Media Summary
Talk is cheap: it's time to act.
Canberra times oped from Shane Ratenbury (ACT Greens)
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/opinion/editorial/general/talk-is-cheap-its-time-to-act/1422977.aspx
Thousands join hands for our climate future
http://www.greenpeace.org.au/blog/energy/?p=404
Protesters call for larger carbon cuts
Canberra, 3 February 2009
http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-national/protesters-call-for-larger-carbon-cuts-20090203-7w6u.html
Climate summit outcomes
http://www.greenpeace.org.au/blog/energy/?p=400
Labor loses backing on emissions
http://www.theage.com.au/national/labor-loses-backing-on-emissions-20090202-7vra.html
Protesters descend on Parliament House - ABC News
Date: Tue, 3 Feb 2009 22:08:27 +0900
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/03/2481224.htm
The times they are a-changin'
St George and Sutherland Shire Leader
http://stgeorge.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/the-times-they-...
Greenpeace Australia Pacific » Blog Archive » Climate of creative ...
By John Hepburn
It was the culmination of the three day 'climate action summit' which saw over 150 community climate change groups meet for the first time to develop a national campaign strategy. Some faces showed thinly disguised fear at the prospect ...
Greenpeace Australia Pacific - http://www.greenpeace.org.au/blog/energy/
Climate of creative disobedience - Rooted
By John Hepburn
Around two and half thousand people of all ages and from all over Australia gathered to encircle federal Parliament on the first sitting day of 2009 to demand urgent action on climate change. It was the culmination of the three day 'climate action summit' which saw over 150 community climate change groups meet for the first time to develop a national campaign strategy. Some faces showed thinly disguised fear at the prospect of disobeying police ...
Rooted - http://blogs.crikey.com.au/rooted/
Governments can't solve climate change: only movements can ...
By metakatie
We are deeply concerned with, and critical of, the direction of the politics of the campaign proposals submitted to the Climate Summit so far. They advocate top-down, government-led solutions to climate change. Ideas range from calls for ... We feel support for top-down, government-controlled climate 'solutions' sits in contradiction with the aim to help build a democratic climate justice movement in Australia. Given, for instance, the failure of repeated ...
climate action cafe - http://climateactioncafe.wordpress.com/
Protesters call for larger carbon cuts
By ecologicalinternet.org (AAP: none given)
The protest follows a weekend summit, attended by 500 representatives of 140 community climate action groups, which formulated a set of objectives to pressure the government. The groups say the government's target to reduce ... and do nothing to solve the climate crisis," Ms Hodgson said. Academic Clive Hamilton said heatwave conditions across southeastern Australia in the past week were a foretaste of things to come if the government did not act now. ...
Climate Ark Climate Change &... - http://www.climateark.org/
World News Australia - Protesters call for larger carbon cuts
The protest follows a weekend summit, attended by 500 representatives of 140 community climate action groups, which formulated a set of objectives to pressure the government. The groups say the government's target to ...
World News Australia - http://news.sbs.com.au/worldnewsaustralia/
Activists push 'people power' on climate
Ninemsn - Sydney,New South Wales,Australia
More than 150 community groups have registered for Australia's Climate Action Summit, which is taking place at the Australian National University. ...
See all stories on this topic
Australia: Activists push 'people power' on climate
More than 500 people turned up on Saturday for a four-day summit to set out what Australia should be doing on climate change, and how to force more action from governments. "This is about the people taking the power back into their own ...
Climate Ark Climate Change &... - http://www.climateark.org/
Climate Summit kicks off | The Gaia Resource
This just in from Elsa Evers at the Climate Action Summit in Canberra:As the bus from Sydney circled the first roundabout into Canberra this morning, I had a. ... Elsa Evers at the Climate Action Summit in Canberra:As the bus from Sydney circled the first roundabout into Canberra this morning, I had a sudden feeling of dread: 'What if nobody turns up to Climate Action Summit?'Of course, Australia's climate action leaders are not the types to cancel at the last minute. ...
The Gaia Resource - http://thegaiaresource.com/
Green lobby groups reject emissions trading scheme (Video)
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Margot O'Neill, 02/02/2009
More than 150 climate change groups have opposed passage of the Government's carbon trading scheme through Parliament, saying the targets are dangerously low.
Transcript
TONY JONES, PRESENTER: Well, the Federal Government has lost the support of most of the Green lobby, including influential Australian Conservation Foundation for its key response to climate change. More than 150 climate change groups which met in Canberra over the weekend, announced today they would oppose the passage of the Government's Carbon Emissions Trading Scheme through Parliament.
They say the Rudd Government's targets are disastrously low and overly compensate the biggest carbon polluters.
Meanwhile State and Federal Governments are considering tougher penalties for climate change protesters, and tomorrow a major protest march is planned for Parliament House in Canberra.
Margot O'Neill reports.
MARGOT O'NEILL, REPORTER: Australia is set to see more protests like this, about 160 people were arrested last year with some climate change activists chaining themselves to railway tracks to block coal exports and to conveyer belts to disrupt power stations, others climbed smoke stacks.
After meeting in Canberra this weekend activists say there's more to come.
JOHN HEPBURN, GREENPEACE: We'll also see a lot more big protests at particularly the brown coal power stations in Victoria, some of the most polluting power stations on this earth, they need to be closed very quickly, and replaced with renewable energy.
We can do that now, we can create adjust transitions for workers in coal communities, and if the Government is not going to take that action then it's up to the community to do it for them.
Because we simply cannot wait any longer, climate change is too urgent.
MARGOT O'NEILL, REPORTER: Federal and State Governments are reviewing the laws dealing with such disruptions after a request from the country's State and Federal Energy Ministers.
GEOFF WILSON, QLD MINES AND ENERGY MINISTER: That shows you how seriously all Energy Ministers around Australia, including the Federal Minister see this action that was taken last year in various places.
MARGOT O'NEILL, REPORTER: In 2007 activists shut down Victoria's Loy Yang Power Station for five hours.
GEOFF WILSON, QLD MINES AND ENERGY MINISTER: This action, they described as being peaceful. Only has the veneer of being peaceful, when indeed the outcome of the action has the high risk that electricity supply will be cut off to large communities with harmful impacts on those large communities.
JOHN HEPBURN, GREENPEACE: The kind of protests that we have seen at coal power stations have not resulted in any of those sorts of problems.
MARGOT O'NEILL, REPORTER: Protesters in the United Kingdom were last year acquitted of criminal damage charges after one of the world's leading climate change scientists James Hansen from NASA testified that coal fired power stations were causing greater damage to the public good through dangerous global warming.
Now two of Australia's internationally renowned climate change scientists, health expert Professor Tony McMichael, and climate expert Professor David Karoly say many climate change activists in Australia are unsung heroes, and they'd be prepared to testify in court on their behalf about the urgency of global warming and its impacts.
DAVID KAROLY, MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY: I would be prepared to provide support to provide, if you like, defence, testimony, that says that these activists are providing justifiable responses given the imminent danger associated with climate change.
MARGOT O'NEILL, REPORTER: In a political blow for the Government it's formerly lost the support of much of the green lobby for its Emissions Trading Scheme, known as the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme due to start next year.
One of Australia's most influential environmental groups, the Australian Conservation Foundation, as well as other groups like Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth will now actively oppose Government policy unless it toughens up.
TONY MOHR, AUSTRALIAN CONSERVATION FOUNDATION: The two biggest flaws with the proposed Carbon Pollution Scheme is that it will lock in unacceptably weak targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions for many years.
It will also see billions of dollars going to big polluters.
MARGOT O'NEILL, REPORTER: But the New South Wales Minerals Council says the scheme's targets are already steep enough.
NIKKI WILLIAMS, NSW MINERALS COUNCIL: It is a very tough target and there is no other county in the world that has one.
MARGOT O'NEILL, REPORTER: A draft of the legislation will be released publicly later this month.
Margot O'Neill, Lateline.
Push for "people power" on climate change
AAP
Hundreds have gathered in Canberra to organise some people power on climate change.
More than 500 people are attending a four-day summit to set out what Australia should be doing on climate change .. and how to force more action from governments.
Summit co-organiser LOUISE MORRIS says this is about the people taking the power back into their own hands on climate change .. because there's been no real government action.
She says more than 150 community groups have registered for Australia's Climate Action Summit.
It ends on Tuesday .. when parliament convenes for the year .. and summit members will try to link hands around Parliament House to draw attention to their campaign.
AAP RTV ca/rt
Push for "people power" on climate change
Copyright © AAP NewsWire, 2009
Canberra Times, 31/01/2009
Page 5, Saturday Forum
Region: Canberra
Circulation: 34687
There has been an important resurgence in the recognition of true heroes in our community due to two events this month. First was the award of the Victoria Cross to Trooper Mark Donaldson for his bravery under fire when saving an injured soldier in Afghanistan.
Second was the remarkable effort by pilot Captain Chesley Sullenberger in safely crash-landing a US Airways plane on the Hudson River in New York City with no loss of life.
Of course there are many unsung heroes in the Australian community, people who regularly go out of their way to minimise harm to others and damage to property. There is an important gathering of one such group of unsung heroes this weekend, Monday and Tuesday in Canberra during Australia s Climate Action Summit.
So why and how can a group of ordinary people, drawn from many parts of the country and all sectors of Australian society, become heroes by taking grassroots community action on climate change? Let s start with the problem. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change completed the most comprehensive assessment of the causes of climate change, its impacts and possible solutions in a fourvolume assessment in 2007. This assessment was accepted by the governments of all major countries around the world. Its conclusions are that: The evidence for global warming is unequivocal. Most of the global-average warming over the past 50 years has very likely stemmed from increases in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere due to human activity, -such as burning fossil fuels and landclearing. Warming will continue and accelerate during the 21st century; and Global warming poses many adverse impacts, including an increase in the extinction of species, increased loss of life due to heatwaves, inundation from storm surges arid rising sea levels, and major damage to water supply, agricultural systems arid human health, particularly affecting the old, the very young arid the disadvantaged in developed, as well as in developing, countries.
Australia s recent Garnaut Climat Change Review concluded, "Climate change is a diabolical policy problem. Australia has a larger interest in a strong mitigation outcome than other developed countries. We are already a hot arid dry country; small variations in climate are more damaging to us than to other developed countries." It also concluded that climate change would damage many important Australian natural wonders, including the Great Barrier Reef, Kakadu and the Snowy Mountains.
Globally, greenhouse gas emissions have to be reduced bySO per cent to 85 per cent by 2050 and, in Australia, by 90 per cent to 97 per cent by 2050 to minimise the harm from climate change. Every delay in reducing emissions leads to higher concentrations of carbon dioxide arid other greenhouse gases, which lead to irreversible climate change arid rising sea levels for at least 1000 years.
So let's return to our unsung heroes. They have recognised the urgency of the problem, the loss of life and damage that is occurring arid will continue to occur due to climate change, and the manifestly inadequate response from the Australian Government arid other governments around the world. Just like other heroes, they have decided to step forward and take action themselves.
The actions of these heroes are making a difference. Individuals are taking action to reduce their personal emissions of greenhouse gases, a small but very important step in slowing climate change.
Community groups are forming cooperatives such as Breaze in Ballarat to install solar hot water and solar PV systems in homes, or setting up community-owned solar power stations, as the group Clean Energy for Eternity has done in Bega, Equally important, these heroes are taking action to better inform their friends and neighbours about the dangers of climate change and the responses needed.
Perhaps most important, they are showing the Government that the Australian community wants more done to minimise the damage and loss of life due to climate change and is getting active at local level and politically.
We all need to follow the leadership of these unsung heroes.
Individuals, communities, businesses, industries and governments, separately and together, must act urgently to dramatically reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases. We must strive to win the war against human-caused climate change. David Karoly is Professor of Meteorology at the University of Melbourne, a member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists and a lead author of the IPCC.
Headline: Your planet needs you: today's everyday heroes' clarion call