A few Climate Action Moreland members participated on Tuesday morning in a breakfast protest outside Engie’s local offices in Melbourne, calling for an early decision by Engie’s board to shut down the Hazelwood Power Station, one of the most polluting power stations in the industrial world.
Hazelwood is the worst polluting power station in the industrialised world. Other power stations in the La Trobe Valley are also heavy polluters. Current emissions intensity for Brown coal (lignite) in Victoria, Australia:
John Englart, our reporter for the Paris climate talks, reports that the French government has banned climate marches planned for November 29 and December 12.
The government is citing security concerns following the November 13 mass shootings and bombings that killed 129 people.
This banning makes it even more vital that people across the world send a clear message. Our leaders must take strong immediate action to slash carbon emissions. Join us at the Melbourne People’s Climate March on Friday November 27 at 5.30pm outside the State Library. Facebook event here.
John also writes:
Can I suggest that those of you not in Paris do a cardboard cut out of a person and write #jesuisParis on it and take it along to the protest as your plus one. Use it to add other climate slogans as you desire. Let your placards speak for Paris as the French State are attempting to silence the citizens of Paris mobilising during the climate conference.
The French organisation Coalition Climate 21 has issued a media release. A web translation is as follows:
NOVEMBER 29 AND DECEMBER 12 PROTESTS PROHIBITED IN PARIS
PRESS RELEASE Paris, November 18, 2015
The Prefecture of Police of Paris has just informed us that due to the tragic events that took place on November 13, the World March for the climate of 29 November and 12 December mobilizations planned are banned in Paris.
We regret that no alternative has been found to allow our mobilizations.However, we are more determined than ever to make our voices heard on issues of climate justice.
“We realize the gravity of the situation.More than ever we will mobilize and gather creatively. No COP21 without mobilizing civil society ” said Juliette Rousseau, coordinator of the Coalition climate 21.
Indeed, on 28 and 29 November weekend, on the eve of the opening of the COP 21, millions of people will march for climate justice:
2173 events are being prepared in over 150 countries
57 marches are planned worldwide
Dozens of marches in the regions of France have been announced
On 29 November and 12 December in Paris, we will find an alternative form of citizen mobilization, to show that COP 21 will not be done only with the negotiators.
Citizens Climate Summit to be held on 5 and 6 December in Montreuil (Seine Saint-Denis) and the Action Zone Climate, to be held from December 7 to 11 at Paris-CENTQUATRE should be maintained.These mobilizations will be two great opportunities to demonstrate that we have the solutions and alternatives to climate change and that civil society is determined to fight against the climate crisis.
21 Climate Coalition recalled that COP 21 is not an end in itself and that we citizens of the world are building a movement that will be strengthened after this summit and beyond.
When the Minister for Environment, Greg Hunt, re-approved the Carmichael Coal Mega-Mine in the Galilee Basin Queensland, CAM members together with all manner of climate activist groups took to Hunt’s office in Hastings on October 16 to voice their outrage.
The Climate Guardians on the day after Hunt’s announcement.
The Climate Guardians co-convenor Dr Liz Conor said: “to be actually expanding the Australian coal export industry now is beyond irresponsible, it’s staggeringly negligent.”
Two weeks later, on October 30, Direct Action Melbourne (DAM) made the point that coal mining of such magnitude is unconscionable and completely incompatible with protecting our ever more degraded ecology and food producing land, let alone with the embodied carbon emissions associated with a project of that size – 40km long open cut mine producing 60 million tonnes per year.
DAM members role-played fat-cat wealthy billionaires, coal miners, fishes of the reef. They locked-on in Hunt’s office for most of the day, triggering federal police attendance, and renamed Hunt Minister AGAINST the Environment and Minister for COAL.
Did you notice more people on the trams and trains going into the city from Moreland, not to mention more cyclists going into the city? I did. We were all going in to attend the People’s Climate march, a global event at 2700 locations in 160 countries. Some big, most small, and a huge turnout in New York.
New York hosted the main march to send a strong message to the 120 plus heads of state attending the Emergency UN climate summit called by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. And what a march it was with early estimates of 310,000 people, later revised upwards due to the large crowds to 400,000 people. It is the largest climate protest that has so far occurred and compares with similar large protests in the US on moral and ethical issues.
Here in Melbourne we were part of a 30,000 strong protest, a rebuff to the anti-climate policies of the Federal and State Governments. There were also events in regional towns around the state. You can read my report of the Melbourne Peoples Climate protest and regional events at my blog.
Tony Abbott the climate Wally
Unfortunately our Prime Minister Tony Abbott is a ‘climate Wally’ and is not attending the Climate Summit even though he is in New York the very next day to discuss the threat of terrorism. Instead he is sending Julie Bishop MP, the Foreign Minister, but with no increased targets to present. (more…)
Disruption, the Movie is a call to arms to march on september 21 globally to take strong climate action. This is the people’s climate march. It coincides with a meeting at the United Nations in New York by gloabl leaders convened by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon.
Consider what you are doing on Sunday 21 September and come along to one of the many street marches taking place around the world.
Check out events for Australia (currently 94 events 8/9/14). The main event is listed as in Melbourne, but you can be sure capital cities and many regional towns will also be on the streets. (more…)
The March in August carries on from the independently organised march in March protests which saw tens of thousands of people protesting the Abbott Government on many social, welfare, and environmental issues. The protests bring together a wide range of campaigns and individuals under one protest umbrella to demand Accountability, Transparency, Decency from the Abbott Federal Government including on climate policy and action.
The protest in Melbourne was held on Sunday 31st August 31 at 1:00pm starting from the State Library of Victoria, Swanston St, Melbourne. (See event Facebook Page).
Guardian columnist VanBadham brought a lot of intense enthusiasm and passion to her role as MC for the protest. Speakers included:
*Ursula Alquier – Lock the Gate Victorian Coordinator
*Julian Burnside – Advocacy on behalf of refugees
*David Ritter- Greenpeace re: “Protest laws” and GBR
*Jennie Hill Dir. Destroy the Joint. Women & Welfare.
*Annette Xiberras – Wurundjeri Elder and a former cultural heritage staff member with Aboriginal Affairs Victoria – Welcome to country and cuts to funding for Aboriginal services.
Report from the march
Our Climate Action Moreland banner didn’t make it but many of us were there collecting signatures on the monster climate petition and marching with friends.
Several thousand people attended with a large crowd that marched from the State Library to the steps of State Parliament on Spring Street. It was not as large as the protest in March, but was still substantial with a vibrancy of anger and frustration at the Abbott Government.
David Ritter, CEO of Greenpeace Australia spoke at Parliament House saying:
“But as a matter of conscience we must challenge the agenda of this Government. This, my friends, is a government that would abandon the Great Barrier Reef for the coal industry. This my friends, is a government that wants to deny the benefits of solar power and all of the clean energy that beckons. This is a government that would open up new destruction to our forests and to our oceans. This is a government that is actively wrecking progress on climate change.”
Ritter invoked the campaigns to stop the damming of the Franklin River, and oil exploration and drilling on the Great Barrier Reef in the 1980s, and the power of communities to defend green spaces in our capital cities and the more recent campaign to stop the HRL power Station in Victoria.
He urged those at the rally to do grassroots community organisiing by getting involved in local groups: “Take the passion and enthusiasm that brought you here today and take it home with you. Join a local group, join a campaign, join a human rights organisation, join a social justice organisation, join an environmental organisation, join a neighbourhood organisation and reach out to families in your neighborhood, your workplaces, because, men and women of Melbourne, the power and determination of the Australian people will not be stopped. Together we are strong; together we shall prevail; together we shall secure a better, bighter and more prosperous future for our country.”
Jennie Hill from Destroy the Joint outlined a littany of inequalities which women still suffer in Australia, but also highlighted that women will suffer disproportionately more with climate change. “Lack of action on climate change also hits women hardest since the poor of the world will first bear the brunt of rising sea levels and temperatures.” she said.
Update:
Thank you every one for coming along to the Council meeting tonight and for writing and emailing Councillors. We had about 26 people there. I thought the protest was a worthwhile statement to Council. Did we achieve what we wanted? In practice yes – the 3 solar PV projects the money was allocated for will all proceed through the tender process, where as that wasn’t guaranteed before tonight. But we didn’t get a reversal of the original decision. So Council is committed to these projects and will do any necessary budget adjustment at midyear budget review after the tender process is finished. A face-saving compromise, but one that ensures in practice Council’s continuing commitment to climate mitigation.
See photos at the bottom of this page. John Englart
The Council motion, moved by Cr Lenka Thompson seconded by Samantha Ratnam, passed unanimously, stated:
Council resolves:
To support the Carbon Management Strategy and reaffirms its commitment to taking action on climate change
To proceed with all the projects as proposed in the original draft council budget for 2014/15 as detailed in the council agenda for July 2014 budget for the Carbon Management Strategy (originally valued at $525,000 budget allocation)
Officers to report back by the November meeting outlining how all these projects will be funded to completion without compromising other environmental projects and initiatives
This is a substantial win on maintaining Moreland Council’s commitment and leadership on climate mitigation.
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Coal versus Sacred Land
