Posts filed under ‘Policy’
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.
Climate survey of Candidates in #Vicvotes #Brunswick #PascoeVale #Broadmeadows
Climate Action Moreland has conducted surveys of candidates for the Victorian State Election in November 2018 for the electorates of Brunswick, Pascoe Vale, and Broadmeadows. Candidates were emailed the survey based on the Candidate email details supplied to the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC). Survey was sent Monday 12 November, and a reminder on Friday 16 November.
The results for each Legislative Assembly electorate are:
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Cooling the Upfield Corridor – Moreland Council adopts plan mitigating Urban heat
Cooling the Upfield Corridor UHIE heatmap
Moreland Council has adopted the Cooling the Upfield Corridor Action Plan 2018-2019.
It is not nearly enough to cut emissions and have a zero community emissions by 2040 target, we also need to look at climate adaptation in our highly built up urban environment. This too is part of a climate emergency response framework.
The urban heat island effect amplifies temperatures due to the urban built infrastructure and surfaces such as roads and carparks. Our Municipality is especially vulnerable to the urban heat island effect.
In coming decades Melbourne is likely to experience 50 degrees days according to researchers at the ANU, even if we limit global temperatures to 2 degrees or the much more ambituous 1.5 degrees target.
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Submission: Melbourne Airport flying blind on aviation emissions danger
Stop Melbourne Airport Expansion
Melbourne Airport is planning massive expansion of infrastructure, including new terminals and new and upgraded runways, additional flightpaths, which will induce greater travel demand, increasing the number of flights, and a huge increase in the aviation emissions. But the Masterplan fails to talk about the increase in aviation emissions that expansion will bring about.
Climate Action Moreland has done a hasty, but fairly detailed commentary, on the Melbourne Airport Masterplan. This also justifies our call for a moratorium on Melbourne airport expansion, and the growth mantra that is embedded in the Masterplan document that is at odds with climate science, and the Paris Agreement targets of needing to rapidly reduce emissions.
