Dear Councillor….

I am pleased to see the steps that our council has taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These actions are a good start and have required leadership over a politically challenging period.

However, António Guterres, Secretary General of the UN stated this week on the release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Synthesis Report (IPCC) :

“…But today’s IPCC report is a how-to guide to defuse the climate time-bomb. It is a survival guide for humanity. 

As it shows, the 1.5-degree limit is achievable. 

But it will take a quantum leap in climate action. This report is a clarion call to massively fast-track climate efforts by every country and every sector and on every timeframe.

In short, our world needs climate action on all fronts — everything, everywhere, all at once. …”

https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2023-03-20/secretary-generals-video-message-for-press-conference-launch-the-synthesis-report-of-the-intergovernmental-panel-climate-change

I believe that every level of government should be acting with urgency and making climate action an integral part of day to day activity. One action, that while small, can be significant both symbolically and as an education and awareness tool for our community is to get our community off gas.

Get Off Gas

I would like to make a case for the council to take action to discourage the use of gas as a domestic fuel in our region. There are a few threads to this case: 

  • Gas is not safe for our environment or our future. It is a significant contributor to global heating.
  • Gas is a significant health risk in the home.
  • Risk of liability for stranded assets in future
  • It is morally indefensible to allow the additional use of fossil fuels

Unsafe:

Gas is unsafe for our future. The world is getting hotter. Gases — largely methane — are released at every stage of its production, from the well to the home, and there is strong evidence that it is having an increasing impact on global warming. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas.

The IPCC Synthesis Report issued this week is clear that we cannot approve any more fossil fuel projects if we are to meet the goal of keeping global heating under 1.5ºC. All fossil fuels will need to be urgently phased out. Along with the fossil fuel producers profiteering during the war in Ukraine, gas will become more expensive in future. 

Health Risk

There is now strong evidence of the major impact domestic gas is having on people’s health. Particularly affected are children. It is estimated that 12% of childhood asthma is attributable to the use of gas cooking stoves.

Click to access Asthma-info-sheet_Pt.pdf

Stranded Assets 

People building now and installing gas appliances will not get a return on their investment. There will be a substantial expense for them and the government as they need to retrofit electrical replacements. Also, people replacing existing gas equipment as it wears out should be required to replace these with electrical equivalents. The State and Federal governments will have a role in providing incentives for this but Local Government has a significant role in regulation and education.

Some introductory information is available at the Climate Council: https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/getting-your-home-off-gas-quick-guide/ and information on some of the support available to people in Victoria is available here: https://environmentvictoria.org.au/our-campaigns/safe-climate/getting-off-gas-what-you-can-do-at-home/

There needs to be a two-prong approach to dealing with this issue. Widespread education of residents, builders and land developers with information showing why gas is a bad choice. They should understand why they are discouraged from connecting. The second strand would be the integration of disincentives to gas connection, possibly using the housing star rating system which could be adapted to discourage gas use. 

There are also cost benefits of hundreds of dollars a year with only having a supply charge for electricity. There are excellent and efficient alternatives available for all gas appliances. House heating (and cooling) and hot water can all be done with highly efficient heat pumps. Cooking with electricity has been transformed by fast, efficient induction cooking, which is at least equal to the control and speed of gas. The efficiency of heat pumps is almost miraculous!

(A little more on ways to reduce emissions with existing technology:https://reneweconomy.com.au/australia-can-slash-emissions-81-pct-by-2030-using-existing-technologies-report-says/)

Morally Indefensible

The moral argument is easy. Every person in the country needs to do all that is in their power to ensure we stay as close to 1.5ºC of warming as possible. Every fraction of a degree increase in global heating will result in a world that is harder to live in, that has less bio-diversity and more suffering for people and animals. Local Government is able to make bigger changes than each individual in the community. Leadership could make a difference for our region as we see how the world has reacted to this emergency. Getting off gas quicker is one part of the equation. 

I strongly encourage the council to look at what has been done in other areas to speed the transition away from gas and to a more sustainable, healthier and cleaner community.

Tony Peck

Extra Information:

Friends of the Earth (FOE) has a report Community Retirement Roadmap – How and why to get off gas in Victoria that shows how communities wanting to get off gas can achieve this.