It’s Getting Hot In Here

The Camp for Climate Action will be an inspiring five days of workshops and grassroots direct action aimed at stopping the expansion of the world’s biggest coal port in Newcastle, Australia. The Australian Climate Camp is one of seven being held around the world in July and early August 2008.

Climate change is the biggest threat to our future, and coal is the biggest cause of climate change, yet the Australian coal industry is still expanding. We need real action to keep fossil fuels in the ground - and we’re running out of time! One thing is certain, we can’t wait for Governments or the fossil fuel industry to solve the climate crisis. We must start to create the change we want to see ourselves.

The camp is a collaboration between environment groups, community organisations, student groups, and individuals.- hopefully now including you! Groups already involved include Friends of the Earth Australia, Rising Tide, the Australian Student Environment Network and individuals from local climate action groups.

Continue reading ‘Getting Excited about Climate Action Camp Newcastle July 10 – 15, 2008′

A few things happening down here:

1. Earth Hour - yesterday in Australia. Should have blogged about it earlier, but yes, “last year it was a Sydney event, this year was a global movement”. Hmmm. I’m interested to know how much prominence it received in the rest of the world’s media. Here it was a big, big deal. I was on my balcony with some mates and candles, and watching most lights go out - and the Sydney harbour bridge dim - was pretty cool. There is some controversy around Earth Hour as it is focused on individual’s behaviour - turning off their lights - rather than calling for government action - but it’s a good educational event as people become aware of the link between electricity (lights) and climate change. Hopefully they will then make the link to COAL which is what powers their lights.

2. Fossil Fools Day - we’ll do it FIRST! Because of the time difference, as many of you know, everything happens earlier in Australia than most of the world. So we will have the absolute honour of kicking off Fossil Fools Day. Lots of actions are planned, and you can see a list of some on our website.

Continue reading ‘Update from Australian Youth Climate Movement’

Some of you remember I posted a few days ago about a new Australian report ‘Climate Code Red‘. The authors, David Spratt and Philip Sutton, wrote me an email today asking for feedback. With their permission, I am posting it here in the hope of getting comments from our wonderful IGHIH community. They write:

“Climate Code Red has been very warmly received (no pun intended) and we have now accepted an offer from a publisher to rewrite it in a book rather than a report form so that it may be published in mid-2008 as a paperback book, with the intention of also finding an international market. We are now in a process of starting to revise and update the text. And here’s our request. We would love feedback (good, bad, but especially constructively critical) about the current version so we can incorporate it into the book version.

Have we got matters of fact wrong? Are there unclear formulations? Is their evidence for topics we have covered that would add to the line of argument?

One area we are really interested in expanding is section 3.3, which talks about the culture of low expectations in climate public policy development, and in the climate advocacy industry. There has been a lot of response to the “blocker’s table” on page 49 which summarised the cycle and circle of self-censorship. This section has elicited the largest (and most favourable) response, so we would like to explore it more. Is the practice of only advocating what it is judged that the listener wants to hear (that is, incremental advocacy that rarely deals with big picture needs and imperatives) as widespread as we perceive it to be? Is it as common outside Australia as we see it to be here?

Why do some climate professionals (in the sciences, government, industry and advocacy) say in private that things are pretty grim and imply the need for strong action now, and then in public and in advocacy to government and industry really tone it down and only tell half the story?

Continue reading ‘Your Feedback Needed for ‘Climate Code Red’: the Book Version!’

Friends of the Earth Australia released an excellent new report this week called “Climate Code Red: The case for a sustainability emergency”. Reports like this are starting to become more common around the world, as new science (like James Hansen’s fantastic research) shows that the ‘mainstream’ climate NGO asks are simply not enough to mitigate dangerous climate change and achieve climate justice.

This is what Friends of the Earth’s new campaign to ‘Fix or Ditch Lieberman- Warner Global Warming Bill’ is about. I personally am very glad Carbon Equity released this report and that FOE US is running the Lieberman-Warner campaign. It’s an ongoing debate (online and offline) about making our campaigns politically realistic vs. actually asking for the solutions that are needed to halt the climate crisis, and these decisions are hard - because we know we do need to bring people along with us in our campaigns and not leap-frog ahead of them by starting to talk about 350 parts per million and people are left scratching their heads going ‘parts of what and millions of what and what does this have to do with reducing pollution?’ This issue is one of the most pressing facing us climate activists today.

It’s been getting great reports in the Australian media and a great recommendation from EcoEquity which I’ve pasted here:

“if you’re a “pragmatist,” and especially if you wish to avoid any inconvenient temptations to “face the facts with brutal honesty” … then you should not read this report. For even if you’re quite certain that there’s no viable alternative to politics as usual, Climate Code Red will bring you doubt. And it will not be doubt that you can set easily aside. “–Tom Athanasiou, executive director, EcoEquity.

Continue reading ‘Climate Code Red’

Singapore - the East Asia Summit, comprising the 10 Southeast Asian members of ASEAN plus China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand, today released the ‘Singapore Declaration on Climate Change, Energy and the Environment’.

The declaration uses language similar to the Kyoto Protocol - The nations “Commit to the common goal of stabilizing atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations in the long run, at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system”. However, there is also very disturbing language (no doubt pushed by Australia) endorsing nuclear energy - “Cooperating for the development and use of civilian nuclear power” and geosequestration - “cleaner fossil fuel technologies including clean use of coal”. This is concerning, especially so close to the Bali Kyoto negotiations.

The declaration does not include numerical targets for emission reduction levels but it does commit to “work to achieve an EAS-wide aspirational goal of increasing cumulative forest cover in the region by at least 15 million hectares of all types of forests by 2020.”

For the full text of the agreement, go here

More than 50 rallies demanding action on climate change were held throughout Australia yesterday (Sunday 11th November), totalling over 150,000 people. I was proud of my country as I saw the figures about the numbers of marchers, including: 50,000 in Melbourne (image above); 30,000 in Sydney; 9,000 in Canberra; 6000 in Adelaide; 4,000 in Brisbane; 2,500 in Hobart.

The rallies, two weeks before the Australian Federal election, were jointly organised and promoted by all Australian Climate groups, especially the state conservation councils. The Australian Youth Climate Coalition organised large youth contingents. AYCC National Coordinator Amanda McKenzie and ASEN National Convenor Nicky Ison both spoke at the Sydney rally, with Ellen Sandell from Melbourne University Environment Collective speaking at the Melbourne rally.

The previous weekend, Rising Tide Newcastle organised a blockade of the world’s largest coal export port (in Newcastle, NSW - see image below). 100 people attended and shut down the port for approximately 4 hours. Organisers, including many students from Newcastle University, stated: “The protest was a fantastic show of community determination to take action against Australia’s biggest contribution to climate change, despite resistance from government and industry. As well as being a powerful and symbolic action, the protest succeeded in disrupting coal exports from Newcastle Harbour.”

This was the third blockade of the coal port in the past few years. In February 2007, five hundred people came to occupy the port and call on the NSW Government to reject plans for a massive expansion of coal mining and exports in NSW.

Continue reading ‘150,000 Australians March on Climate; & another Coal Port Blockade’

I think I have met more amazing people this afternoon than I imagined even existed in the United States. I’m at Power Shift, arrived here this afternoon after a 3am start, and right now I’m sitting next to Richard, the IGHIH blogmaster. I’d never met him in person until today, but I feel like we’ve been good mates for a long time, thanks to gmail & google chat. We finally got to meet in person! I can’t describe how incredible it is to be seeing many of the US climate activists I met in Montreal during the 2005 Kyoto negotiations again. And to be meeting so many new people, all of them so passionate and interesting and willing to share their experiences with me. So, a huge thank you to all of the organisers: this is amazing amazing inspiring, and it hasn’t even “officially” started yet. But I think it’s about to, so I better go be a part of it!

I wish that all of the Australian Youth Climate Coalition crew could be here! But, the second best thing: I’ll be videotaping lots of panels and workshops and conversations with people, and posting them up here, and on my other blog at www.projectaustralia.org.au. So far, the Australian position on Power Shift 2007 is: “it’s amazing”. Stay tuned for more soon!

http://www.switchedon2007.com/

I used to think that organising conferences were a waste of activists’ time. I thought they were just a big talk-fest, with little or no real campaigning action emerging from an exhausting process of organising venue, speakers, registrations, transport, food, toilets, accommodation, parking, and a million other things. And then I went, in 2003, to my first ever Students of Sustainability (SoS) conference (the national Australian Student Environment Network conference), and even though I had already been involved in environmental and social justice organising, that conference changed my life.

That conference illustrated to me the value of a conference in connection – connecting me to people who would become life-long friends and fellow organisers in the struggle for climate justice. Connecting me to ideas about sustainability, development, globalisation, economics, and radical politics. Connecting me to organisations that would form the networks and backbones of many campaigns I was about to become involved in. And so I learnt that conferences – bringing together a bunch of amazing people together in one place to learn from and inspire each other – are an excellent use of activist time. At their best, they inspire, train, and connect new organisers, laying the foundation for a lifetime of effective social and environmental justice activism.

For the first time in Australia, students and youth have the opportunity to attend a large-scale youth climate conference. It’s called Switched On, and will be held on the 18th – 21st October in Katoomba (2 hours from Sydney by train). This four-day conference will be filled with forums and workshops about the root causes of climate change, the impacts and the solutions. It will be an honest look at the barriers to real action on climate change, and identifying the opportunities for action. There will be a big focus on both hands-on learning (like workshops to make solar-powered sound systems!) and skills training so you get the most out of the conference whether you’re already working on climate action campaigning or want to get started.

Continue reading ‘Get Ready for Switched On 2007′

Good news! Last week, the Newcastle University Clean Energy Campaign had a great win.

After three years of student (and staff) campaigning, Newcastle University has finally made a decision to take responsible action on climate change. The policy document was passed at University Council on Friday the 31st August, with 40 plus students bearing witness to the decision. It includes options for the purchase of renewable GreenPower, commitments to support and prepare students with the knowledge and skills to advocate sustainable energy use, support for climate aware energy research programs and initiating cultural change within the University and the broader community. It also commits the university to a target of 20% co2 emission reduction (from current levels) by 2015 (more significant given that the university is currently on a trajectory of 1.5% per annum increase in emissions).

The campaign was long and at times difficult. It involved petitions, stalls, meetings, actions, media, negotiating with University bureaucracy and lots of other things. The ongoing commitment of amazing organisers such as Jarra Hicks, Dany Boulos, Emma Wasson, and others, ensured that this was an issue (and group of students) that the University could not dismiss.

Although there is still a lot of work to do to keep the University accountable to this commitment, this is a big step forward and a huge win. Thank you to everyone who has dedicated their time to this campaign in the past.

If anyone would like a full copy of the documents that went to University Council (about 50 pgs), please contact me. This report included a background on climate change, CSIRO Hunter Valley climate change impact predictions, info on research and teaching and the draft policy and plan on sustainable energy management and co2 reduction.

A report will be coming from University management to the next University council meeting outlining how they’re going to put these policy statements into action.

Visit the Australian Youth Climate Coalition to read about similar successes