Posts filed under ‘Policy’
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.
Meeting with Peter Khalil MP on climate action
On May 1st, 2018 a delegation of four from Climate Action Moreland met with our Federal MP for Wills, Peter Khalil to talk about Labor Party policy and action on climate change. This report is based on our talking points.
Submission: National Energy Guarantee needs to enable energy transition
Climate Action Moreland has made a submission to the Energy Security Board on the National Energy Guarantee. Our criticism/suggestions revolve around: the need for Demand Response to be prioritised; no undermining or restrictions on state emission reduction targets; Voluntary action must be considered additional to targets; no offsets should be allowed for the electricity sector; Flexible Compliance – Limit the Carrying Forward of Over-achievement; and Setting Emissions Target as an Absolute Value vs Percentage.
The Guarantee was considered by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Energy Council at its last meeting in November 2017 which agreed that further development work and public consultation should be conducted.
We think, in it’s current form, the National Energy Guarantee will embed coal and gas fired generation and restrict the growth of renewables, holding back the energy transition.
We need a rapid transition of the electricity sector as this sector is more easily decarbonised than other sectors, and will also enable the transport sector to then be decarbonised through electrification and battery power.
Our submission follows:
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Turnbull’s National Energy Guarantee policy prolongs coal hinders renewables
NEG compared. Courtesy: Environment Victoria
Malcolm Turnbull has rejected the Chief Scientist recommendation of a Clean Energy Target and given us a National Energy Guarantee in it’s place which will mostly focus on reliability and affordability with limited emissions reduction.
This policy is guaranteed to keep coal and gas playing a substantial role in electricity production and act to slow down the take up of renewables, batteries and other despatchable technologies such as pumped hydro and solar thermal.
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Phaseout all fossil fuels – Climate Action Moreland signs Lofoten Declaration
Anglesea coal mine
The Lofoten Declaration argues that Climate Leadership Requires a Managed Decline of Fossil Fuel Production. Climate Action Moreland has endorsed this important declaration that has been signed by many Non Government Organisation around the world, large and small.
We think it is time Australia started the managed reduction of our fossil fuel production and incorporated just transition principles, particularly for the export trade.
At the launch of the declaration in early September 2017 Truls Gulowsen of Greenpeace Norway said, “The world already has access to more oil, coal, and gas than we can afford to burn if we hope to stay within the Paris climate goals. It is imperative that we stop exploring and expanding into new reserves, and instead start thinking about how we are going to have a just transition away from our dangerous dependence on fossil fuels.”
Australian greenhouse gas emissions are estimated at 1.3 per cent of global emissions, but if you factor export coal (estimated at 3.3 percent of global emissions) and Liquified Natural Gas (LNG), we produce over 5 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions when these fossil fuels are burnt. (See Christoff 2012)
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Submission on Tax deductible status of environmental organisations
The Australia Institute commissioned polling (Sep 2016) on tax deductible status on environmental campaigning and advocacy
The charitable status of Environmental organisations is again under threat by a Treasury discussion paper. We think this is another attack to undermine the funding of climate campaigns, orchestrated in particular by the mining lobby and Minerals Council of Australia.
Organisations such as the Australian Conservation Foundation, Environment Victoria and Friends of the Earth, and even the Climate Council, have tax deductible status which enables them to more easily fundraise for their environmental, climate and social justice campaigns. These campaigns involve important research, education and community advocacy.
You may have noticed that these, and other environmental NGOs have had a particular recent focus on climate change. We think these changes are being suggested at the behest of the Minerals Council of Australia as part of an ideological agenda to undermine the fund raising basis and to sanction environmental NGOs due to the campaign for climate justice and push for rapid emissions reduction, end to fossil fuel subsidies, call for no new coal mines and phaseout of fossil fuel exploitation.
Although we are not directly affected as we are an unincorporated association, we sometimes rely on interactions with 350 Australia, Australian Conservation Foundation, Environment Victoria and Friends of the Earth to help in our advocacy and grassroots and community education work. The tax deductible status of these organisations ensures they can fundraise, and indirectly supports our local community campaigning. Read more on this campaign by Friends of the Earth, or read the Climate Council submission.
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Federal Climate policy review (2017) submission by climate groups
DCAN Climate Review Fig 1
We chose not to do our own submission to the Federal Government Climate Policy Review, that closed on May 5, but instead made a few corrections to the Darebin Climate Action submission which focused on arguing we need climate emergency policies put in place. Climate Action Moreland was one of the 29 grassroot community climate and sustainability groups that endorsed the Darebin Climate Action submission (see list at end).
This submission covered the following:
- Overview
- The earth is already too hot and global warming is already dangerous.
- We can burn no more carbon for +1.5oC target.
- Worse news: The door to less than +2oC is rapidly closing.
- What action is needed?
- The Government must declare a climate emergency and enact an emergency speed transition.
- Showing the way.
- What is missing is leadership.
Climate Action Merribek: people in Brunswick, Coburg, Fawkner and Glenroy wanting action on climate change 