The renewable turnaround time

The Sustainable Hour with Damien Cole and Peter Cowling


Guests in The Sustainable Hour on 17 October 2018 are Damien Cole – a surfer, campaigner against oil drilling in the Bight and independent South Barwon candidate in the November state election – and Peter Cowling, Vesta’s Country Head for Australia and New Zealand.

We also play a clip with the American professor of economics Jeffrey Sachs who was panellist in ABC’s Q&A program on 15 October 2018, with energy investor Alex Turnbull, and with former Californian governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. We round off the hour with the song ‘The Difference’ by Missy Higgins.
 

“We all have to work together in order to get this done. It is absolutely imperative that we do not make it a political issue. This is not the right versus the left, because there is no liberal air or conservative air. We all breathe the same air.”
~ Arnold Schwartzenegger, former governor of California, 23 June 2017


Listen to The Sustainable Hour no. 238 on 94.7 The Pulse:

» To open or download this programme in mp3-format, right-click here (Mac: CTRL + click)

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 EDITORIAL: 

The renewable turnaround time

Here is my prediction: The Australian politicians in Canberra who think they can get away with ignoring the new IPCC report, as we currently see them doing it, will in just a couple of years look back at this decision as one of the biggest and most embarrassing, even shameful, mistakes in their entire careers as politicians. It is going to cost them their job.


By Mik Aidt

The Liberal, National and Labor parties all need to quickly get back on track with reality if they wish to have a political future.

It’s not even up for debate.

The work ahead of us in order to keep temperatures at or below 1.5°C degrees is crystal clear – and clean: We need to shut down coal and stop the Adani mega-mine.

Parties and politicians who don’t get that – and currently neither of the three major parties in Australian politics seem to get that – will get a big surprise soon. Sentiments among their traditionally faithful voters are changing very, very quickly in these years, as the reason why we now experience a climate breakdown and legislative stalemate is becoming more an more obvious.

Professor of economics Jeffrey Sachs explained it with beautiful clarity in this week’s Q&A on the ABC:

[Jump to 10 min to see a 19-year-old Australian ask her question to Jeffrey Sachs]

“As a 19-year-old, the fast deterioration of our climate is debilitating. But the inaction of our government and the complacency of many others is even more distressing. When will our government and other world leaders finally start making our environment a priority?”

In Q&A on 15 October 2018, the American economist Jeffrey Sachs said the IPCC report showed the world was “running out of time” to avoid catastrophic climate change and blamed corporate interests and the domination of the Murdoch press for “propounding nonsense” and “telling lies” about climate science and policy.

He said Australia ought to capitalise on its affinity for solar power.

“This wonderful country has so much sunshine, you cannot even believe – you could power the whole world from your desert,” he said. “So the idea that you don’t have alternatives … I don’t know who could possibly believe this. You should be exporting sunshine actually, not coal.”

In the same program, another of the panellists, journalist and author James Bartholomew, questioned the IPCC figures, saying that he “knew a scientist” who did not agree with it.

» The Guardian – 16 October 2018:
Australia should be ‘exporting sunshine, not coal’, economist Jeffrey Sachs tells Q&A
“US analyst criticises successive governments for defending coal in wake of alarming IPCC report on climate change”

Jeffrey Sachs in Q&A

On ABC on 15 October 2018 – transcript of the excerpt we aired in The Sustainable Hour:

Audience member Neve Kieran: “As a 19-year-old, the fast deterioration of our climate is debilitating, but the inaction of our government and the complacency of many others is even more distressing. When will our government and other world leaders finally start making our environment a priority?”

Jeffrey Sachs: “Bravo! [clapping] Probably when you are in office and doing the right things, which I hope is very soon. Your government, and my government, unbelievably irresponsible to you and to all of the world. We have another massive hurricane hitting the United States right now, the intensity of these storms is terrifying. They are, the intensity is rising because of climate change. This isn’t about the future, it’s about right now, and yet a senator in Florida today said, ‘I don’t know where climate change comes from’. What is the matter with these people? How dare they either hold the office if they really don’t know, which is not the point, or they’re so corrupt and taking oil money that they pretend that they don’t know?
And, so, that’s the real story here. The governments are not representing you properly right now because the planet is facing profound dangers, we’re all at risk and our governments need to act and they promised that they would act and they’re not acting right now. And, by the way, as bad as it is here, look at what we have in our government right now. Unreal. So, we got a big fight on our hands, but we’re going to make the fight and I hope that people here make the fight also. This is completely irresponsible.”

[Audience applause]

Tony Jones: “Jeffrey, how big a wakeup call is the latest IPCC report, because it’s signalling a level of urgency that has not been in any of the previous reports.”

Sachs: “It is something for everybody to read. IPCC, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Nobel winning scientific body that informs us about what is the scientific knowledge issue to report last week, which you can find online. Just google ‘IPCC 1.5 degrees C’, because they were asking the question ‘what does it take for us to achieve the goal we set in Paris in December 2015 to keep the planet safe?’, and they said we’re running out of time, that there still is, by miracle if the politicians acted and really focused on it and so on, we could still do it, but basically, we’re running out of time, because in Canberra, and in Washington, and in other places, they are not representing the common interest at all. They’re representing a few big companies, but not the people. This is a disaster, and it was so clearly written, that we could lose control completely, we could have a runaway climate system. We’re that close to missing this target and then we could miss targets well beyond then because you start the cycle of the permafrost melting and methane and CO2 being released in ways that are not anticipated right now, sea levels rising – it’s a disaster.”

[…]

Jeffrey Sachs: “A wonderful chemist, Svante Arrhenius, in 1896 explained, actually, how things would unfold as CO2 rose in the atmosphere, the quantum mechanics have been understood, the basic dynamics have been understood for many, many decades. One of my colleagues testified in US Congress, almost got it to a precision what would happen over the next 30 years. The fact of the matter is, now we’re in it, we’re in the midst of horrendous danger, and it’s unfolding before our eyes and still we are not acting, and the reason we are not acting is big money and big companies and it’s complete dishonesty and, I would add, your Mr. Rupert Murdoch, who has made a mess of the media all over the world by propounding nonsense in the tabloids, and our FOX news in the Wall Street Journal telling lies.”



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IPCC: We need to shot down coal

The climate doesn’t wait. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world’s electrical utilities need to reduce coal consumption by at least 60 percent through 2030 to avoid the worst effects of climate change that could occur with more than 1.5°C degrees of warming. And whereas the politicians apparently are fully occupied with their internal power-play games, their voters actually get this. They hear what the IPCC is telling us all.

So watch this space, as they say. I predict it won’t be long before Australian voters also will begin to change their previously faithful voter-habits. And they’ll soon be standing in the voting booth.

We need to shot down coal, not to subsidise and protect it. At the same time, we need to construct a lot of new wind and solar farms plus innovate new and improve our ways of generating pollution-free power, so that we are able to keep society’s wheels running while we close down these dirty old coal-fired power plants one after the other.

IPCC: “Existing coal power capacity halved by 2030, globally.
Full phase out in rich countries by 2030.”

This is the reality – and even though politicians may think it is up for debate or “a question of opinion”, the reality is that, no, it is actually not.

It will all inevitably happen in the years to come, and those who don’t get it, will be out of politics sooner than they had probably seen coming.

Half the carbon humanity has ever emitted into the atmosphere has come in just the last 25 years. Now, that’s after the world’s government fully understood the message from the scientists: that our carbons emissions threaten the planet’s eco-systems.

In 1988, CSIRO and the Australian government was prepared to act. That’s 30 years ago now. Everyone was ready to start the reductions… and then something happened. The lying game, which Jeffrey Sachs describes, took off.

The IPPC offers a practical suggestion, proposing the imposition of a carbon tax – only many, many times higher than those currently in use or being considered. The IPPC propose raising the cost of a ton of carbon possibly as high $5,000 by 2030, a price they suggest may have to grow to $27,000 per ton by 2100.

Today, the average price of carbon across 42 major economies is just $8 per ton. And in Australia, thanks to political power-play, it still cost 0$ to pollute the air and contribute to the climate breakdown.

The New Daily on 9 October 2018

» ABC – 13 October 2018:
Climate target set by IPCC requires 12 Australian coal-fired power stations to close: Parliamentary Library report
“Australia would need to shut 12 of its coal power stations by 2030 in order to do what the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says is necessary to avoid catastrophic effects of climate change.”

According to Bloomberg, new renewables are cheaper than new coal almost everywhere in the world, and as wind and solar costs continue to decline, the tipping point where new renewables undercut fully depreciated existing plants isn’t far off.

“Researchers at the Australian National University this year modeled the effect of this sort of scenario on that country’s generation mix. Assuming that the cost of renewables continues to evolve in line with current trends, they found the average retirement age of coal plants falls to 30 years from 50 years. As a result, coal-powered generation drops by about 70 percent between 2020 and 2030.”

» Bloomberg – 9 October 2018:
The End of Coal Could Be Closer Than It Looks
“Thanks to the deflation of recent years, renewables already produce energy at a lower cost than thermal power plants. (…) Across Europe and the U.S., the decline in coal output recently has averaged close to 5 percent a year. If the world as a whole can reach 7 percent a year, it would be on track to meet the IPCC’s 2030 target.”

Australians love solar: There are now more than three million small scale installations around the nation.

“AEMO chief Audrey Zibelman said an average six rooftop solar panels are is installed in Australia every minute, adding the equivalent of a new coal-fired power station every year.”

Still, in July this year, rooftop and large-scale solar only accounted for around four per cent of Australia’s total electricity generation.

» Sydney Morning Herald – 15 October 2018:
Australia heading for a ‘battle royale’ on solar power



The New Daily on 10 October 2018: Australia has no plan at all to reduce transport emissions

“The heart of the problem is the inability of the Coalition to face the reality of climate change and its stubborn determination to live in a parallel universe of business as usual. It is climate change denial that is preventing the government from developing a coherent economic narrative. (…) The government’s stubborn commitment to coal is alienating it from its natural supporters in the business community.”
~ Judith Brett, Emeritus Professor of Politics, La Trobe University

» The Conversation – 19 October 2018:
The Morrison government’s biggest economic problem? Climate change denial


“Australia’s national interest demands that coal continue to be part of our future energy equation, not just here in Australia, but around the world.”
~ Scott Morrison, Australia’s prime minister


“As an investor in energy, I’ve seen that in particular there’s no way coal can compete anymore. Renewables have gotten too cheap, firming costs are reasonable, and really there’s no trade off any more between lowering your power bills and reducing emissions. And yet still some would like to prosecute a culture war over this issue”.
~ Alex Turnbull, a Singapore-based investment manager

» The Conversation – 11 October 2018:
Malcolm Turnbull is gone but son Alex keeps the climate faith


https://twitter.com/simonahac/status/1052129077249757185

“This week came the news from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that we are screwed. I wish I could be more optimistic. I wish I could hold out some hope that things are about to improve. But I look at actions by governments around the world, and the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison governments, and I find the ability to retain a positive outlook smothered in the face of feckless indifference and wilful ignorance.

The IPCC report is not actually, as some would have you think, a prophecy of doom – it is a call for action. Rather than talking of what will happen if the planet warms by 2°C above industrial levels, its focus is on how much lower the risks are if we limit it to 1.5°C.

And the good news is this can actually be done.

The bad news is we need to do it by 2030 and it is going to cost, on average, about US$2.4 trillion every year until 2035 – equivalent to 2.5% of the world GDP.”
~ Greg Jericho

» The Guardian – 14 October 2018:
Australia’s climate idiocracy must end – and there’s no time to waste


“We’ll need a comprehensive crash course on human psychology to deal with the massive changes we’re seeing; a guide to self-care for the most important decade in human history. We need to know how climate change will change us as social beings, how we can deal with grief, how to go about the process of imagining a new society. We will need to know not only how we can survive in this new world, but how we will live. This is a necessarily messy process and it won’t be easy, but I’m not sure what could be more important.”
~ Eric Holthaus, American meteorologist

» CNN – 14 October 2018:
Experts: Climate catastrophe could hit by 2030


“We live in inconvenient times and are facing an inconvenient crisis – one of our own making. To those who would compromise the all-hands-on-deck efforts, or merely hope that somehow the course will correct itself, we must ask: how much are you willing to compromise your children? Your grandchildren?

What future are you willing to hand to the child born today, or in twelve years time? What will you say to that 7th grader facing life in a world you knew how to protect – and failed to?

The science is clear. The task is hard, but we now have the tools to act at the speed and scale we need to avert a collision with disaster.”
~ Mindy Lubber, CEO and president of Ceres, a sustainability nonprofit organisation

» Forbes – 18 October 2018:
We Must Be “All Hands On Deck” When It Comes To Climate Change



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 LISTENER SERVICE: 

Content of this hour

Links, excerpts and more information about what we talked about in this Sustainable Hour


Peter Cowling: Vestas is coming to Geelong

Vestas is opening a wind turbine manufacturing plant in Geelong – a ‘Renewable Energy Hub’ – which initially will create 25 new local jobs.

Download audio

14-minute live radio interview with Vesta’s country manager for Australia and New Zealand, Peter Cowling, who is responsible for the wind turbine company’s sales and overall business performance in the two countries.

“Vestas in Australia already has a 2,931MW installed base and 57 per cent market share for installed capacity. More than 170 employees work hard to deliver high quality service and ensure optimal asset performance for its clients.

Mr Cowling brings more than 15 years of experience in the wind industry in Australia and New Zealand. He was most recently leading the GE team for Renewables in Asia Pacific and Australia that included on-shore wind turbines and hydro power. He was previously from Suzlon, and NEG Micon and a Commercial Manager in the Construction and Property sectors before seeking out opportunities in the renewable energy industry.

During his career, Mr Cowling has been involved in contracting and delivering over 3000MW of wind power. He has also been a board member of the Australian Wind Energy Association, and its successor body, the Clean Energy Council and is an enthusiastic advocate for renewable energy.
He holds Law and History degrees from Monash University.”

» RenewEconomy – 28 November 2017:
Vestas Names Peter Cowling as Country Head and VP, Sales for Australia and New Zealand

» Peter Cowling’s profile on Linkedin.com



Renewable energy hub in Geelong

Vestas Wind Systems has announced it will invest in and establish a Renewable Energy Hub (‘the Hub’) in Geelong, and the company is now a new member of the Geelong Manufacturing Council.

The Hub will feature a full range of activities, including turbine subcomponent assembly, wind park maintenance, logistics, and advanced materials and manufacturing sciences.

In the process, the Hub will create 25 new local jobs in Geelong and inject up to $3.5 million in the local economy, and the multi-disciplinary industry development initiative will support the expansion of the Victorian renewable energy sector.

“As a premier regional port with a highly skilled workforce and world-class research facility, Geelong was the logical choice for our investment”, said Anders Runevad, Vestas CEO and Group President.

“The Hub would not have been possible without the support of the state government and its efforts to secure competitively-priced renewable energy while maximising the positive impact on the community. In addition to directly creating local jobs, the Hub will also present many opportunities for regional businesses and the whole Victorian supply chain.”

The Hub will be servicing the growing Vestas turbine fleet in Western Victoria, it will establish a multi-year partnership with Federation University’s Ballarat Renewable Training Centre to deliver training and employment opportunities for wind turbine technicians, and The Vestas Australian Main Component Logistics Centre in Geelong will be a specialist facility for the largest turbine spare parts, manufacturing wind turbine assemblies in partnership with local contract manufacturers.

Vestas will also partner with Deakin University’s Carbon Nexus to research the next generation carbon fibre to use in making wind turbine blades longer, stronger and more productive.

“With its regional headquarters in Victoria and the new renewable energy hub in Geelong, these initiatives demonstrate not only the strength of Vestas’ existing presence in the region, but also its long-term commitment to supporting the renewable energy sector in Victoria,” wrote the Geelong Manufacturing Council in a media release.

The Manufacturing Council has been able to assist Vestas with their move to Geelong by connecting them with other members and local businesses, and is now looking forward to introducing Vestas to the group at their next members meeting.

David Peart, CEO of Geelong Manufacturing Council welcomed Vestas to Geelong and thanked the company for committing to the region:

“This is the first of what we expect to be a growing investment into renewables, offering fantastic opportunity for Geelong companies and its workforce. Kevin Foard, GMC ENG manager, has been instrumental in securing this investment and advocating supply chain opportunities for GMC and ENG members,” he said.



New wind farm developments bring jobs to Geelong

Media release from the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change

Two new wind farm developments supported by the Andrews Labor Government’s Victorian Renewable Energy Targets (VRET) reverse auction are delivering new industries and jobs for Geelong.

Minister for Energy Lily D’Ambrosio was in Geelong to announce the development of the Vestas Renewable Energy Hub (VREH) which will build wind turbines for the 180 megawatt Berrybank Wind Farm and the 336 megawatt Dundonnell Wind Farm.

Global supplier Vestas has been nominated as the preferred supplier of wind turbines for the two projects, triggering the investment in the hub.

The VREH will directly employ up to 27 locals, train hundreds of staff in wind turbine maintenance and support local wind turbine manufacturing in Australian for the first time in over 10 years. It will also include a Wind Turbine Manufacturing Facility for the assembly of 100 turbine hubs and 50 drive trains for the Dundonnell and Berrybank projects
, and become the Western Victorian Service Support Centre to service the successful VRET projects and existing Vestas projects in MacArthur and Challicum Hills
.

To support long term renewable energy investment in Victoria, Vestas has also signed an agreement with Geelong Port to use its shipping facilities and 40,000m2 of laydown area located at Corio Quay South.

The Berrybank farm will include 43 turbines, while the Dundonnell facility will feature 80 turbines. Both projects will use 64 per cent local content under the Labor Government’s Victorian Industry Participation Policy.

The Labor Government’s first renewable energy auction will generate more than 900 MW of new clean energy, driving down energy prices for Victorian families. Together, these projects will generate $1.1 billion of economic investment in regional Victoria and create more than 900 jobs, including 270 apprenticeships and traineeships.

“These wind farms will not only drive down energy prices across Victoria, they will create jobs here in Geelong, said Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio.

» Source: www.premier.vic.gov.au



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Damien Cole: Opposition to oil drilling in the Bight

Damien Cole asks: “What is the risk we’ll see an oil spill destroy our coast, as it has been happening elsewhere in the world?” So far 12 councils in South Australia and Moyne Council based in Port Fairy have formally opposed or passed Statements of Concern about a new oil drilling proposal.

Damien Cole, Independent candidate for South Barwon, Leader of the Australian Greens Dr Richard Di Natalie, and the Greater Torquay Alliance came together at Bells Beach on 13 October 2018 to oppose plans by Norwegian oil company Equinor to drill for oil in the Great Australian Bight. The lease area is 327 kilometres off the coast of the Nullabor Plain and is within a Commonwealth Marine Reserve.

The ocean here is up to 3,000 metres deep and open to the full force of the Southern Ocean, a site that is far deeper and with much bigger seas than the Deepwater Horizon which caused devastation with it’s massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

“I’ve grown up surfing Bells Beach and along the Great Ocean Road, and the thought of our coast being covered in oil is absolutely horrifying”, said Damien Cole. “If something went wrong out there in the Bight it would have catastrophic effects not only for surfing, but for tourism, fishing, and our whole way of life. With so little to be gained from this I am concerned about the influence that donations to the big political parties may be playing in these plans.”

12 councils formally opposed
A string of local councils along Australia’s southern coast have opposed Equinor’s plans. So far 12 councils in South Australia and Moyne Council based in Port Fairy have formally opposed or passed Statements of Concern about the drilling proposal, and the Alliance would like the Surf Coast Shire to take a stand for the local environment and economy.

“The Greater Torquay Alliance calls on the Surf Coast Shire to join the other Councils in publicly stating their opposition to oil drilling in the Great Australian Bight because of the unacceptable risk to our marine environment and our way of life that rely on our beautiful coastline,” said Greater Torquay Alliance President, Andrew Cherubin.

“The Surf Coast’s pristine beaches are at risk of a serious oil spill if drilling proceeds. Oil spill modelling shows a potential oil spill would cover most of the southern coastline of Australia, including the entire length of the Surf Coast and the Great Ocean Road and possibly reaching New Zealand. It would take more than 50 days to transport the necessary equipment from Singapore to the site to seal a failed well.”

“This weekend’s action by the Greater Torquay Alliance sends a clear message that communities will not tolerate offshore drilling in the Great Australian Bight,” Australian Greens Leader Dr Richard Di Natale said. “As a surfer and environmentalist, I know the incredible value of our coastlines. Sadly, Government seems happy to risk it all to help out their mates in the fossil fuel industry”.

Local opposition to the development of deep water oil drilling in the Bight is being led by the Greater Torquay Alliance. The alliance is a newly formed coalition of community and environmental groups which is endorsing Damien Cole as an candidate in the seat of South Barwon in the November 24th Victorian election.

For enquiries contact Damien Cole on 0422 576 527

» National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority
www.nopsema.gov.au



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Examples of what Geelong residents have written on postcards to Labor Member of Parliament Richard Marles

#StopAdani Geelong is doorknocking



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 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


Solar plant opens in Torquay

Barwon Water’s solar array initiative, made up of 720 panels, has been designed to support the authority’s Salt Torquay energy-efficient housing estate, reported the Geelong Advertiser.

Located on Grossmans Rd, the array has been designed to allow a micro-grid to power the authority’s local operations and feed excess energy into the market.

Barwon Water managing director Tracey Slatter said the project would generate enough electricity to power about 80 homes each year.

“This will see us on track to meet our target of 100 per cent renewable energy by 2025, and to adopt new ways of operating more efficiently and sustainably,” she said. “Barwon Water’s focus on renewable energy not only limits our impact on the environment, but also helps us keep our costs downs and our customers’ bills low.”

Civil construction works on the 81-dwelling Salt Torquay estate are expected to take until late this year.

The development will be the first in regional Australia to receive One Planet Living accreditation and the first in the region to achieve a 7.5-star energy efficiency rating.

“The new homes will feature solar panels, battery storage and provision for electric car charging,” Ms Slatter said. “Profits generated from sales at Salt Torquay will not only cover the cost of the project, but also produce additional revenue.”

» The Geelong Advertiser – 15 October 2018:
Solar project set to be plugged in
The biggest solar project in Torquay is set to be plugged in next week.



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The Naked Truth Calendar

By Alan Cuthbertson

“I have been working with a group of ardent StopAdani supporters over the last few months to create the Naked Truth Calendar. I am asking you to be involved in selling it to the world.

Originally it was intended to be a fund raiser to raise money for the StopAdani campaign. However it has become more than that. It is an opportunity for normal people to show that they will move beyond their comfort zone to show they really care about taking action on climate change and creating a liveable world for our children and grandchildren. It also offers a chance to promote the Stop Adani cause on people’s fridges for the next 12 months

The calendar has evolved from its original concept of a humorous creation to one that is more artistic and serious – one that you would be proud to hang on your wall.

So, what can you do:

• Order your copies of the calendar at www.stopadanicalendar.weebly.com. They cost $15 each, or $50 for 5.

Note: We would love you to buy in the next two weeks. Depending on demand we can then decide how many calendars to print.

• Sell them as a group fund raiser. You can buy them in bulk for $10 and sell them for $15. Unsold calendars can be returned by 30th November for a full refund.

• Share our Facebook post



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Farmers towards carbon neutrality by 2030

Wheat and sheep farmer Peter Holding has handed Prime Minister Scott Morrison a copy of a report from farmers and rural leaders calling for a national plan to diversify regional economies and phase out fossil fuel mining, to address climate change. Peter Holding is a third generation mixed cropping and sheep farmer from Harden on the south west slopes of New South Wales. He wrote in a newsletter: 

“Right now, I’m in the grip of devastating drought, but for the past two days I’ve been in Canberra as part of our stall at the National Farmers Federation Congress. It’s been an amazing experience with so much passion and support for our movement.

This morning, the Prime Minister addressed the Congress. On our stall there’s a big stack of glossy reports with a clear message: we need to diversify and strengthen our rural economies. With climate change here now, business as usual is no longer an option. I walked over, said hello, and handed the PM a copy. 

This report sets out a new vision for rural and regional Australia. It’s a sensible, credible, 28-page report designed to stimulate debate about the type of future that regional Australia wants to see. It’s produced in partnership with Dr Amanda Cahill, CEO of The Next Economy and draws on extraordinary community leaders from across rural Australia. 

Maybe the PM won’t read the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, released earlier this week, but surely — if enough of us ask — he’ll read a report from a taskforce of farmers and rural leaders on the frontline of drought.

The report is in his hands, but what direction our leaders choose is in all of ours.

Best wishes, 
Peter Holding
Farmer, Harden NSW. Board member, Farmers for Climate Action

P.S. This Prime Minister, and all our leaders, have a choice to make. Regional Australia stands at a crossroads: business as usual, more coal and gas extraction and worsening climate change, or a new direction that fosters healthy, resilient and diverse rural communities. 

P.P.S The National Farmers Federation has just unveiled the ‘Talking 2030’ report, a vision for the agricultural industry’s future. We’re stoked to be NFF members and proud to support them in their vision, especially the ambition to be trending towards carbon neutrality by 2030. With farmers leading the way, it’s time for our politicians to step up.”

Authorised by Charlie Prell, Farmers for Climate Action
www.farmersforclimateaction.org.au


» The Guardian – 23 September 2018:
Farmer wants a revolution: ‘How is this not genocide?’
“Health comes from the ground up, Charles Massy says – yet chemicals used in agriculture are ‘causing millions of deaths’. Susan Chenery meets the writer intent on changing everything about the way we grow, eat and think about food.”

» State of Green – 16 October 2018:
5 ways to reduce agriculture’s carbon footprint



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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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