Worried that no action is happening on climate change? Think again! Check out these recent wins using the legal system:
📣In Issue #9 we celebrated the historic win stopping Clive Palmer’s Waratah coal project in the Galilee Basin by Youth Verdict, a First Nations-led group of young people. The project was stopped by linking climate change to the impact on human rights. Just over two weeks ago Waratah Coal withdrew its appeal. This is incredible news for Youth Verdict, The Bimblebox Alliance and the EDO who made legal history with that court challenge.
📣 Last October, the NSW Independent Planning Commission refused Glencore’s bid to expand its Hunter Valley Glendell coal mine because of the “significant, irreversible and unjustified impacts on the historic heritage values of the Ravensworth Homestead complex”, despite the “likely benefits” for the local economy. The deadline for Glencore to lodge an appeal has now passed! This is great news for the Wonnarua people, who have been fighting to have their land and their culture protected from yet another coal mine.
📣 Reported in our last Issue #13, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek confirmed that Clive Palmer's Central Queensland Coal mine 140km north of Rockhampton and 10km from the Great Barrier Reef has been rejected, following earlier rejection by the Qld Government on similar grounds.
📣 In May 2021, a Federal Court Judge found Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley has a duty of care to young people. The class action case, brought on behalf of all Australian children and teenagers, successfully argued that approving the Gunnedah Whitehaven coal mine extension would endanger their future because of climate hazards, including causing them injury, ill health or death, and economic losses. Although the rule was overturned on appeal, the Bench rejected all of the Minister’s criticisms on the evidence of climate change, and accepted the landmark rulings about the dangers of climate change made by the initial trial judge.
🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶
Fantastic news, but none of these cases were won due to the impact on our climate:
Waratah – human rights
Glencore – heritage
Central Qld – water quality and threat to the Great Barrier Reef
Whitehaven - overturned
So, there is work to be done, and actions you can take are listed below.
🐝 If you have 5 minutes:
The Australian Government has established a $1.9 billion Powering the Regions Fund to support the reduction of industrial emissions. $600 million is set aside for specific projects, which could include Carbon Capture, Use and Storage. Such projects have failed to make a meaningful cut in emissions anywhere that they have been deployed. Chevron's failed Gorgon project in WA demonstrates how this technology has not worked to cut gas industry emissions.
Action: Email your MP to demand this money is not used to fund the gas industry.
Adaro, the second largest coal miner in Indonesia, plans to build an aluminium smelter powered by new coal-fired power plants in North Kalimantan, a province of Indonesia on the island of Borneo. Companies and banks need to steer clear of this project to avoid violating their own coal restriction commitments.
Action: Email the banks to ask them to rule out funding the smelter and coal power company.
The Wallabies have won world cups, they’ve inspired generations of young people to start playing rugby and they’ve done us proud on the world stage. What we’re not proud of though is a fossil fuel company emblazoned on their jersey for the world to see.
Action: Add your name to the 350.org petition urging Rugby Australia to cut ties with Santos.
🐇 If you have 15 minutes:
The Multicultural Leadership Initiative (MLI) is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organisation that has a goal to build a climate safe future for all by supporting existing and emerging racially and culturally diverse climate solutions leaders. They want to hear about what Australians from racially, culturally, and/or linguistically diverse groups think of climate change.
Action: Take the anonymous survey or share with people you know.
The Move Beyond Coal movement wants NAB to end all forms of finance for companies or projects expanding the coal industry (including Whitehaven Coal) and ending all forms of finance for all coal, oil and gas by 2030. Join the 10 Days of Action from March 27- April 5 to urge NAB to adopt these goals - check regularly as more events will be added up until 6th March.
Action: Visit the Move Beyond Coal Week of Action event map to find an in person or online action near you.
💃🏽 If you have 30 minutes or more:
In Issue #11 we covered the Safeguard Mechanism. The 215 biggest greenhouse gas polluting facilities in Australia will be required to cut emissions by 4.9% per year per year, which equates to a 43% reduction by 2030, though the polluters will be allowed to buy offsets rather than actually decarbonise. Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) is working hard to tell decision makers that we need a stronger safeguard mechanism.
Action: Join the ACF calling party to ask ACF supporters talk directly to government decision-makers.
Bonus action - also about the ‘Safeguard mechanism’ - just a quick one - add your name to a letter from over 110 Australian scientists and experts calling on the Australian Government to prevent any further new fossil fuel projects in Australia.
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Fun facts, writing, infographics you’ve seen about climate action
Despite Tanya Plibersek's sneaky approval of another Santos fracking project in Queensland’s Surat Basin, there is good news: Renewable energy generation hit a record high during the last quarter of last year, providing on average 40.4% of the National Energy Market’s supply.
Renewables in the east coast grid peaked at close to 69% on 28 October 🚀
Wind generation was the highest for any quarter on record 🚀
Utility wind and solar (that is, excluding roof top solar) comprised 20% of total generation 🚀
Fossil fuels sank to their lowest-ever levels across Australia’s east-coast electricity mix 😿😿
Renewable energy overtook black coal for the first time in the history of the grid, driven by unreliability, unaffordability and unavailability of coal (particularly in Queensland) and lower demand. 😿😿😿
This graph from the OpenNEM project shows the inexorable yearly decline of dirty fossil fuel generated electricity from 1998 until now.
That’s all for today, folks 👋🏽 Thanks for taking action.
Climate change is not for clowning around. See you, Ron
plus Jan, Robyn and Malcolm - The Climate Club Qld team
We live, work and play on the lands of the Yuggara and Turrbal people in and around Meanjin - Brisbane. We pay respect to their Elders, past and present, and acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded - always was, always will be Aboriginal land. We pay tribute to the perseverance and pride of Aboriginal and Torres Strait culture that enriches our nation.
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