News June 2017
Harry's musings:
Our Stop Adani campaign saw us taking to the streets not as protesters but as protectors - of values and ideals like the Great Barrier Reef, the rights of farmers and Indigenous Australians, the need for a transition to a clean energy economy, and to protect existing jobs that will be lost if this mine goes ahead.
As the Breakthrough Alliance says, the world faces a national climate emergency. which calls for bi-partisan action. But what do we get? We get the Finkel Review which puts politics ahead of action. Now we know why the government never committed to a legislated RET beyond 2020 - because they now want a so-called ‘clean energy target’ for any power supply that has lower emissions, not NO emissions which is actually what is needed: no more new emissions and start reducing existing emissions.
In early 2016, after the hottest months since global records began, Australia's chief scientist, Alan Finkel, warned that we are losing the battle against climate change. Yet given the chance to fix this, he has failed (see further articles, below.) What we now have is the unedifying spectacle of Federal coalition members tying themselves in knots trying to find a way, any way, of building a new coal-fired power station.
In 2010 Malcolm Turnbull launched a plan for 100% renewable stationary energy and in his speech he said, ‘We can move, as we must move if we are to effectively combat climate change, to a situation where all, or almost all of our energy, comes from zero or very near zero emission sources’.
Let’s hope he can salvage something from the on-going mess that is Australia’s climate and energy policy.
Harry Creamer
President, CCA
Australia has a broken energy policy
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Networking evening:
You are all invited to our next networking evening:
When: 5:30pm, Wednesday 28th June
Where: CWA rooms, Horton St., Port Macquarie
What: Hear a presentation from CCA member, David Smith, on 'How come we know that we are facing disaster of our own making but fail to take effective action?'
Who: Everyone is welcome - feel free to bring family & friends
Gold coin donation at the door, please, to cover the cost of hiring the room. Thanks.
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Our Stop Adani Campaign:
Many of you have been involved in our mid-north-coast Stop Adani campaign. Thank you for your passion & commitment. Here’s a selection of photos from our events so far:
We had almost a full-house at the launch of our campaign.
We held our first Stop Adani rally in front of CommBank in Port Macquarie ...
Then we did it again in front of CommBank Wauchope ...
And then back to CommBank Port Macquarie again. Phew!
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How Australia's climate policies came to be poisoned:
The Guardian has posted an excellent article revealing how inadequate the Finkel report is and how feeble our political responses are to climate change by ignoring and perverting the science. You can read it here: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jun/17/how-australias-climate-policies-came-to-be-poisoned-by-pragmatism?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
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Clean coal won’t cut it:
The Climate Council has said aloud what the recent Finkel Review of Australia’s energy market would not: coal power has little to no place in Australia’s future generation mix, if held to the most basic standards of sound economics or effective carbon emissions reductions. You can download the Climate Council report here: https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/cleancoal
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Wind and solar will kill coal, sooner than Finkel suggests:
A major new survey has pointed to the inevitable decline in coal generation, as the ongoing plunge in wind and solar costs make those technologies significantly cheaper than even refurbished coal-fired generators. Read more at RenewEconomy: http://reneweconomy.com.au/how-wind-and-solar-will-kill-coal-sooner-than-finkel-suggests-92750/
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Some good news as always:
In response to US President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, leaders of the world’s major economies have stepped up to commit to the Pairs deal. EU, China, India and others know that this is the deciding issue of our time. In the US itself, if those states that have voiced support for the Agreement were considered a country, they would be the world’s 5th largest economy.
By the end of 2017 solar will be same price as fossil generation in 80% of the world market. By 2022, solar plus storage will be cheaper than transmission.
In Australia, our first offshore wind farm is being planned for 10km off the Gippsland coast. It will generate more energy than the average coal-fired power station and is an example of Victoria’s renewable energy target working to kick-start this important new type of clean energy. It displays real leadership and shows what NSW will miss if we don’t set realistic targets to clean up our energy supply. Meanwhile you can take one small action by signing the Nature Conservation Council petition to ‘Repower NSW’ - just click on this link: https://www.nature.org.au/our-campaigns/climate-and-clean-energy/