Posts filed under ‘Policy’
Prime Minister urged to increase climate action
Climate Action Moreland joined over 100 other organisations in August in a Declaration calling for a Better Future and increased climate action. This includes City of Moreland. An open letter dated 21 August was sent to Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
The Declaration was associated with the Better Futures online conference that was conducted over three days – 17-19 August 2021.
(more…)New Victorian interim climate targets welcome but underwhelming
Today the Victorian Government announced the interim emissions reduction climate targets for 2025 and 2030. This announcement has been delayed for over a year due to the pandemic.
The targets announced are to reduce emissions by 28-33 per cent by 2025 and 45-50 per cent by 2030.
Awesome you say? 50 percent reduction by 2030, similar to what President Biden announced at the Biden Climate Summit on April 22. Not so fast.
The Independent Expert Panel recommended Victoria set greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets of:
- 32-39% below 2005 levels in 2025 and
- 45-60% below 2005 levels in 2030.
Even this was not consistent with keeping global warming to 1.5 degrees, and the numerous risks enumerated in the IPCC Special Report on Global warming of 1.5C1.
The Combet Review identified emission cuts of at least 43% by 2025 and 67% by 2030 to have any chance of limiting warming to 1. 5°C, yet justified lower targets, even though there is scientific research3 that indicates there are several dangerous tipping points that should require substantial risk minimisation in setting ambitious targets. Read our submission from July 2019.
(more…)Moreland Council 2020 election – candidate forums and climate info
Moreland Council election
Moreland Council, along with many other municipal and shire councils in Victoria, will go to the polls on 24 October 2020. Nominations close at 12 noon, 32 days before the election day on 22 September. (See Knowyour Council guide to Elections)
Enrolment closed at 4 pm on Friday 28 August 2020. You can check your enrolment at the Victorian Electoral Commission and update details.
Postal voting starts 6 October, 2020. The election will be by postal ballot. Please use the hastag #MorelandVotes on election social media.
Climate Action Moreland surveyed candidates, asking them to sign a climate emergency declaration, which is in keeping with the existing declaration by Council in 2018. Forums for candidates were run for each of the three Council Wards.
Responses will be published on posts for each ward that will contain the list of candidates, party affiliation or alignment (if any), public contact information (website, facebook, twitter if available), and their answers. We may also add extra information or links to 3rd party websites where we think it empowers voters on making an informed decision at the ballot box.
- South Ward Candidate List and responses – 3 councillors to be elected
- North East Ward Candidate List and responses – 4 councillors to be elected
- North West Ward Candidate List and responses – 4 councillors to be elected
July 26, 2020 at 1:37 am morelandclimategroup Leave a comment
Submission: Australia’s Technology Roadmap not enough to address the Climate Emergency
Climate Action Moreland submission on the Draft Australia Technology Roadmap. This is the document that Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor has been pushing. The document itself provides a survey of different technologies that can be used in address climate change. But it is insufficient. The decision processes that approve expansion of emissions (such as in new coal mines or gas extraction), or maintain present high pollution levels in existing sectorial processes needs also to be considered. Strategic Technology Roadmap is only one tool that should be used to driving climate action ambition to tackle the climate crisis. We have a climate emergency.
Refuting Coalition claims on their climate policies: a guide
Many people are now writing to their local MPs demanding climate action. Coalition MPs are responding with claims of what they are doing. Here we make suggestions on how to challenge these responses – or much better, to use when talking with friends and family, who may be swayed by Coalition rhetoric.
This upsurge in climate concern is great. But please don’t just write letters to politicians. We suggest people join a local group. There are lots of groups working on various aspects of climate change. Contact us if you would like some suggestions. (more…)
Submission to Climate Change Authority – policies necessary to achieve Australia’s commitments under the 2015 Paris Agreement
Climate Action Tracker June 2019 assessment.
Climate Action Moreland prepared the following submission (PDF) to the Climate Change Authority focussing on three sectors: agriculture, energy (electricity) , and transport. These are key areas for Australia to implement climate policy to achieve reduction in emissions to meet Australia’s commitments under the 2015 Paris Agreement. We appreciate the Climate Change Authority collating this information, even though the present conservative government largely ignores the independent advice of this Authority.
Under the Paris Agreement Australia needs to submit a new Nationally Determined Contribution document that outlines all targets and policies to achieve our targets, by early 2020. No backtracking is acceptable (this is written into the agreement as well) This is the ratchet (ambition) mechanism of the Paris Agreement. On current commitments the world is heading for an average temperature rise of between 2.4 degrees to 3.8 degrees Celsius by 2100, as calculated by the Climate Action Tracker website. Australia’s effort is rated as ‘Insufficient’.
Brunswick MP highlights solar homes program needs urgent restructure
Solar installs in contraction due to poor implementation of Solar Homes Package
Brunswick Greens MP Tim Read has highlighted in state parliament the urgent need for the solar hones program to be restructured.
This is a flagship program by the Labor’s Dan Andrews Government for residential uptake of solar panels and growing renewables in Victoria. But the program is so popular and demand is being capped so that it is driving renewables installation businesses to the wall. The industry and jobs are in contraction.
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VoteClimate in the Victorian Senate for 2019
The power in the Senate is likely to be held by crossbenchers. The order of your preferences could be important for determining who is elected. Make sure you preference based on climate policy from strong candidates to weak. Preference at least 6. Voteclimate recommends to mark at least 16 boxes above the line to minimise your preferences being exhausted.
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Moreland Council adopts transformative transport strategy
Moreland Mayor Cr Abboud
Moreland Mayor Cr Natalie Abboud walks the talk on mode share shift to sustainable transport.
To conclude the debate on Moreland Council’s transformative Moreland Integrated Transport Strategy (MITS) Cr Abboud told her own personal journey which outlined her fears and her new found freedom in her Mayoral e-bike that she uses to move about Moreland fulfilling her duties as Mayor.
Her speech came after 2 hours of debate in the Council chamber on the strategy and 18 amendments that were proposed for the Council motion. Most amendments were debated: some were lost, some were passed and incorporated into the final motion. The Strategy was passed with 10 votes in Favour and one abstention.
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Outcomes from Poland and UN climate Conference COP24: more action needed
Australian Environment Minister walks off the stage after delivering Australia’s ambition poor statement.
It has been a hectic two weeks for negotiators at the United Nations Climate Change conference, meeting in the heart of Poland’s coal province of Silesia. The conference was due to close on Friday 14 December, but intense negotiations continued overnight and were only finalised on Saturday evening.
The Paris rulebook was (mostly) landed to continue the momentum from Paris in 2015, and this was a vital measurement of the conference success, but some elements were just too contentious to achieve consensus and have been pushed forward to COP25 meeting in Santiago, Chile in 2019.
Climate Action Moreland Convenor John Englart has been following the negotiations, discussions, and protests online and posting blog articles over the last two weeks. He also tracked Australia’s Environment Minister Melissa Price and her public presence on social media and deciphered her High level speech for Australia.
Australia won one Fossil of the Day award for refusing to rule out using Kyoto credits to meet Paris targets, and shared in another award from the conference. While Climate policies are on the rise globally, global ambition level by many countries is still lacking, with Australia rated highly insufficient and delaying global progress.
