THE Conservation Council ACT has today (December 5) launched a petition calling on the ACT government to speed up its phase out of gas and immediately stop the roll out of gas infrastructure to new suburbs. 

In a recent submission to the “ACT Government’s Sustainable Energy Policy 2021-2025”, the Conservation Council recommended that the government urgently set a timeline for the phase-out of gas to allow for a smooth transition away from it.

“While the ACT government’s recent climate change strategy sets a timeline for a phasing out gas by 2045, the climate emergency we are facing calls for urgent action to cut greenhouse emissions, and a timeline to get off gas by 2030 would be realistic and more ambitious,” Conservation Council ACT executive director Helen Oakey.

“We are the only jurisdiction in Australia that currently mandates gas infrastructure in every new development as an essential service.

“Removing this requirement is the first step to phasing out gas; the very next step is to ensure that the government stops the roll out of gas infrastructure to all new suburbs, and that newly constructed houses are prevented from reconnecting to the gas network.

“Gas is a fossil fuel, and now makes up around 20 per cent of the ACT’s greenhouse emissions, so why allow new developments and residences to even start on gas when there are easy alternatives for home heating, cooking and hot water?

“There are many benefits to householders giving up gas – the financial incentive of not paying two connection charges, no longer using fossil fuels to run your home, and having access to efficient and safe technologies like induction cooktops and heat pumps for hot water and home heating and cooling (split systems).”