long-term) to supply electricity Tasmanian electricity demand with leftover generating capacity to export electricity to the mainland.
Tasmania has a statutory target to reduce emissions to at least 60 per cent below 1990 levels by 2050. There’s already major progress, with emissions reduced by about 34 per cent against the 1990 baseline. In 2011-12, the Government alone reduced its own emissions by almost 13%.
The 2020 Climate Change Strategy includes more than 80 actions in nine priority areas including •Energy and Economy •Waste and Resource Efficiency •Government Operations •Sustainable Transport and •Homes and Communities.
While Tasmania’s emissions represent only 1.3 per cent of Australia’s national total, it still has higher per capita emissions than Germany, the United Kingdom, China, Brazil and India.
Read more:
Climate Smart Tasmania: A 2020 Climate Change Strategy | Tasmanian Department of Premier and Cabinet
Tasmania aims for 100% renewables by 2020, 35% carbon cuts | RenewEconomy
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