Climate Change Reference Group - Meeting Summary 2
The second meeting of the Tasmanian Government Climate Change Reference Group was held on Tuesday 24 October 2023.
Membership and attendance
The meeting was co-Chaired by the Minister for Environment and Climate Change, the Hon Roger Jaensch MP, and a delegate from the Premier’s Youth Advisory Council (PYAC).
In addition to PYAC, the Reference Group includes representatives from:
- Australian Medical Association
- Climate Tasmania
- Local Government Association of Tasmania
- Royal Automobile Club of Tasmania
- Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
- Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association
- Tasmanian Forest Products Association
- Tasmanian Minerals, Manufacturing and Energy Council
- Unions Tasmania
- UTAS Tasmanian Policy Exchange.
The representative from Unions Tasmania was an apology for the meeting.
The co-Chairs began by welcoming members to the Reference Group’s second meeting.
Implementation Plan
The Director, Climate Change Office provided a progress update on Tasmania’s Climate Change Action Plan 2023-25.
The implementation plan for the Action Plan was released on 18 October 2023, and outlines details of the outputs, measures and timeframes relating to the government’s strategic climate change priorities.
A suite of programs under the Action Plan are on track to be released in late 2023, in line with the implementation plan.
Draft Transport Emissions Reduction and Resilience Plan
The Director, Climate Change Office gave an overview of the draft Emissions Reduction and Resilience Plan for the transport sector, ahead of its expected release for public consultation in the coming days.
Reference Group members gave their preliminary feedback on the draft Plan and were encouraged to provide further feedback during the public consultation period.
Reference Group member Ray Mostogl gave a presentation on the Heavy Industry Low-Carbon Transition Cooperative Research Centre (HILTCRC) outlining the work underway to de-risk technology pathways for the decarbonisation of heavy industry. Mr Mostogl also noted the actions needed from governments to ensure regulatory environments enable the decarbonisation of heavy industry.
The RACT Head of Insurance Prices and Insights delivered a presentation titled ‘Climate Change: The Insurance Canary’. The presentation highlighted the impacts on insurance premiums already being felt by households as a result of climate change, and the actions needed from government to build resilience and in turn reduce insurance costs and ensure Tasmanian homes are insurable.
The Reference Group discussed issues of concern and the action being undertaken in various sectors and groups. A number of matters were noted for discussion at future meetings.
No other business was noted.
The Reference Group noted the next meeting date is proposed for the first quarter of 2024.