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In The Sustainable Hour on 4 July 2018, we talk with Simon Sheikh, managing director of Future Super, and professor Lesley Hughes, founding member of the Climate Council and a lead author on the International Panel on Climate Change’s latest two reports. We play a peer-reviewed rap song about IPCC for her – by Baba Brinkman.
Colin Mockett’s Global Outlook contains a special message to our listeners, and we play a new video from The Terminator with a special message to both Trump and Turnbull.
The Terminator’s take on renewables
Listen to The Sustainable Hour no. 223 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
i’m still offering 10-to-1 odds that there won’t be a new coal fired power station generating within 10 years.
no takers? not even you @PaulineHansonOz?https://t.co/yDZLLDpnJh
— simon holmes à court (@simonahac) June 27, 2018
“It’s a shameful fact: The older generation bears the responsibility for climate change but the younger generation will suffer its disastrous consequences.”
~ Ingmar Rentzhog, CEO, We Don’t Have Time
» Washington Post – 3 July 2018:
Red-hot planet: All-time heat records have been set all over the world during the past week
» CNN – 6 July 2018:
Blistering heat wave claims 54 lives in Quebec
“A blistering heat swept through parts of Canada this week, killing 54 people in the province of Quebec, according to health officials. Twenty-eight of the deaths were in Montreal, said Marie-Claude Lacasse with the Ministry of Health. Many of the victims were older than 50, male, living alone and had no air conditioning.”
“Political cesspit in Canberra is utterly failing Australians”
“We are more exposed to the impact of this warming than any other continent. Drought is in full swing, farming land is rendered increasingly unproductive; this process will accelerate, with impact across society. We are totally unprepared for what is now developing. The first priority of government is the security of the people. The political cesspit in Canberra is utterly failing Australians by refusing to wake up to reality. If we want to survive, time for totally different emergency government, not just new policies.”
~ Ian Dunlop, former coal and fossil fuel executive
#EDITORIAL / FACEBOOK RANT:
Whether you like it or not, you are already involved
By Mik Aidt
Apologies if by posting this disturbing news I am annoying you in your comfortable “don’t talk to me about climate change”-zone.
I hear so many saying this. I don’t understand how anyone can be a parent and supposedly want the best for their children, but then pretend they are deaf or not paying attention to this escalating crisis caused by our collective carbon pollution.
We all play a part in this, and our kids have every right to blame their parents for the mess our climate pollution now creates on our planet – and unfortunately, according to the climate scientists, with much much worse still to come in the next years, decades and centuries.
Our governments are not going to solve this problem for us – not until we step up and do something about it ourselves at a much more serious level. Like, at the 100%-energy-independent and close-to-zero-carbon-living kind of level.
When enough of us refuse, avoid and reduce our consumption of coal, oil, gas and red meat, we will begin to see political change happen surprisingly quickly. To ban new fossil fuel projects and put a price on carbon pollution is shockingly easy for any government to do – all it takes is the political will across the parliament, backed by a popular mandate.
As voters we already have the majority of the population who want our governments to take action on climate change.
In so-called “coal-happy” Australia, for instance, 84 per cent of the population actually say they want a future powered by clean, climate-safe renewables. In the UK, it is the same figure, and the numbers are similar in many other countries as well.
If we put climate action highest on our agenda in election periods, we already have what it takes to vote in new, young politicians who understand what the problem is and how to get it fixed.
If you are not already: Get involved. We don’t have much time.
Some of the Facebook comments
to Mik’s post above. An excerpt:
LISTENER SERVICE:
Content of this hour
Links, excerpts and more information about what we talked about in this Sustainable Hour
#CLIMATECHANGE:
Lesley Hughes
“I think probably it is the most rigorously examined and reviewed documents in history.”
~ Lesley Hughes, Lead Author in the last two IPCC reports, talks about the reports in The Sustainable Hour
Lesley Hughes is a Distinguished Professor of Biology and Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research Integrity & Development) at Macquarie University. Her research has mainly focused on the impacts of climate change on species and ecosystems, and the impacts of climate change for conservation policy.
Hughes is a former Lead Author in the IPCC’s 4th and 5th Assessment Report. Her contribution to the reports covered all of the literature on risks to biodiversity at both species and eco-system level.
She is a former federal Climate Commissioner and now a Councillor with the publicly funded Climate Council of Australia.
She is also a Director for WWF Australia, a member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, the Director of the Biodiversity Node for the NSW Adaptation Hub and a member of the expert advisory committee for Future Earth Australia.
About the I.P.C.C.
“Assessments of climate change by the IPCC, drawing on the work of hundreds of scientists from all over the world, enable policymakers at all levels of government to take sound, evidence-based decisions. They represent extraordinary value as the authors volunteer their time and expertise. The running costs of the Secretariat, including the organization of meetings and travel costs of delegates from developing countries and countries with economies in transition, are covered through the IPCC Trust Fund.”
The IPCC is currently preparing its Sixth Assessment Report and a number of Special Reports, including a ‘Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C’, finalized in October 2018 with the aim of “strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty,” and an IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land is to be published in June 2019.
Science communication: Comms handbook for IPCC
“This communications guidance was commissioned by the IPCC’s Working Group 1 Technical Support Unit, ahead of the 1.5 degree report to be released in October 2018. With a wealth of practical tips and case studies, it provides 6 principles for IPCC authors – and the wider scientific community – to use in public engagement.”
» See the handbook and more guides and reports on www.climateoutreach.org
» Report: Communicating Environmental and Sustainability Science
Climate and corals
The following is an excerpt of a newsletter, Lesley Hughes sent to supporters of the Climate Council:
From Doha, to New York, to Italy, the Philippines and the outermost corners of Australia, the impact of climate change on the Great Barrier Reef is at the top of the news headlines.
With the incredible support of our community throughout the year, and our friends at EthicalJobs.com.au giving our community donations an extra boost, we’ve been able to launch our plan (and a whole lot more). Here’s a quick snapshot of what has been achieved so far:
- We’ve just launched a brand new report (1), which reveals that the Great Barrier Reef could be hit with repeat coral bleaching events every two years by 2034 under current greenhouse gas pollution rates.
- Federal Environment & Energy Minister, Josh Frydenberg, has responded (2) to our report and publicly acknowledged that ‘climate change is the single biggest threat to the Barrier Reef’. (But despite this statement – we’re not seeing this backed up by any adequate action by the Federal Government to reduce emissions).
- We’ve well and truly put the spotlight on the reef in the media. Our multi-pronged strategy of taking journalists on a boat out to the reef to see the recovery (or lack thereof) after devastating bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef in 2016 and 2017, and launching a brand new report, has reached a cumulative audience of over 4 million people. From Al Jazeera, to the New York Times, to the World Today, we’ve secured 565 media stories and counting. This is equivalent to more than $743,000 of media coverage (which is a great return on investment for everyone who’s chipped in so far)!
- We’ve created a powerful new video using footage from our trip. Watch and share it today to make sure your friends and family aren’t left in the dark about the future of our reef. We’ll keep the pressure on by rolling out more videos on the reef in the coming weeks.
- We’ll continue using our new report to brief influential stakeholders, including key tourism operators, so they’re armed with the facts to talk about the biggest threat to their industry – climate change.
So what’s next?
Unless the Federal Government takes drastic action on climate change right now, coral bleaching may become the new normal by the 2030s.
That’s why we must keep pushing.
Itching to make a bigger impact? Here are a couple of things you can do right now:
- Watch and share our new video showing the current state of the reef and make sure it doesn’t go unnoticed.
- Sign our petition to call on Federal Government Ministers to create a credible climate change policy that deeply and rapidly reduces greenhouse gas pollution and allows us to transition to renewable energy.
Visiting the reef and being confronted by dead corals covered in brown algae was devastating, but, what buoyed my spirits out on the reef was the knowledge that this international icon and natural wonder is so treasured by millions of Australians, many of whom are willing to do whatever it takes to protect this precious asset. And we have the solutions at our disposal – clean, affordable and reliable renewables.
Together, we will keep that spotlight firmly focused on the reef and call out climate change as the real culprit.
In hope,
Professor Lesley Hughes
Climate Councillor
P.S. We wanted to thank each and everyone of you who has supported our Reef campaign this year, including a special thank you to Ethicaljobs.com.au who matched donations to $20,000. You can continue to power our reef campaign with Ethicaljobs.com.au until the end of July.
P.P.S. Want to see some of the headlines? Check out some highlights from The New York Times, Buzzfeed, and The World Today.
(1) https://www.climatecouncil.
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Cities Power Partnership program
A year ago, Climate Council launched a so-called Cities Power Partnership program that would supercharge cities and towns across Australia to take action on climate change.
They called on mayors to jump on board, urged everyone to nominate their own cities and towns, and asked everyday Australians to chip in and share the word to make this vision a reality.
One year later, the Cities Power Partnership is now the largest climate program for local governments in Australia.
Major cities like Sydney, Brisbane, Darwin, Cairns, Newcastle and Canberra have answered the call and signed up! Along with rural and regional towns from every corner of the country like Broken Hill, Bunbury, Noosa, Lismore, Wagga Wagga, Alice Springs, Onkaparinga, Fremantle and Bathurst.
The Partnership program is now powered by 70 councils and 250 towns and cities representing 8 million Australians.
“And what’s even better is that we’re already seeing renewable energy, sustainable transport and efficiency projects rolling out across the country, such as Lismore’s floating solar farm, the ACT’s revolutionary electric vehicle ramp up and Strathbogie’s fantastic bulk buy that helps pensioners save money by using cost-effective solar,” writes Chief Councillor Tim Flannery in a newsletter from Climate Council on 17 July 2018.
“We’ve got lots more in store over the coming months, with plans to reach 100 councils very soon,” he adds.
Climate Council will be bringing councils together for their first ever national summit on 18-19 October 2018, Kiama, New South Wales. The event will draw together trailblazing councils, community energy groups, climate experts and industry leaders from across the country, to connect and be inspired to tackle climate change together.
If you are, or know someone who is part of a community energy group, a member of local government, an industry representative or a climate change expert – you can find out more here.
» You can watch and share the video on Youtube
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#REGENERATIVEFINANCING:
Simon Sheikh
Simon Sheikh is managing director of Future Super, an ethical and 100% fossil free superfund with over 10,000 members, which he co-founded with Adam Verwey.
In 2008, at the age of 22, Sheikh became the National Director of GetUp! which he ran until 2012. Sheikh was an Australian Greens’ Senate candidate for the Australian Capital Territory in the federal election in 2013.
In 2011, Sheikh married activist and environmentalist Anna Rose who co-founded the Australian Youth Climate Coalition – “a movement of over 150,000 people who are fighting for a safe climate for our generation and future generations.”
Our strong ethical screens and zero tolerance for fossil fuels means Future Super rejects all big 4 banks https://t.co/9sGtfGgHt8
— Future Super (@myfuturesuper) June 4, 2018
» Future Super on Twitter and Facebook
» Home page: www.myfuturesuper.com.au
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#GLOBALOUTLOOK:
Colin Mockett
“Unfortunately we are living in a dinosaur country. I don’t think there is another nation that I can name that has turned the world’s problem of climate change into a political issue and has a government that uses the climate as a political football. If you look at the world governments as a class room, we have let the bullies take over the class.”
“We have two elections coming up within the next year, both state and federal. The simple thing to say to our politicians is: “Hey, where does the environment sit on your agenda?” And if they give you a political excuse, which means they will talk around corners and say nothing, then you will be saying to them: “I’m am not voting for you. I am only voting for people who put the environment – and the climate crisis which the world is going through – front, centre and at the top of the list.”
~ Colin Mockett in The Sustainable Hour no 223
“The Nationals’ party room has produced a two-page letter of pro-coal demands for Turnbull. The demands include a $5 billion fund to provide off-budget equity in three new baseload power stations as the price for the junior Coalition party’s support of the National Energy Guarantee.”
~ Paula Matthewson» The Guardian – 8 July 2018:
Tony Abbott is trying to agitate the Nationals into a rebellion
“Energy is proving to be Abbott’s latest weapon in a bid to blow up Turnbull’s leadership. But will it succeed or backfire?”
“The Business Council of Australia, the country’s pre-eminent business lobby group, has effectively declared war on wind and solar technology, declaring that a target of 49 per cent renewables, as proposed by Labor, would “wreck the economy.”
In echoes of the Minerals Council of Australia’s extraordinary campaign against the mining tax under the Rudd government, BCA chief executive Jennifer Westacott vowed to campaign against Labor’s renewable energy target, which she said would “destroy” the Australian economy.”
» RenewEconomy – 27 June 2018:
Big business lobby declares war on wind and solar
» RenewEconomy – 27 June 2018:
How Australia will get to 33% renewable electricity by 2020
“Despite best efforts by Coalition government to stop it, Australia will end up with 33% renewables by 2020, will likely get to 40% by 2030, and has enough in pipeline to reach 85%.”
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#AUSPOL:
Malcolm Turnbull delusional turnaround on climate
Does Malcolm Turnbull think he can get away with telling us “coal will be a part of Australia’s energy future forever”, when he – the very same person – told us back in 2010 that,
“Climate change is real, it is affecting us now, and it is having a particularly severe impact on Australia. And yet, right now, we have every resource available to us to meet the challenge of climate change except for one: and that is leadership. Our efforts to deal with climate change have been betrayed by a lack of leadership, a political cowardice the like of which I have never seen in my lifetime before.”
Malcolm Turnbull said this in a speech at the Deakins on the Politics of Climate Change in 2010. In the same year, he also stated that we have “zero carbon budget left” – meaning: we cannot allow ourselves to burn any more fossil fuels:
“Our response to climate change must be guided by science. The science tells us that we have already exceeded the safe upper limit for atmospheric carbon dioxide. We are as humans conducting a massive science experiment with this planet. It’s the only planet we’ve got.”
Well, science is telling us to stop burning coal. For instance, scientists from University of Oxford said last year that to avoid dangerous global warming, 2017 is the last year energy companies can build new coal power plants.
“For policy makers who think of climate change as a long-term future issue this should be a wake-up call,” said Cameron Hepburn, co-author of the study, back then. “Research published last year by four Oxford economists and scientists concluded that to keep climate change to below 2°C, no new coal plants can be built after 2017 unless they have zero emissions.”
“Climate models give a glimpse of the Australia we are creating. They show the nation’s wheatbelts, from Esperance to the Wimmera, dried to a crisp. They show the Queensland coast being thrashed more relentlessly by fiercer storms. They show a rash of summer bushfires that make Black Saturday look like candles on a cake. But they do not show the reef. By the end of the century, we will have boiled it to death. This is the Australia we are creating. Even more, it is the Australia we will have to accept if the Adani mine is approved.”
» For links to sources, see www.climatesafety.info/thesustainablehour167
» Sydney Morning Herald – 17 September 2017:
How Malcolm Turnbull has trashed the Liberal Party record and betrayed our oceans
“The earth is already too hot. Back in 2010, when he was launching the first Beyond Zero Emissions report on a ten year transition to zero emissions energy, Malcolm Turnbull said that we had no carbon budget left. What a hypocrite! How can he live with himself? It’s time to declare a climate emergency and Malcolm knows it.”
~ Jane Morton
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23 countries sign ‘Declaration for Ambition’
23 countries recently signed a joint statement – New Zealand, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Holland and the Scandinavian countries among them, even Canada! – where they say they will step up their own efforts to reduce carbon emissions:
» Climate Action – 22 June 2018:
23 nations sign pledge to step up action on climate change
Leading nations have pledged to set more stringent goals and “lead from the front” to reduce greenhouse gas emissions before 2020. The joint statement, called a ‘Declaration for Ambition’ was signed by 23 nations.
Why on earth hasn’t a modern, civilised and educated country like Australia signed this declaration? Well of course, when you know the decade-long history and the influence the coal and gas lobby has on politics, it is obvious why it hasn’t happened – but the question we should be asking ourselves is then: Why are we, the Australian people, passively accepting this?
Or to put the question in a more constructive way: What will it take to make Australia join this ‘Declaration for Ambition’? The bottom-line answer is public pressure.
Before that, it would help a lot if the Australian climate action movement was able to agree on turning something like that into a common goal to campaign for. And if the nation’s public broadcasters would step in and assist with the education and coverage that is largely missing in Australian mainstream media at the moment.
» Read more about the Australian climate policy procrastination which now can celebrate its 30 year anniversary
Listen to more of Colin Mockett’s global outlooks
Some great research coming out from @PoliTOnews for roads that can recharge batteries in electric vehicles! The future is fossil free. https://t.co/o5wU6yhukY
— Future Super (@myfuturesuper) June 28, 2018
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#MUSIC:
Baba Brinkman
ADDITIONALLY:
In other news
From our notes of this week: news stories and events we didn’t have time to mention but which we think you should know about
There seem to be many threats to these winged creatures, but climate change may be the final straw for some bee species. If the Earth continues to warm and bees don’t find a way to adapt, some populations could face extinction, according to new research. https://t.co/iUXj5nzHPb
— The CLEO Institute (@CLEOInstitute) June 29, 2018
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Farewell from Invironment
“It seems like all the things we as ‘environmentalists’ have been worried about for so long are now more or less in full swing. Or maybe we should say… free fall?
I know that sounds alarmist. But, IMHO, that’s the appropriate reaction to being on this planet right now, and in the days, months, and years to come.
I wish I could say that I thought it was all going to be fine. I’m not so sure… It feels like we who have been watching and paying careful attention may need to start drawing down our expectations from “success” to simply withstanding what is to come.
What that means will be something we’ll each have to figure out for ourselves. For my part, I see small hopeful signs of what it could look like: the arrival early in the season of a nesting pair of gray partridges to a meadow I’m restoring — and yesterday seeing the entire family including about a dozen speckled chicks foraging in the yard behind the house.
It’s a small win, but I will take it.
One tiny bit of magic returned to this planet, and transmitted to the next generation. It may be all we can do — and it may turn out to be a lot. Here’s hoping, at least!
Speaking of magic returning, while Invironment winds down, another collaborative “just for fun” project from your esteemed editors is taking flight. It’s called Liminal Seattle, and is an interactive map of literal magic breaking through from the hypogeum into our world. You can read all about it in the Seattle Times, and follow our weekly newsletter, delivered direct to your inbox.
We wish you and yours the best, and thank all our contributors and supporters over the past few years. May we all meet again on the other side!
~ Tim Boucher & Jeremy
» Medium – 4 July 2018:
Farewell from Invironment
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#ENERGYREVOLUTION:
“Politics, not economics, will determine the course of electricity’s revolution”
That’s the straightforward opinion of one of the most prolific energy specialists in the world, Walt Patterson, Associate Fellow at Chatham House in London.
In a new article he wrote for the Hoffmann Centre for Sustainable Resource Economy, a new institute at Chatham House, he describes the evolution of the “electric power struggle” that’s been going on since the time of Edison.
According to Patterson, it is power – political power – that “will determine where, how and how much money is invested” – and he cautions that a successful energy transition requires “a fundamental rethink of the very idea of regulation”.
Walt Patterson, an Associate Fellow, Energy, Environment and Resources at The Hoffmann Center for Sustainable Resource Economy, based at Chatham House in London. He has published 14 books and hundreds of papers on a wide variety of energy topics. His latest book, ‘Electricity vs Fire: The Fight for our Future’, is available as a free download on his website, www.waltpatterson.org
» Energy Post – 5 July 2018:
The Electric Power Struggle
“The world is undergoing a dramatic electricity transition, and the global struggle for power over this transformed electric system is set to profoundly shape our future.”
» Chatham House | Walt Patterson:
The Geopolitics of Renewable Energy
“Which countries are best placed to become the ‘Saudi Arabia of renewable energy’ and what impact would this have on global energy geopolitics?”
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#MELBOURNE:
Smog: I’m not prepared to ‘learn to live with it’
Air pollution causes 3,000 deaths a year in Australia. But unless you live in an area where air pollution is obvious (like the Latrobe Valley), you probably don’t really think about it until you’re trapped underneath it like Melbourne was last week.
Melbourne’s particulate fog last week most likely contributed to and exacerbated a range of health issues for people, including asthma, wheezing, shortness of breath, headaches and nausea.
» Environmental Justice Australia:
Smog is not something we should just learn to live with
» ABC News – 28 June 2018:
Melbourne’s ‘fog’ is actually particulate pollution
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» Financial Review – 27 June 2018:
Australia deemed a world laggard in energy efficiency
Australia has slipped in international rankings of energy efficiency, according to a survey. We’ve actually gone backwards.
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» One Step off the Grid – 29 June 2018:
The sneaky war against renewables in the bush
“If you live in a remote area of Victoria the government will subsidise your off-grid fuel needs … and not if you power your off-grid home with solar.”
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#AUSPOL:
Abbott: Australia should withdraw from the Paris climate agreement
GetUp wrote on 4 July 2018:
“Tony Abbott has mounted an all-out campaign to force Australia to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. If he succeeds, it will devastate our efforts to fight climate change and be a generational step backwards.
This brazen new attack comes at the same time The Nationals have demanded Turnbull build a $5 billion new fleet of coal-burning power stations.
It’s clear the conservative forces are committed to pushing this country back to the dark ages. And with Turnbull already promising coal will be around “forever”, there’s every chance he’ll cave in.
But we won’t let this happen. Already, over 1,750 GetUp members have donated to fight back against this outrageous dirty-coal push. But overnight, this situation has become even more urgent. We have to push back even harder. Can you join the groundswell of people standing up for our future and chip in $12 to help fight back?”
» The Australian – 4 July 2018:
Tony Abbott calls for Australia to pull out of Paris Climate Deal
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"A world without fossil-fueled energy generation, or one designed to reflect the intrinsic risks of low carbon energy, would have much more stable electricity prices" writes David Nelson @climatepolicy in The Beam #6https://t.co/u6bRtZEU9o#climatefinance #investment #energy pic.twitter.com/h88B7obuHJ
— The Beam (@TheBeamMagazine) July 6, 2018
Investor graveyard of stranded assets littered with broken dreams
No New Coal Mines wrote:
“Australia’s coal lovers seem to have a spring in their step lately, with claims that Australian coal exports are at record levels and that global demand for coal is booming.
“The coal era is not over,”
~ according to slides Tony Abbott has been flashing around parliament.
“We’d be mad not to open up the Galilee Basin as soon as possible,”
says Matt Canavan.
“The death of coal is greatly exaggerated,”
claims the front page of the Australian Financial Review (3 July 2018).
So what’s going on?
Let’s set the record straight. The demise of coal has been no more exaggerated than its growth.
According to coal industry statements earlier this decade, the Galilee Basin should be producing 80 million tonnes (Mt) this year, and the Hunter Valley was on its way to exporting 330 Mt.
Instead, the Galilee Basin is undeveloped and around 165 Mt will go through Newcastle this year. The investor graveyard of stranded assets is littered with broken dreams. (…)
Climate policy and competition from renewable energy are not going away. Banks have realised this. It’s about time the coal industry, policy makers and politicians did too.”
~ No New Coal Mines, The Australia Institute
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#AUSPOL:
New laws an attack on environmental groups
“Never in Australia’s history has our right to speak out for people and our planet been so under threat.
Egged on by the Big Coal lobby, the Turnbull Government is trying to silence criticism and severely restrict charities like us from speaking out for what really matters. They’re trying to pass a draconian package of laws that directly attacks the heart of democracy in Australia.
Like this: Last week, we sent a letter to UNESCO asking it to investigate the Turnbull Government’s failure to protect the Great Barrier Reef from the impacts of land clearing. Under a new espionage law the Senate is likely to pass any minute, we could go to jail for doing this.”
~ Kelly O’Shanassy, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Conservation Foundation
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#MELBOURNE EVENT:
Drive the change needed to address Victoria’s climate challenges
Reshaping the private sector: fresh faces in the climate discussion
Climates is hosting a discussion exploring if, when and how the private sector can drive the change needed to address our region’s climate challenges.
The Paris Agreement, next generation CEOs, customer preferences or cost savings – what is influencing commercial decision making? Does it matter whether environmental leadership is driven by profit or altruism? Can business lead government to adopt ambitious policies?
5:30pm – Networking event with complimentary carbon neutral wine, beer, nibbles and entertainment
6:30pm – Main event moderated by Bank Australia’s Victoria McKenzie-McHarg:
◦ Paul Dobson, Asia-Pacific Sustainability Lead at Deloitte
◦ Adam Verwey, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Future Super
◦ Bianca Sylvester, Associate Director at the Clean Energy Finance Corporation
Over the past three years, we have started to see a tangible shift in the narrative and action of the private sector on climate change.
Thanks to event sponsors, Sustainability Victoria, this panel will explore how business and investors are responding to the global threat of climate change. The discussion will focus on the forces that are driving recent changes towards decarbonisation, as well as those that continue to hold us back.
» Buy ticket(s) for this event
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“Instead of being a story about greenhouse gases, it must be a story about us, as a society. What kind of growth do we want? How do we make smarter, cleaner development choices? How do we protect ourselves from climate change?”
~ Monica Araya, Founder and Director, Costa Rica Limpia
2030 Sustainable Development Goals gaining traction: Carbon neutrality programs, ecosystem services, and waste and water management
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State support for businesses to become sustainable
Sustainability Victoria can support businesses to become sustainable or even just to explore what it takes to reduce energy and materials use, invest in solar or otherwise save money and address climate change.
Energy Assessment Grants up to $5,000 toward a basic assessment and implementation project and $20,000 toward a detailed assessment. Available for businesses spending over $20,000 a year on energy, to commission an energy assessment which will identify and implement energy improvements.
Materials Efficiency Grants up to $10,000 ($1:$1 funding). An extra $3,000 available to fund material efficiency implementation. Available to businesses looking for solutions to their waste problems, which will result in more efficient use of materials and less waste sent to landfill.
Gas Efficiency Grants up to $50,000 ($1:$1 funding) to a variety of gas efficiency projects. Opened 11 October 2017 to improve efficiency for gas-related projects including capital equipment upgrades, non-routine maintenance and repairs, fuel switching and improving metering.
Better Commercial Buildings up to $30,000 ($1:$1 funding) to fund assessment and upgrade works to improve the performance of commercial buildings. Available to offices, hotels, retail and data centres, and some mixed-use buildings. A panel of approved providers can use the grant funding to undertake energy assessments, implement projects and verify savings.
FREE – Sustainable Finance Service offers independent free facilitation to businesses seeking to invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy. Includes financing models such as Environmental Upgrade Agreements (EUAs) and how they can best be applied to the business’s project.
FREE – TAKE 2 pledge (climate change pledge) This is an opportunity for businesses and individuals to join Victoria’s collective climate change pledge to reach net zero emissions by 2050 and keep the global temperature rise to under 2oC. Pledges are published on the TAKE 2 website and include a list of actions which the business or employees commit to undertake.
» Read more on www.waga.com.au
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#CLIMATEEMERGENCY #AUSTRALIA:
Report: ‘Responding to Economic Climate Risk in Australia’
This report explores the connection between climate hazards and financial risks and shares examples of corporate adaptation and investor engagement to build resilience.
Key findings:
• Australia’s “Angry Summer” of extreme weather in 2013 cost the economy $8 billion and was followed by another summer of extremes in 2016-2017.
• Construction, mining and manufacturing constitute almost 20 percent of Australia’s economy and are highly vulnerable to heat stress and water stress, which threaten large swaths of the nation.
• Boral Limited and Rio Tinto are both Materials companies exposed to water and heat stress in their operations, but they have different risk scores stemming from differing vulnerabilities in their markets and supply chains.
• Engagement on climate is relatively new for Australian shareholders, but is gaining momentum, with institutional asset managers voting on several climate risk disclosure resolutions in 2018.
• Investors can address physical climate risk by reviewing their asset allocations, disclosing their own risks, investing in new opportunities and engaging with corporations.
» Read more on www.427mt.com
» Download or open the report (PDF)
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» GreenBiz.com – 28 June 2018:
Sharing power: renewables, resilience and redefining beauty
“The poorest 20% pay the most for electricity — that’s 10% of total household income.”
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“Aviation is contributing to around 4.9% of current global warming and this is forecast to at least triple by 2050. In Australia, the amount of aviation fuel consumed per head of population has more than doubled since the 1980s. We now use, on average, 2.2 barrels (or 347 litres) of jet fuel per person per year.”
» The Conversation – 12 January 2017:
Life in a post-flying Australia, and why it might actually be ok
“It might be hard to imagine life without the plane, but the idea is not as crazy as it sounds.”
» Medium | We Don’t Have Time – 1 June 2018:
Save the Climate — Go by Train
“In our comparison between air travel and train travel (see graphics below), it is clear that the effective time gain from flying is dwarfed by the positive climate effects from taking the train.”
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Pumped storage in Australia – The Kidston Renewable Energy Hub
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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?
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