CANBERRA
40%

Public consultation is well underway for the Government document ‘Weathering the Change Action Plan II’.

The ACT has taken a big step by setting ambitious emissions reduction targets for our city.  Now we have the opportunity to choose the actions to meet that target that can make our city liveable, accessible, and smart into the future.  ‘Weathering the Change Action Plan II’ lays out 5 pathways by which we can reach our targets.  But do they create the sort of city you want?

Do these pathways encourage smart urban planning?

Do they foster the ‘bush capital’, and other things we love about Canberra for our future?

Do they really establish a strong foundation to enable us to move to a clean economy and a 0 net emissions city by 2060?

You can get online to check out the policy, and have your say now.  Next Tuesday, the Government are running a public meeting to gather your views on how you would like to reach the 40% target, and lay the foundations for Canberra’s 0 emissions future.

Join us at the consultation:

When:  12-3pm, Tuesday 14 February

Where:  The ACT Legislative Assembly, London Circuit (next to the Canberra Theatre)

What:  Share your views, ask your questions, and shape Canberra’s future with lunch provided.

RSVP:  climatechange@act.gov.au or 6205 2946

Just like 40 percent, 350 parts per million is not just an important target, it’s an important opportunity. An opportunity for creativity, for equity and for community. On Sunday the 10th of October little sparks of a possible future will light up the globe as scores of ordinary people join together in over 6174 separate events in 184 countries for the 350.org global work party to celebrate climate solutions. Here in Canberra our recently announced 40% emissions reduction target gives us all the more reason to celebrate.

Running through the Inner North of Canberra lies Sullivans Creek. What was once a vibrant living waterway has been turned into an ugly concrete drain. But a series of planned wetlands along the creek are changing this well known eyesore into a dynamic green space which will improve water quality, provide habitats for a wonderful diversity of birds and create a friendlier and more inviting atmosphere for residents. Join us on a gentle bicycle tour of three of these new wetlands followed by a working bee at O’Connor community gardens. The abundance of green spaces in Canberra has always been one of the distinctive features of our city. Improving and upgrading these much loved spaces will be just one of the great opportunities that our 40 percent target presents. It was community action by ordinary Canberrans that led to these new wetlands and it will only be through community action that green spaces around Canberra will continue to be upgraded.

The tour will be leaving Lyneham shops at 10 minutes past 10 on Sunday 10/10/2010. We will be arriving at O’Connor Community Gardens (at the back of the Uniting Church on the corner of Jarrah and Brigalow St) around Noon. You are more than welcome to come for just the bike tour and skip the working bee or vice versa.

But wait, there’s more. Our friends at Climate Action Canberra are also hosting a forum on the topic Coal and climate change at 6.30-8.00pm on Monday the 11th of October in the Manning Clark Theatre at the Australian National University. With a host of interesting speakers this promises to be a cracker of a night.

Things are changing in this town of ours. It is up to all of us to seize the opportunities presented by the 40 percent target to make sure that we build on what we already love about our city.

Although both Labor and the Greens have come out in support of a 40% target for the ACT, the Liberals, at present, only support a 30% target. Although Labor and the Greens together have the numbers to guarantee that the bill will be passed through the Legislative Assembly, we think that it is vital that such an important piece of territory-building legislation – legislation which will drive innovation and the green economy in our city over the next decade – receives tri-partisan support. This is why we are asking you all to please pick up your paper and pencil once more and to write a letter to Zed Seselja, the Liberal leader and climate change shadow minister. Zed needs to be congratulated on the important leadership he has shown by supporting a 30% target and encouraged to take one step further and support the legislation for a 40% reduction.

Frank Jotzo, a senior lecturer at the ANU Crawford School of Economics and Policy, and Deputy Director of the ANU Climate Change Institute, writing recently in the Canberra Times reminded us all why this is such an important issue.

The ACT has the chance to show that a shift to renewable energy can be done at moderate cost, and quite possibly with broader economic benefits. In that way, it could make a real difference nationally, where the climate change debate sorely needs vision and concrete examples of the shift to a low-carbon economy. Combined with strong programs for energy efficiency and more sustainable transport, large investments in local renewable energy could turn the ACT into a model for how to run an economy in a carbon-constrained world a small one with somewhat unusual characteristics, but with a powerful demonstration effect nevertheless. If ACT emissions can be halved by 2020, that would be an impressive achievement. And the local economy may well benefit from “the vision thing”. An image of Canberra as clean as well as clever could help attract modern service industries, and nourish research and teaching at the local universities.

Zed Seselja can be contacted by writing to:

Zed Seselja
ACT Legislative Assembly,
GPO Box 1020,
CANBERRA,
ACT 2601.

or by emailing seselja@parliament.act.gov.au. Alternatively his fax number is 6205 3001 and his phone number is 6205 0323.

It is so easy for any discussion of climate change to get lost in numbers so we thought we might take the time to put some of the numbers that get thrown about into a human perspective.

16,000,000,000,000 watts This is the amount of fossil fuel powered energy humans consume each year. That’s about a third of the energy that is released each year by plate tectonics, the geological process that moves continents around the globe and creates mountains!

28,000,000,000 tonnes This is the amount of CO₂ that is released globally each year. That’s enough to cover the entire surface of Australia to a depth of 2 metres!

300,000,000,000,000 watts This is the amount that the world’s oceans are heating by each year due to human induced climate change. That’s the same heat as would be released by detonating 5 Hiroshima sized nuclear bombs every second of every day for an entire year.

$8 The estimated cost per week per household that a new report from the University of Melbourne says would be required to transform the entire Australian electricity production system to renewable energy by 2020. That’s two to three cups of coffee per household per week or a mere 3 percent of Australia’s GDP.

40 percent This is the emission reduction target that the ACT legislative assembly’s own inquiry suggested could be achieved in the ACT at zero net cost. In the ACT we can’t remodel the Australian electricity generation system by ourselves, but we can still be leaders. We can show the rest of Australia that serious action on climate change is possible. We can light the way for the rest of Australia to follow.

Climate change is a real and serious problem. But real and serious solutions do exist. Working together we can solve our climate crisis. But the time to act is now.

The ACT cabinet is on the very cusp of deciding what target it will introduce into the Legislative Assembly. We need to write, phone, fax and email them to tell them that any target less than 40 percent is aiming too low. To make this easier and to help you engage with your elected representatives we have created a page that provides instructions on contacting your representatives and tips on letter writing.

And pens aren’t the only weapon you can pick up to fight climate change. After the unfortunate illness of our ‘knit against climate change’ organiser put all things woollen on the back-burner for a while, they are starting to gain momentum again. Two knit-ins have been held at Tilley’s and some real progress is being made. To get involved join our knitting Google group here.

Finally, the statistics in this post were all taken from the new Zero Carbon Australia report. It makes fascinating reading if you have the time.

We’re finally officially off and running! And doesn’t it feel good? The media launch was a huge success with a wonderful group of young kids sending a strong message to our elected representatives that we need to act now to secure their future. We got coverage in the Canberra Times, Canberra City Weekly, The Chronicle, 666, 2CH and Canberra FM.

Building on this success we will be holding the first of our community forums (co-hosted with SeeChange) this coming Thursday (24th of June) at the Holy Covenant Church in Cook. Meredith Hunter MLA and Mary Porter MLA will be there to answer your questions so please come along and give your concerns a public voice. The forum will begin at 7:30pm and should finish up somewhere between 9pm and 9:30pm. The address is 89 Dexter Street Cook.

Today the Climate Whistleblowers delivered hundreds of individually signed postcards to the Legislative Assembly letting the MLAs there know that Canberrans believe that putting 40% less CO₂ into our atmosphere by 2010 is achievable.

The best quote of the day came from a staffer of one of the MLAs:

We already have a big pile of them. They are sitting on my desk with a postit note on top saying ‘what do we do with these?’

More information and some great photos at the Whistleblower’s blog.

This week was the Australia Youth Climate Coalition’s (AYCC) climate reality week. The week was focused on combating the rise of climate change denialism in Australia, and bringing public debate back on track to the true scientific consensus on our climate. AYCC visited schools throughout Canberra to discuss the issue with local students. They also organised the following wonderful aerial photos:

Kicking off our campaign, the ANU Climate Whistleblowers dressed in attention grabbing retro-futuristic clothes and took to ANU union court to take our message to young people who will be the most effected by climate change. They printed two clever postcards reflecting the future of Canberra in a changed climate. On the back was printed information about climate change and Canberra, as well as the push for 40% reductions. These have been successfully promoted around ANU, with hundreds of students and others signing their postcards.

This coming Monday (the 10th of May) at 10:30am they will be dressing up in their iconic future postman costumes and delivering the signed postcards to the Legislative Assembly. Please come along and help make this a memorable day.