Former Liberal leader on SA carbon panel

Former Liberal leader John Hewson will sit on a South Australian low carbon economy panel aimed at boosting jobs.

The panel, including ClimateWorks Australia executive director Anna Skarbek and Australian National University climate change economics Professor Frank Jotzo, will work on ways to boost SA's renewable energy credentials.

"We have to be innovative and support new industries, and these industries and jobs are in the low-carbon economy," Premier Jay Weatherill said on Wednesday.

Earlier this year the SA government said it wanted to make Adelaide's CBD the country's first carbon emissions-free city through green-friendly building upgrades and electric public transport.

SA also pledged to slash emissions to 60 per cent of 1990 levels by 2050.