Trevor A Scott, Castlemaine
According to the IPCC, Australia is well short of achieving its emissions reduction target, set in Paris, in 2015. In 2016, a study carried out into the retirement of coal-fired power stations in Victoria, found that in 1992 the now defunct SEC had a comprehensive plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions 20 per cent by 2005. In 1993, when the government decommissioned the SEC, unfortunately the plan also went out the window. The more recent closure of Hazelwood has once again pointed to the lack of planning that has led to high unemployment rates in the Latrobe Valley.
Although the Premier has said that emissions will be reduced 50 per cent by 2030, the bleaching of The Great Barrier Reef and the recent tragic wild fires in Southern California leave no doubt that climate change is a real and ever present threat to life for us and future generations. Clearly the remaining coal-fired power stations need to be closed down as soon as possible; and at the same time we need the creation of an alternative renewable energy industry that also retrains workers with minimal loss of jobs.
Regardless of who wins the coming election, we desperately need a plan to address these issues.
