Was the budget good enough, or are you Ready to lobby?

Thanks to people like you, speaking up about the climate crisis, and thanks to recent events proving the science, our Australian governments have come a long way in the last year. State and local governments especially.

But that budget! Did it take any account of the seriousness of climate change? It seems our federal government is still stuck on old polluting ways. They are still listening to the wrong story and apparently blind to the facts.

We have an opportunity before 2020 ends to focus on lobbying every one of our Federal MPs to help them see the light.  You can help enormously this month, with just the simplest “yes please add my name to a letter to my MP”. Perhaps you’d also like to learn how best to communicate with MPs, perhaps you’d enjoy meeting with a few of them too. Interested?

Rod Mitchell is presenting some brilliant Climate Advocacy Training this evening and Sunday, then we have our Nat. Chat Tomorrow night. Come and share your thoughts about the budget. Details below.

But the pinnacle of our year will be our annual conference and lobby days. Yes the conference (1pm-5pm AEDT Nov 1st) is a little shorter than normal and on Zoom. But some great speakers and activities and so much easier and cheaper to attend than travelling to Canberra. We hope to have more chances than ever to lobby our politicians in the days that follow. 

And CCL has what it takes – just last week our mother organisation won the Keeling Curve Prize for CCL’s outstanding techniques.

We have some new and very enthusiastic young people now volunteering across CCL. You’ll start to see their contributions and new ideas here too. Please join me in welcoming Ilisha, Brendon, Elizabeth, Erminia and Mark to the CCLA news team.

So anyway – here’s the latest news and detail of all the good stuff that’s on. Enjoy

Cheers      Tom

The climate this week – Brown til ’48!

In our weekly appointment with the latest climate-action news, Jenny talks about what the Federal Budget brought us: a lot of disappointment and some good news. Expectations are high about the outcome of the US Presidential election, which will happen in a few weeks. A Biden win could mean a significant improvement in the American climate policy, but we discuss why you should not expect a revolution. In Australia we focus on the fight for the closure of highly pollutant brown-coal power stations in Victoria. Finally, we talk about the reason why one of the most important global economic institutions – the International Monetary Fund – urges for immediate action to stop global warming.

and from last week .. The controversial approval of the Narrabri gas project in NSW, as well as the critical comment expressed by NSW Energy Minister Matt Kean. … and a useful reminder from an activist friend: “we and economics have almost defeated coal. Now to find the energy to do the same for gas.”

Tonight, Wed 14 Oct  or  Sun 18 Oct

AUS Climate Advocate Training

take your pick

Weds 14th @ 7 pm NSW, VIC, ACT, TAS | 6.30 pm SA | 6 pm QLD | 5.30 pm NT | 4 pm WA

Sun 18th @ 1 pm NSW, VIC, ACT, TAS | 12.30 pm SA | 12 pm QLD | 11.30 am NT | 10 am WA

All welcome to join our Climate Advocate Training: it will not only teach you about Citizens’ Climate Lobby’s methods and visions, but also inspire you to find your role within CCL Australia so you can become an active and involved volunteer and hit the ground running. A few minutes before the meeting starts, just click this link: https://zoom.us/j/7868786878 

National Conversation – Tomorrow

Whats right with the budget? Whats wrong with it?

Read Rod Mitchell’s article “2020 Budget: A missed opportunity” published in Pearls and Irritations yesterday!

Rod says “The 2020 Federal Budget is a brave attempt to revive the Australian economy following the pandemic crisis. It may even succeed. But it wastes a big opportunity to prepare the economy for the larger and more serious challenge of climate change. ” ….

Do you agree?

Come along and give us your thoughts. We’d love to see you there!

Tomorrow – Thurs 15th Oct

join in on Zoom 8 pm NSW, VIC, TAS, ACT | 7.30 SA | 7pm QLD | 6:30 NT | 5pm WA

Drop the climate war, we are on the same side!

From volunteer news-writer Ilisha Kaul:

Even in 2020, we still have endless climate wars, though circumstances are changing. The bushfires encountered earlier this year have left an indelible impact on the country. The “Black Summer” has altered public opinion on climate change. ANU’s Social Research Centre interviewed over 3,000 Australians and found that 49.7 percent ranked the environment as … (read more)

…To adhere to this 2050 target, we need policies that bolster and encourage big changes….

…The Nationals are not at all in favour of the net-zero idea. They are apprehensive that it will “send factories and industries offshore”. Nationals Senator Matt Canavan has tweeted “Net zero emissions = net zero jobs,”. …… Read Ilisha’s full story here.

CCL National Conference – Nov 1

Find out how you can take effective action
Sunday 1^st Nov, 1:00pm – 5.00pm AEDT

Keynote Speakers: Matt Kean NSW’s Energy Minister and Assoc Prof Paul Burke from the ANU Climate Change Institute; joined by Maree Nutt on Australia’s Climate Smart Recovery

Plus, Lobbying our MPs on Zoom in the days following

Conference Topics

• How you can make a difference using CCL’s highly effective lobbying approach
• Understand the best way to deliver large and reliable emission reductions
• Support a Climate Smart Recovery with the BZE Million Jobs Plan
• The plan to shut down Australia’s Coal Power Stations
• What Climate Actions will we Ask of our MPs

There will be breakouts for small group discussions & skills practice

Please register here or email conference@ccl.org.au for more details

Climate Refugees

From volunteer news-writer Elizabeth Law:

The issue of climate refugees should not divide Australians, but it should be ringing alarm bells in our heads. Not just because it is so close to home, but because the problem is already here.

We are no strangers to climate refugees. Early this year, bushfires raged across Australia destroying homes, displacing millions of animals and let’s not forget – thousands of humans. The 2019/20 bushfires have the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) still reporting “at least 18,000 people are expected to still be displaced from the unusually long and intense season.”

The more concerning thing is, Australia’s rising temperatures could mean that most of Australia’s next generation might become climate refugees. Dr. Michael E. Mann, Professor of Atmospheric Science & Director of Earth System Science Center, Pennsylvania USA, claims ‘It is conceivable that much of Australia simply becomes too hot and dry for human habitation.”

Think about the many bushfires we have had this year. Just how long can Australia take this? We should be moving together towards a sustainable solution, pursuing the path of a greener future, and stopping the current emissions to stem the more severe consequences heading our way.

Video of the month

Guest Speaker Christina Talacko
Coalition for Conservation

Christina is so in tune with how we can better communicate with the Coalition. Building the centre. Vital watching

Other great speakers on our Youtube channel

Support for Zali’s Bill

Of course it’s good if you can do it too 🙂

Climate Smart Recovery

The importance of a climate-smart recovery

Australia has been a global leader in dealing with both the health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. To date this has largely been achieved through the National Cabinet’s demonstration of bipartisan cooperation as well as government decision-making largely based on the advice of medical and other experts. Australia could also become a global leader on addressing climate change because the reality is that the bigger and looming crisis that is climate change has not gone away.

Have you encouraged a Climate Smart Recovery yet? Use our prewritten letter to let your MP and Senators know we like what’s happening with the bipartisan solutions for COVID19, and that we want to see them take the same approach to tackle global warming. And we ask them to pass the message directly to Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Learn more and find out how easy it is to help

Did you know?

The ‘Letters to the editor’ is the most read page in most papers!

Our wonderful letter writing group continues to sway public opinion ever more in the right direction. Lots of good letters being published even in some of the more difficult papers.

We recently teamed up with the letter writers in ‘Lighter Footprints’ in Melbourne who are having similar successes, and it appears that the doubting rags are softening their stance a little. It’s great to see the message getting through this way.

Would you like a hand getting your letter to the editor published. Learn all the tricks for making your voice heard at this critical time. Drop us a line to join the facebook letter writers group.

Another easy way to help

Like to donate a little each month and help us employ a full time manager for our Australian campaigns next year?

This is a great way to multiply our efforts, and very attractive if you have difficulty finding time to support CCL in other ways. Consider setting up a regular $10 a month (or whatever you can afford) automatic transfer from your account. Find out more.

Volunteer Positions

Want to lend a hand with CCL Australia?

Lots of variety, from just an hour or two a week

See the Volunteer Positions page on our website

Last word: OUR FUTURE

I’M proud to live and work in sunny Mackay, where for the past 10 years my business partner and I have headed up a firm that provides electrical, energy, and manufacturing services to mining, construction and agriculture firms . Our business started out as a team of six, contracting qualified electricians to the mining sector and for residential solar installations. But things look quite different today. Not only has our workforce grown to between 60 and 80 staff , we have also diversified into renewable energy solutions like solar carports while continuing our mining services work. Perhaps the biggest and most exciting change is that we have taken our manufacturing facility in Paget entirely “off the grid” , with an 100kW-kilowatt solar, 200kWh Tesla battery storage system and a backup gas-fired micro-turbine generator.

That means that everything we fabricate-from handrails to large steel structures-is powered by free energy from the sun. This has been great for our business.

First and foremost, it is much cheaper to run our operations off solar than electricity from coal or gas. When we made the decision to make the substantial up-front investment in our solar and battery system two years ago, we calculated it would pay itself off in six and a half years. We also feel the benefit whenever there is a power outage . Our operations continue uninterrupted, and we often don’t even realise there is an outage until our neighbours complain.

Our clients and staff also feel proud to work with a business that is leading on environmental solutions. Our journey doesn’t stop here. With the equipment to generate renewable hydrogen becoming cheaper, we hope to replace our minimal gas use with hydrogen, and become 100 per cent renewables-powered in the next 12 months.

It has been a difficult year for all Australians, but switching to renewables has set our business up to weather the economic storm of COVID-19 , and to continue our growth. If all goes to plan, we’re looking at doubling our workforce in the next three to five years. Our story may seem unique right now; but it doesn’t need to be. Renewable energy makes sense for so many businesses; especially daytime manufacturing operations like ours. We’re lucky to do business in the sunniest country on earth, and one of the windiest. We also have readily available clean technology solutions that are becoming cheaper every day.

I urge all business leaders to see if the switch to renewables makes sense for your company. You might find that a bright future is closer than you think.

Jason Sharam is the managing director of Linked Group Services.

C/o The Illawarra Mercury

Citizens’ Climate Lobby acknowledges
the Traditional Custodians of the Lands
on which we live, lobby, advocate, and educate.
We pay our respect to Elders past and present.

Photos c/o Pixaby(money), John Englart (mine), Volunteering Queensland (lost home), climateactnow.com.au (farmer), Tom Hunt and others unknown. Artwork c/o Melisha Leggett. Our appreciation to the authors.