The Sustainable Hour on 14 December 2016 looks at the rising electricity and water prices, an example of superb local sustainability leadership, climate action campaigning, plus… one of the “dumbest things” we have heard in federal politics in recent times.
Interviews with Tony Overman, sustainability coordinator at Barwon Water, about the organisation’s plan to go 100% renewables by 2025, with Cam Walker, campaigns coordinator at Friends of the Earth Melbourne, about his view on the year that went and what his organisation will focus on in 2017, and with Jodi Magi from 350 Melbourne who is co-organiser of a special AGL ‘Christmas rally’ event in Melbourne.
Listen to The Sustainable Hour no. 152 on 94.7 The Pulse:
» To open or download this programme in mp3-format, right-click here (Mac: CTRL + click)
» Subscribe to ‘The Sustainable Hour’ podcast — via iTunes or via your own podcast/RSS software
“One of the dumbest things I have heard in politics in recent times.”
Following a two year work program involving hundreds of stakeholders, an evidence base of 19 expert reports and unprecedented analysis of energy system outcomes to 2050, Energy Networks Australia and CSIRO have published a ‘Roadmap Report’ which shows that an emissions intensity scheme for the electricity sector – a form of carbon trading that was to be considered by a government climate policy review until that plan was suddenly abandoned – could save customers $200 a year by 2030, while helping create a reliable electricity grid with zero emissions by 2050.
Conservative Liberal MP Cory Bernardi called it “the dumbest thing” he had seen in recent political debate because it “goes against Liberal Party political interests.”
“I’m sure you saw the complete failure of leadership on climate change from the Turnbull Government last week. In a report leaked last week no less than our chief scientist, Alan Finkel, called out the federal government for their inadequate climate policy. He warned that unless a clear, stable plan is developed, Australia will fail to meet its emissions reduction targets under the Paris agreement, electricity prices will rise for consumers and coal power station closures will be chaotic and unpredictable. Our chief scientist now joins business leaders, unions, coal communities and environment groups in calling for a plan – isn’t it about time we had one?”
~ Mark Wakeham, Environment Victoria
» Sydney Morning Herald – 6 December 2016:
Households to power up to half Australia, zero emissions within reach: CSIRO
» Energy Networks Australia and CSIRO:
Electricity Network Transformation Roadmap
“It’s all about understanding what type of contract you’re on and making sure you meet the conditions. Many families struggle with the price of power, but there is an opportunity to save with minimal effort required.”
“AGL customers in Victoria could save $445, EnergyAustralia customers could save $520, and Dodo Power and Gas customers could save $605. Origin could discount customers $460 if they changed over their contracts.”
» AAP / News.com.au – 14 December 2016:
Aussie households can save more than $600 a year on electricity
See the “dumbest thing” clip with MP Cory Bernardi here:
» Sydney Morning Herald – 6 December 2016:
‘One of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard’: Coalition conservatives furious over climate review
Politicians “want to draw attention away from the truth”
“Federal pollies of both colours bang on about reducing the restrictions on fracking because they’re doing the bidding of their mates/generous party donors/future employers in the gas industry and because they want to draw attention away from the truth that they allowed domestic gas prices to rise and don’t want to do anything to cut them.”
Ross Gittins, economics editor, ‘Mining makes pollies confused about demand and supply’
The federal government claimed it wanted ‘jobs and growth’. Then what happened? Pfffhhh… Take a look at this article about what is happening in the ACT. Why isn’t it this kind of information we’d be hearing from a ‘job-and-growth-happy’ government? Why aren’t Turnbull and Freydenberg highlighting this in the media? Why are they not at a national level promoting and supporting the benefits, jobs and economic growth which renewables so clearly now are beginning to bring about? …even more so out in the rest of the world.
Turnbull’s and Shorten’s weasel words on coal have made them not just climate change cowards, but shamefully exposed them as hypocrites who are dangerously stuck in an energy technology of the past and who don’t understand – or rather: deliberately refuse to acknowledge – what the future looks like – and that in reality their policies will lead Australia into darkness, economic downfall and destructive climate disruption – only because they a some point decided to serve a small but powerful and wealthy group of lobbyist and investors from the coal, gas and oil industry.
Once the genie – fake news, lying, lack of credibility – is out the bottle, everyone can now claim anything and is likely to get away with it. Facts can be deemed ‘fake’ – and false spin can be reported as facts.
Sustainable and renewable energy sources can be deemed “more expensive” and “unreliable”, even though they are not. Polluting the air with climate-destructive CO2 can be claimed to “improve the environment” or “creating jobs”, even though the opposite is the truth.
» The Age – 13 December 2016:
Renewable jobs grow as ACT drives down emissions from government operations by 17 per cent in three years
» The Guardian – 22 December 2016:
Federal resources minister accuses ABC of ‘fake news’ over Adani coalmine
“Matt Canavan attacks the broadcaster for being one-sided and says Australia’s biggest coalmine would improve the environment”
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Time to become an “e-mobility influencer”
It has never been more evident how both the United States’ and Australia’s energy policies have been hijacked by the fossil fuel industry.
As this video is an example of, the rest of the world is moving on regardless – and in five-ten years time, voters in both the US and Australia will eventually wake up and realise that they are being fooled, ripped off and damaged by this polluting industry, while other countries will have improved both their health standards and economy with investments in clean, renewable energy and zero carbon infrastructure.
In Norway, politicians talk with excitement about a ‘paradigm shift’ – because they are actually themselves creating it.
“I think that most politicians around the world understand that the Oil Age is going to end,” told a Norwegian politician in this video. Meanwhile in Australia, we have to listen to federal politicians lecturing us that a system which could save electricity customers $200 a year by 2030 is “the dumbest thing” simply because it goes against the Liberal Party’s so-called “political interests”.
The video follows German presenter and model Rabea Schif as she visits the Norwegian capital Oslo for She’s Mercedes to find out why electric mobility is so successful there. Riding through the city in a B250e, she meets up with inspiring “e-mobility influencers” from Oslo such as Kari Asheim from ZERO, Sture Portvik from the City of Oslo and Christina Bu from the Norwegian EV association.
“Politicians, whether we call them our elected leaders, are really our elected followers. They do what the people want them to do. If you want to change the government’s view on carbon tax, you need to change the public’s view on carbon tax.”
N. Gregory Mankiw, Professor of Economics, Harvard University
“Cheap, irresponsible and hypocritical”
“The government’s attack on the states having renewable energy targets beyond 2020 (of up to 50 per cent by 2030) was a cheap, irresponsible and hypocritical shot. This is especially so when it is widely accepted that Australia will need a national target approaching 60 per cent by 2030 if we are to meet our Paris target to reduce emissions by 26 to 28 per cent by that date. (…)
A prescription for poor government and, in the end, poor politics, which will eventually cost them government.”
~ John Hewson, professor at the Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU, and a former Liberal opposition leader
Turnbull an “appeaser of those fools within his government”
“Turnbull has long shed the leather jacket persona of his Q&A days when he took pride in his then principled stand on climate change policy. Now more likely we’ll hear him talk of the great future for coal and rush to blame renewable energy rather than to push it as a solution. No, he’s not the gibbering fool; he is just the appeaser of those fools within his government. And that is no less damaging. It is not a strategy that can last, because while it might help to keep the issue off the political agenda, and keep his leadership somewhat more safe, the months keep passing and the temperature keeps rising.”
Greg Jericho
» The Guardian – 6 November 2016:
As climate disaster looms, Malcolm Turnbull needs to stop appeasing and start leading
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“Everyone knows a big energy transition is coming. It is inevitable. And the longer we wait, the harder the transition will be: for consumers, for the environment, and for affected workers. Yet your government doubles down every chance it gets, to portray renewables as dangerous or expensive. Like exploiting the blackout in South Australia, and the closure of Hazelwood, to promote panic instead of progress. When will your government accept that our energy system has to change, and commit to leading that change instead of delaying it – including a Just Transition plan for the workers at Hazelwood and other coal facilities?”
Jim Stanford in a question to Senator Paterson in ABC’s tv show Q&A
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Greenest building transformation in Geelong
Barwon Water’s new Ryrie HQ building, which will open in May or June 2017, is going to have what Sustainability co-ordinator Tony Overman calls “an incredible sustainable system”. “It is the greenest building transformation in Geelong,” he says.
“From a lifelong interest in nature, place and well being, I have extensive experience working with communities and stakeholders to develop strategic approaches to meet complex sustainability and natural resource management challenges. I work with groups, facilitating shared understandings, common visions and agreed practical responses at strategic, tactical and operational levels.”
~ Tony Overman, sustainability co-ordinator, Barwon Water
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Calling out Australia’s biggest climate polluter
Jodi Magi from 350.org talks about a special Christmas-themed action in front of AGL’s headquarter in Melbourne:
“It can be easy to feel overwhelmed given the climate change statistics we are confronted with, not to mention the recent mass bleaching event of the Great Barrier Reef and the Adani Carmichael carbon-bomb mine rearing it’s ugly head again. That’s why its so important to channel that frustration and take action against these climate criminals. After all, its up to us to change the system, big business has no incentive to do so… So we have an opportunity to do just that. The Melbourne branch of 350.org is inviting local climate justice advocates to a special Christmas-themed action this Friday 16 December, calling out Australia’s biggest climate polluter. Everyone is welcome”
~ Jodi Magi from 350.org
Outside @aglenergy in Melbourne right now. We don't want coal for Christmas! #dirtyagl #keepitintheground pic.twitter.com/Q2p3oXHUPA
— 350Australia (@350Australia) December 16, 2016
Just love the pic of Coral the @TheCoalDiggers @ANZ_AU #auspol #ADANI #SHENHUA #DAYTON pic.twitter.com/PC64HXQumG
— HRH Terry Australis (@AustralisTerry) December 16, 2016
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“Is there any reason for hope?”
“Scientists have been warning since the 1980s that strong policies were needed to limit emissions. Those warnings were ignored, and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have since built up to potentially dangerous levels. So the hour is late.
But after 20 years of largely fruitless diplomacy, the governments of the world are finally starting to take the problem seriously. A deal reached in Paris in December commits nearly every country to some kind of action. Religious leaders like Pope Francis are speaking out. Low-emission technologies, such as electric cars, are improving. Leading corporations are making bold promises to switch to renewable power and stop forest destruction. Around the world, many states and cities are pledging to go far beyond the goals set by their national governments.
What is still largely missing in all this are the voices of ordinary citizens. Because politicians have a hard time thinking beyond the next election, they tend to tackle hard problems only when the public rises up and demands it.”
~ Justin Gillis: Short Answers to Hard Questions About Climate Change
“Although the magnitude of climate change may make individuals feel helpless, individual action is critical for meaningful change.”
~ Mia Armstrong, The State Press, 27 October 2016
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Starting off 2017 with climate emergency declaration events
2016 was not a good year for the climate action movement. Governments’ commitments to the Paris Agreement are far from sufficient. The US government has been taken over by the fossil fuel industry. As Trump team and others move climate denial and fake news into the mainstream, the media seems paralysed. Denial thrives while worrying facts keep ticking in. For instance:
» The Independent: 2016 will be ‘hottest year on record’
» NOAA: Unprecedented Arctic warmth in 2016 triggers massive decline in sea ice, snow
» BBC Science: Methane surge needs ‘urgent attention’
» OPEC: Oil production the latest half year has risen to a record 33.86 million barrels per day.
The good news: Australians are mobilising and waking up
The climate emergency declaration petition and mobilisation campaign is stepping up. For instance:
• On 5 December Darebin Council moved a motion that the council recognises we are in a climate emergency. It was passed unanimously. Darebin may be the first local council in Australia to do this
• Signatures are currently being collected all over the country, and almost 8,000 Australians have already signed it, including 85 in the last 24 hours
• The Greens NSW party has signed the Climate Emergency Declaration Petition and agreed to support the mobilisation of the necessary resources to engage in appropriate continuous campaigning to help avert dangerous climate change. Many Australian and NSW Greens MPs have signed in support, and Greens NSW MPs have proposed an ambitious Climate Change Bill
• NSW Conservation Council has become a supporting group and has urged member bodies to support the petition
• Conservation SA are joining in with their own petition (almost ready to launch)
• Victorian climate groups have taken a leading role in the campaign and the climate emergency is the theme for Sustainable Living Festival 2017.
Coming climate mobilisation events
• 1 January 1pm: Ballina mayor sees Steve Posselt off on the last leg of his Kayak4Earth odyssey
• January-February: Eight public events as Steve paddles along the east coast in his kayak, collecting petition signatures
• 21 January 10am: Newcastle Climate Justice Uprising event welcoming Steve to Newcastle
• 28 January 10am: Steve arrives in kayak at Sydney Opera House, rally and picnic
• 10-12 February: Sustainable Living Festival Big Weekend with stall and event in Melbourne
• 25 February: Rally to welcome Steve Posselt to Canberra for petition handover, followed by public seminar organised by Engineers Australia
Facebook events pages for all the above are at www.facebook.com/ClimateEmergencyMobilisation/events
Do you or does your group want to come along and be part of any of these events?
We welcome the involvement of lots of groups – with anti-Adani, pro-renewables and climate justice banners – particularly at the Sydney and Canberra rallies.
Please get in touch if you want to help make those events huge! And please share this!
With NASA data now out for November 2016, the year to date January-November 2016 is 1.27°C above the 1880-1900 baseline. The first few months were extraordinarily hot due to El Nino. This is the third year in a row that the annual record will have been broken: 2014 was 1.01°C and 2015 was 1.12°C.
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News from Friends of the Earth
Kat from Friends of the Earth Australia wrote:
“We’ve made it to the tail-end of 2016 – and what a year. We’ve achieved some massive wins, including a #VRET and a #VicGasBan. Whilst we’re preparing for a well-earned break we have some exciting plans for next year, including a metro-based climate campaign that was launched recently in Northcote.
Gina’s #FrackTax
After a brilliant five year campaign which saw 75 Victorian communities declare themselves Gasfield Free, Victoria will be the first Australian state to permanently ban unconventional gas drilling and the process of fracking.
The gas industry hates the ban. The federal environment minister Josh Frydenberg has opposed it, as has the industry group APPEA, Shell, the conservative press, and the Victorian Coalition. They worry (with good cause) that our victory here will encourage other states to go down the same path and create their own ban.
While we wait for the debate to start in parliament (due in Feb 2017), it has been announced that gas company Lakes Oil is demanding $2.7 billion in damages from the state because it is not allowed to drill. The company is part owned by mining magnate Gina Rinehart.
If the lawsuit is successful, the damages will come from the taxpayer’s purse. This means that Gina’s #FrackTax will leave Victorians $9.00 a week out of pocket for an entire year to cover the costs of her bad business deals.
Please show your support for the state government and tell Lakes Oil that they’re dreaming! Ideas for action available here.
Let’s get the Climate Change Act through parliament
Last week the Victorian parliament finally debated the amendments to the Climate Change Act. This Act was gutted by the Coalition when they were in power and needs to be re-built and outline the state’s emission reduction targets. As expected, the Coalition announced that they would not support the Act.
While The Greens will support it, we will now need to do additional work with the micro parties in the Upper House to ensure its safe passage.
Please remind the Coalition it’s the 21st century – let the Liberals and Nationals know that you expect them to support action on climate change by signing our petition (even if you have already) – it has been amended to include the Leader of the Opposition and Shadow Climate Change Minister).
Get involved in our climate campaign in Melbourne
After focusing most of our efforts on regional areas over the past five years, FoE Melbourne is now rolling out a community campaign in metro Melbourne.
There are two significant government policies that will be announced soon. The government will soon release a draft coal policy and amendments to the Victorian Climate Change Act (including an emission reduction target for 2020). This is our chance to set our state on a pathway to a truly sustainable future.
If you would like to be involved please check here for further information about the issues we’re working.
Can you #HelpHannah and donate to our end of year appeal?
Hannah from FoE Melbourne has been taking a break from her awesome campaign work and experimenting with her own innovative and creative ideas to raise funds for Friends of the Earth Melbourne… Hannah is great, we love Hannah. But unfortunately, fundraising is not her strong point.
2016 has been a phenomenal year for communities across Victoria. Our Yes2 Renewables team worked tirelessly for over two and a half years to win a Victorian Renewable Energy Target (VRET) with targets of 25 percent by 2020 and 40 percent by 2025, building a pathway to 100% renewable energy in Victoria and leading the country a commitment to clean energy solutions.
Driven by Communities across Victoria, we celebrated the introduction of a permanent ban on the exploration and development of all onshore unconventional gas, including hydraulic fracturing (‘fracking’) and coal seam gas. This is the first ban of its kind in Australia, and when passed it will ensure the protection of Victorian farmlands for generations. Just last month, communities in Gippsland also celebrated a win against coal with Mantle Mining withdrawing from six brown coal licences after 5 years of vocal community opposition.
So #HelpHannah. Donate today and make sure that we can continue to support grassroots campaigns that are delivering results, and protecting the places we love.”
» Friends of the Earth Australia:
www.melbourne.foe.org.au
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“It is not rocket science. We need to get carbon emissions down, we need to do it properly, and we need to do it quickly.”
~ Australian Firefighters Climate Alliance
» The Guardian – 15 December 2016:
‘The time has never been more urgent’: at the world’s largest Earth science event
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Help make 94.7 The Pulse into Geelong’s SOLAR radio station
The Pulse has launched its solar radio fund – and so far collected $3,500 – so we can offset the massive electricity costs in broadcasting a diverse range of programs. We need your support to make it happen:
94.7 The Pulse is Geelong’s community radio station. We broadcast over 80 radio programs, including 16 multicultural language programs and a weekly tv show, for nearly 250,000 people. That uses a lot of energy from our 130 volunteers, and a lot of electricity. So now we are buying SOLAR PANELS for the station and a SOLAR STAGE so we can broadcast anywhere.
We are determined to be a solar radio station – but we need your help! We have set up a crowdfunding campaign, with a range of goodies and rewards available, including merchandise and even the chance for “15 minutes of fame” on your favourite Pulse program!
Your assistance will bring not just an immediate benefit to The Pulse, but will contribute to our long-term future….helping to save the station money on our bills and save the environment! Help us save the planet, one broadcast at a time.
» Send your sunshine to the SOLAR RADIO FUND. Donate here:
www.generosity.com
» Find out more:
www.947thepulse.com
…and share this video with your friends on Facebook
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More of the good news
» One Step Off The Grid – 14 December 2016:
Google plans to be 100 per cent renewable next year
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AUSTRALIA:
“A 100 per cent renewable grid is possible”
The Alternative Technology Association’s report ‘100% Renewable Energy Grid – Feasible?’ examines the possibility of a fully renewable energy grid in Australia and concludes that such a grid is doable and can play an important part in our commitments to fight climate change. A fully renewable electricity grid would provide long-term economic, climate and social benefits for Australia, according to the discussion paper published on 9 December 2016.
“We found all experts agree that a 100% renewable grid will be reliable and stable, as long as it uses an appropriate mix of renewable generation sources, energy storage and upgraded infrastructure,” said Andrew Reddaway, the paper’s author and ATA energy analyst.
During periods of calm, cloudy weather electricity could be sourced from sunny or windy parts of the country and supplemented with energy stores such as hydroelectric dams, molten salt heat storage, batteries, renewable gas and stockpiles of pelletised woody waste.
“This grid would be robust, with smarter renewable generators and batteries automatically injecting extra electricity when required for grid stability,” Mr Reddaway said.
“Similarly, smart appliances would detect disturbances in the grid and independently adjust their power level to compensate.”
» Download the discussion paper (PDF)
» Bloomberg – 15 December 2016:
World Energy Hits a Turning Point: Solar That’s Cheaper Than Wind
“Emerging markets are leapfrogging the developed world thanks to cheap panels.” Article by Tom Randall
Tipping point for #CleanEnergy: unsubsidised #solar is cheapest form of new electricity – out-competing coal & gashttps://t.co/qgIW84AGHy pic.twitter.com/pFTaRl0qLX
— TransportEnvironment (@transenv) December 16, 2016
Comments
“Wow, now that is the definition of what leadership is, this is awesome news in the fight against climate change.”
~ Nathan Dunn
“Trump and Turnbull are a pair of tits. It is very concerning that so many climate deniers and corrupt people are gaining power and further endangering our planet.”
~ Niki Brand
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John Englart wrote:
“Watch this 2010 video of Malcolm Turnbull. What does Malcolm stand for? What does he believe in? There is nothing there. This is the same man that called Tony Abbott’s Direct Action Climate Policy as ‘bullshit’ in 2009, who now presides over this ineffective policy that has run it’s course with the Emissions Reduction Fund. Political cowardice and political incompetence he labelled Rudd, yet those labels equally fit is own about-face.. “We cannot cost effectively achieve a substantial cut in emissions without putting a price on carbon.” he said. Yet last week he ruled out a carbon intensity scheme for the electricity sector for the climate policy review to please the extremist climate denial nutters in the Liberal Party. A scheme widely supported by the sector, business, science and environment groups for providing stability during a time when the grid needs to transition and become more flexible, while not reducing energy security.”
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2017 calendar
The second national Community Energy Congress
Join Søren Hermansen and 500 community energy champions from around Australia at the second national Community Energy Congress.
Søren will also be at Hepburn Wind on Sunday 26 February 2017 – and you’re all invited!
Register before Christmas Eve to receive an Early Bird discount.
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ART+CLIMATE=CHANGE 2017 festival
CLIMARTE’s mission is to harness the creative power of the arts to inform, engage and inspire action on climate change, and they are very busy doing just that, preparing for the ART+CLIMATE=CHANGE 2017 festival which will run from 11 April to 19 May 2017.
With some twenty-eight exhibitions in Melbourne and regional Victoria, keynote presentations by leading international cultural commentators, public forum and panel sessions, workshops, bike tours, and a very special major installation that was shown during the Paris Climate Conference, ART+CLIMATE=CHANGE 2017 promises to be both inspirational and impactful.
CLIMARTE will be seeking volunteers to help with the festival so stay tuned for a volunteer callout.
Make sure that you get the latest news on ART+CLIMATE=CHANGE 2017 by subscribing to their newsletter, and following them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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Solar and Storage Conference and Expo
The 55th Annual Solar and Storage Conference is a state of the art exhibition of the latest in solar, with 5,000 industry delegates, 105 sponsors and exhibitors, 150+ local and international speakers – only a short walk from Southern Cross station in Melbourne: the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre – and free to attend.
On Wednesday 3 and Thursday 4 May 2017.
With three concurrent conference streams, exploring rapid energy transformation, smart energy, solar and energy storage and installer professional development (in partnership with SEIA).
Podcasts and posts about climate change
Acknowledgement
We at The Sustainable Hour would like to pay our respect to the traditional custodians of the land on which we are broadcasting, the Wathaurong People, and pay our respect to their elders, past, present and future.
The traditional owners lived in harmony with the environment and with the climate for hundreds of generations. It is not clear – yet – that as European settlers we have demonstrated that we can live in harmony for hundreds of generations, but it is clear that we can learn from the indigenous, traditional owners of this land.
When we talk about the future, it means extending our respect to those children not yet born, the generations of the future – remembering the old saying that…
The decisions currently being made around Australia to ignore climate change are being made by those who won’t be around by the time the worst effects hit home. How utterly disgusting, disrespectful and unfair is that?
Streaming live
» The Sustainable Hour is streamed live on the Internet every Wednesday from 11am to 12pm (Melbourne time):
www.947thepulse.com – click on ‘Listen Live’
Podcast archive
Hours and hours of sustainable podcasts
Listen to all of The Sustainable Hour radio shows in full length and in selected excerpts:
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