Posts filed under ‘transport’
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.
Pandemic disruption should cause us to reassess aviation policies and airport expansion
Virgin Airlines goes into volubntary administration due to Pandemic
The Management of Virgin Airlines has put the company into administration, due to the impact of the pandemic in reducing need for essential travel, and the huge debt the airline has accumulated. Most Virgin planes are presently sitting at airports, huge stranded assets.
Labort MP for Wills, Peter Khalil, has said in a Facebook Post Labor has been calling on the Morrison Government to Save Virgin. But is this the wisest move given the future for passenger aviation demand in a pandemic with no assurances of a vaccine available and the level of greenhouse gas emissions and climate impact by aviation?
Virgin Airlines is presently owned by Etihad Airways (20.94%), Singapore Airlines (20.09%), Nanshan Group (19.98%), HNA Group (19.82%), Virgin Group (10.42%). Bailing out Virgin is bailing out foreign corporations, some of these owned by other nations.
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Climate action centre stage at Sydney Road Street Party
Peter Khalil MP public engagement issues board at end of Sydney Road Street Party. Source: Courtesy Peter Khalil
Thousands of people strolled and paraded along Sydney Road on Sunday 1st March for the annual Sydney Road Street Party. The street was closed to all traffic and trams from Brunswick Road to Victoria street. Climate Action Moreland was there with a stall, up near the Victoria street end. We provided a local climate / environment hub for Stop Adani Moreland, Neighbours United for Climate Action, Newlands Friends of the Forest, and Moreland BUG to locate and campaign with us.
Our main engagement activity was collecting signatures for our petition to City of Moreland to amend their Procurement Policy with regard to businesses that sign contracts to do work with the Adani Coal mine. If you missed us on the day, you can sign our digital version of the petition to Moreland City Council on Adani.
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Submission: Retaining trees as heritage and to moderate heat in Gandolfo Gardens with Skyrail construction
Urban forest canopy in a highly urbanised area such as around Moreland Station provides vital environmental services. These include habitat for urban wildlife, particularly birds, air filtering pollutants, absorbing excesses rain runoff reducing urban flooding, and providing shade under the established tree canopy which reduces localised temperatures during extreme heat events.
The urban heat island effect is very prominent along the Upfield Corridor and tree canopy provides one of the best methods for local reduction in temperatures during extreme heat events. The trees in Gandolfo Gardens, part of the larger Moreland Reserves either side of the station, contribute substantially to community well being. While most of the present trees were planted during the 1970s and 1980s, there are several trees likely to be well over a hundred years old and part of the original community tree planting in 1911. The local community, lead by the Coburg Progress Association faought hard for the establishment of these reserves and the gardens and trees therein.
Level Crossing Removal Project (LXRP) will remove 4 sequential level crossings to build an elevated rail line starting from Tinning street and ending before O’Hea street in a $460 million construction project. At Moreland Road the proposal is to build a new elevated station north of the present heritage listed station.
This will entail the destruction of 113 trees within the Moreland Station Reserves, with inadequate reasons given for why the new station could not be built south of Moreland Road, over the road, or on the north side next to Moreland Road. LXRP fail to provide possible alternative construction methodologies to minimise the number of trees to be removed.
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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’.
Climate Push for bike lane trial on Sydney Road Brunswick
Sydney Road Option 3 bicycle lanes (Source: VicRoads)
Moreland Council will be submitting a submission to the Department of Transport for a 6 month separated bike lane trial on Sydney Road between Glenlyon Road and Brunswick Road. An important reason driving this is the need to ramp up the use of sustainable transport on Sydney road to address transport emissions, to encourage mode shift away from car use to public transport and active transport in the City of Moreland.
At the August Moreland Council meeting Council debated proposals for the VicRoads Sydney Road Improvement project and the officer recommendation for a submission to the Department of Transport advocating Option 3 with separated bike paths and increased space for pedestrians.
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Melbourne airport third runway will induce aviation emissions growth
Stop Melbourne Airport Expansion
Report of a workshop at Craigieburn with Melbourne Airport Corporation on development of the third runway – main focus was runway will induce more aviation emissions, climate impact, climate damages by Climate Action Moreland Convenor, John Englart.
Call to action to Moreland: #GlobalClimatestrike on September 20 – Melbourne
A call for a global climate strike has been made for 20 September by the international student strike for climate and Fridays for Future campaigns. The call has been endorsed by global NGO leaders, celebrities and scientists, including Jennifer Morgan from Greenpeace International, Bill McKibben and Naomi Klein from 350.org, Professors Michael Mann, Will Steffen Tim Flannery and Lesley Hughes. You can pledge your support to join the global climatestrike.
Associated events in Moreland:
- Melbourne Global Climate Strike. Meet Treasury Gardens at 2pm – Facebook Event
- Moreland Bike ride to Global Climate Strike meet Coburg Mall at Noon for 12.30pm start, Brunswick mechanics Institute 12.45pm – Facebook Event
- Moreland Train Ride to the Global Climate Strike! – Upfield Line – Facebook Event
- Newlands Parents for Climate Action and Moreland Friends of the Forest – Walk with us Facebook Event
- Craigieburn line climate strike train: 12.30pm from Craigieburn. Facebook Event
- Craigieburn Line (2): Meet Broadmeadows Rail Station For the 1.19 pm train, Second carriage from the front if you join down the line.
- Local Action: Kids climate strike photo at local politicians office (Peter Khalil),
Where: 1/240 Sydney Road, Coburg.
When: On Friday 20 Sept – Meet at 3:15 for photo by 3:30.
Who: Everybody
Wear: WHITE clothes and for those who like dressing up come as an ANGEL.
Share: Photos and feelings about climate change
See also:
Moreland Council votes to support Global Climate Strike and
Brunswick MP calls for SpringSt politicians to attend Global Climate Strike
All new infrastructure needs to be green – Merlynston Station carpark upgrade
The Merlynston station car park was promised to be upgraded last year as part of the state election campaign. Climate Action Moreland is following up with local Labor MP Lizzie Blandthorn to ensure the upgrade is done as green infrastructure.
Lizzie Blandthorn signed the Climate Emergency Declaration during the election campaign, so her support for the upgrade to be green should go without saying. We wrote a submission to her on 19 February 2019. Her office has forwarded the submission to the Minister for Transport for a response which, as of 9 April, we are still waiting for.
Update 28 May, 2019: A very lacklustre Ministerial response on Merlynston station upgrade (PDF), giving no timelines nor commitments over green design.
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Dreaming Big on Climate Action in Moreland
Tim Read speaking at Climate Forum
State MP for Brunswick Tim Read hosted a forum on Climate for Moreland on 28 March, 2019 with Greens politicians from the 3 levels of government, but also community representatives on the speakers panel.
The forum was labelled: New Ideas in Climate Action – Let’s Dream big! It was similar in some ways to the recent forum by Federal MP Peter Khalil, but also different in being more inclusive in inviting members of the community on the speakers panel.
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