Heidi Kraak
A petition calling on the Environment Protection Authority to regulate power station greenhouse gas emissions has gained almost 3800 signatures.
The 3746-signature petition was instigated by Environment Victoria and calls for the EPA to introduce specific limits on how much greenhouse gas generators can release.
Environment Victoria climate campaigner Cat Nadel said there were no existing limits on power stations’ emissions of greenhouse gas.
“In a more specific sense, our ask is for licence limits to be put on power stations for how much they can emit,” she said.
“Our main issue is that coal-fired power stations are Victoria’s biggest source of climate pollution and we think the EPA doesn’t put any limits on how they pollute the atmosphere and damage the climate.
“So we are calling for hard limits.”
The petition was tabled at an EPA community meeting discussing submissions regarding the ongoing review into power station licences and the EPA said it would be taken into consideration.
The petition said the review was the “perfect opportunity for the EPA to begin limiting climate pollution”.
“Limits on climate pollution, and an ability and willingness to tighten those limits over time is going to be critical to Victoria meeting our existing emissions reduction targets (including the short term target to cut emissions by 15 to 20 per cent by 2020) and any future targets that are consistent with Victoria’s pledge to keep warming well below two degrees,” it reads.
“Until the EPA is also actively contributing to limiting global warming – our largest environmental problem – it will be falling short of being the modern environmental regulator we need to tackle 21st century environmental problems.”
Voices of the Valley president Wendy Farmer, who signed the petition, said it was it was important for greenhouse gas emissions limits to be placed on coal-fired power stations.
“I think it is really important with climate change and what is what is happening,” Ms Farmer said. “We have to think about … the problem climate change in Australia is causing for our farmers. We have to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and the power stations can do that.”
