8 November
2006 - In a move that further demonstrates the
Australian Government’s action to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions, Minister for the Environment and
Heritage, Senator Ian Campbell and Minister for
Industry, Tourism and Resources, Ian Macfarlane
today announced that Australia will lead the world
in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from ‘standby’
power in electrical appliances.
‘Standby’ power, one of the
silent enemies of the global climate, occurs when
electrical appliances are not being actively used
and look like they are turned off but are often
in ‘standby mode’, consuming electricity and generating
greenhouse gases.
The Australian Government will
work with state governments and industry to ensure,
by 2012, all electrical appliances would be regulated
to meet the ‘one watt target’. Currently some
appliances use up to 25 watts for their standby
mode.
Minister Macfarlane said that
not only will this action save greenhouse gas
emissions, but also have significant economic
benefits.
“In Australia alone this initiative
is set to save the Australian community more than
2.5 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions
and about $350 million per year,” Mr Macfarlane
said.
Around ten per cent of all energy
used by Australian households is made up of standby
power. Based on the most recent data, this equates
to around 1000kg of greenhouse gas per house each
year.
Senator Campbell said that the
Australian Government is working with industry
to ensure only appliances that meet this new standard
will be available on the Australian market.
“This action on ‘standby’ power
also has huge potential internationally,"
Senator Campbell said.
“Last week Prime Minister, John
Howard announced that through the Asia Pacific
Partnership on Clean Development and Climate (AP6)
household electricity consumption could be slashed
with coordinated policy action on standby power
in partner countries.
“Such action could have the
potential to save more than 140 million tonnes
a year of greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 across
AP6 countries– approximately 40 per cent of the
total projected electricity consumption for Australia
across all sectors in 2030,” Senator Campbell
said.
Senator Campbell said if you
applied that across the entire world, the potential
savings in greenhouse gas emissions was enormous."
“I call on all international
economies to follow the lead of Australia and
mandate the one watt initiative as soon as practicable.”
The International Standby Power
Conference - Time for Global Action is being held
in Canberra this week. The conference is being
supported by the International Energy Agency,
APEC and the AP6.
For more information about the
Standby Conference - Time for Global Action visit
http://standby2006.energyrating.gov.au
Rob Broadfield (Senator Campbell’s
office)
Lisa Chalk (Minister Macfarlane)
