“Zero Emissions” will Test the Convictions of Canberrans by Viv Forbes

     Canberra with its “zero emissions” target yearns to be Australia’s greenest address. 
Good. Let’s use them as a full-blown test of “zero emissions” before we all jump over that cliff.

     Canberra passes thousands of laws for us. If their zero emissions dream is fair dinkum, they need to pass just three laws for themselves.

     First, ban all petrol, diesel and gas-powered trucks, cars, boats, generators and aeroplanes from Canberra. That should remove emissions from their atmosphere, food from their supermarket, and leave their roads free for pedestrians and bicycles. Idle airport runways would be ideal sites for solar panels and wind turbines.

     Second, prohibit the importation of coal or gas-fired electricity – they can demonstrate how to survive on wind, solar, hydro, batteries and fire-wood. They should work at home by candle-light on cloudy windless days.

     Third, introduce a CCT (Canberra-carbon-tax) whereby all carbon dioxide emitted elsewhere in the production and transport of their imported cement, steel, aluminium, bitumen, timber, vehicles, bicycles, solar panels, wind turbines, fire wood and food is charged to ACT end users.

     If people flock into emissions-free Canberra we know that this is the way for Australia. But if there is a mass exodus, it will signal that the policy is a failure.

     Let’s test the convictions of Canberrans.