Climate Change and Renewable Energy: time to get the finger out Australia!

The Age, 1 September 2016:

Australia was the only G20 nation judged to be "very poor" in four of the seven climate categories, such as emissions and trends, share of renewable energy and overall climate policy. The other three were all "poor".

The nation was signalled out for channelling $US5 billion ($6.65 billion) a year in federal government subsides for fossil fuel production compared with $US150 million for public climate finance.

"Australia has made the smallest pledge to the [UN's] Green Climate Fund of all the G20 countries with climate ­finance obligations," the report notes, adding it had ranked sixth largest in 2013-14. The funds that are being spent include supporting "relatively efficient coal technologies".

The low ranking comes as the Turnbull government seeks Labor's support to axe at least $1 billion for clean energy technologies being developed by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency. The loss of ARENA grants will place at risk hundreds of research positions at the Australian National University, the University of NSW, CSIRO and elsewhere.

It doesn’t take a genius to realise that conservative governments in Australia are going to sleepwalk over the climate change cliff if they are not abruptly jolted awake.

It’s time for ordinary citizens to demand that the federal government be opposed on every occasion it tries to reduce or cease efforts to combat global warming.

Send a simple email such as this to make your voice heard in Canberra – make your own choice of political party and MP or senator and ask them to act on your behalf:

From: redacted [mailto:redacted]
Sent: Thursday, 1 September 2016 10:36 AM
To: 'Bill.Shorten.MP@aph.gov.au'
Cc: 'Mark.Butler.MP@aph.gov.au'
Subject: Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) funding

Hon. Bill Shorten MP

Leader of the Opposition

House of Representatives

Parliament House

Canberra ACT 2600

1 September 2016

COPY TO:

Hon. Mark Butler MP

Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy

Dear Sir,

Re: Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA)

Media is reporting that the parliamentary Labor Party intends to support federal government measures to significantly reduce funding to the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

Such support would run counter to the best interests of the nation given the inevitability of further climate change impacts and, I respectfully request that you demonstrate the courage of Labor’s convictions and refuse to pass the ‘Omnibus Bill’ whilst ever it contains clauses which reduce the ability of ARENA to function as a mechanism to rapidly increase renewable energy projects and clean energy products available in Australia.

Yours faithfully,

[name & address redacted]

Act now, while your home still has a resale value, your town clean drinking water and the very young and very old in your family are not being placed at increased risk by record heatwaves, storms or floods.

NOTE

To date ARENA has completed 60 projects and is managing a further 200 - 97 of which are in New South Wales.