Posts tagged ‘native forests’
Greater Glider photobombs Wills MP over continued logging in Victorian Native forests at Fawkner Festa
A Greater glider puppet photobombed Federal MP Peter Khalil (Wills) and Kathleen Matthews-Ward – (Broadmeadows ALP candidate) at the Fawkner Festa. Climate activists argue that Logging of native forests is criminal in a climate emergency. The science is clear: Stopping native forest logging is key to getting to net zero argue Australian National University Scientists.
Sometimes you need to be a little cheeky to get a point across.
The Greater glider is a threatened species living in the old growth native forests of Victoria. They would like logging of native forests to end by 2024 at the latest, not 2030. Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek up-listed the southern and central Greater Glider species as endangered in a determination reported 9 July 2022.
The Victorian Labor Government has set an end to logging in native forests at 2030, but scientists and activists argue this needs to happen as soon as possible and no later than 2024. According to the science, forest ecosystems are facing collapse, species are facing rapid decline and possible extinction. This is an active issue in the Victorian state election which the Labor Party is not addressing. On a Federal level, review and updating the EPBC Act is important for ensuring logging has to go through the same threatened species assessment as other industries and dump the Regional Forestry Agreement process.
(more…)Coffee and climate action: Lobbying Wills MP Peter Khalil in Pascoe Vale
Peter Khalil MP receives a copy of IPCC 1.5C report
Saturday morning in Pascoe Vale and Wills MP Peter Khalil caught up to discuss issues with several constituents at the George Jones Eatery (named after Pascoe Vale’s first shopkeeper in 1841)
Climate action was a top priority for the citizens that had come along, although the ALP’s refugee policy was also mentioned.
Jane presented a copy of the IPCC 1.5C report to Peter Khalil, and Climate Action Moreland Convebnor John Englart also presented a copy of The Elephant in the Sky report (PDF) to him on aviation emissions.
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Part 3: Labor’s climate policy: so will we reach our paltry targets?
And we continue our special series on the Labor Party’s 2010 climate policies. Part one is here, and part 2 here. This edition, we discuss rewarding businesses for being responsible, chopping down trees that according to Labor don’t really exist, and we look at where we’re headed under Labor and where we need to go.
Rewarding business for energy efficiency
(hopefully they’ll turn off some lights too)
A one-off bonus tax deduction for businesses that undertake energy-efficiency capital works, starting from mid-2011. Cost of $180 million over four years, and $1 billion over a decade. Plus, in the meantime an extra $30 million for the Green Building Fund, which provides grants for retrofitting buildings. This is sensible, and could go even further. Wonder how long it will be before they start taking funding away from this one?
Rewarding business by freezing time
The government will keep emissions baselines frozen in time, rewarding businesses that reduce or constrain emissions before an ETS is introduced. If only we could freeze the entire world in time until Labor is ready to implement meaningful climate policies.
Green Start
(another embarrassing name change)
This policy replaces the Greens Loans Scheme, which offered interest-free loans to improve household energy efficiency, another scheme which had… issues. To make a fresh start (see what they did there?) Green Start scrapped the loans part and now offers energy assessments and some other vague unspecified energy efficiency help. Nobody knows, basically.
Photo: Peter Halasz
Native forest logging and logging and logging
Labor is arguing in international forums that emissions created from native forest logging should not be counted. Even though Victoria’s native forests are the most carbon rich in the world. And even though deforestation of native forests accounts for 20% of Australia’s net greenhouse gas emissions. Labor also says it is committed to a ‛net increase’ in Australia’s ‛vegetation cover’. Oooh, goody, more pine tree plantations where there used to be native forests!
Emissions target shooting
(too little, too late)
Just to recap. The IPCC is a group of scientists who issue comprehensive assessments on climate science. Their report states that to keep global warming at under 2 degrees celsius, Australia as a developed country needs to reduce emissions 40% lower than 1990 levels by 2020. HOWEVER, the IPCCs reports are always on the conservative side because it is a U.N. body and the world’s governments must approve their contents.
So here comes the really hard to take bit. Don’t worry, we’ll get through it together. (more…)
Climate Action Merribek: people in Brunswick, Coburg, Fawkner and Glenroy wanting action on climate change 