In the world of the Mad Hatter, up is down, green is grey, logic is silly and absurdity is profound … But even the Mad Hatter could never have imagined a world in which fossil fuels are actually renewable energy sources.
“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be […]
In November 2007, after intense campaigning from Greenpeace and many other environmental organisations, Kevin Rudd promised that, if elected, he would expand Australia’s renewable energy target to 20% by 2020. After sitting in limbo since the election, the legislation is finally being debated this week.
Apart from the unnecessary delay in implementing the legislation, the Government […]
Slowly but surely, electricity retailers in Australia are moving away from coal. Just last week, Red Energy, ruled out buying electricity from any new coal power stations. Their owner, Snowy Hydro, has also committed to not building new coal-fired power stations.
This is great news. It proves again that electricity retailers and generators can rule out […]
Michelle Hunt is one of our new interns working on public engagement. She’s been busy organising a series of public talks on climate change lined up for June and July.
I started my internship with Greenpeace six weeks ago wanting to make a real difference by being proactive in the environmental movement. To be honest, […]
I’m going to say it. Ready? Here it comes … Solar power is ready to replace coal-fired electricity!
OK, so we’ve been claiming this for a while, but a report released from Greenpeace and the solar industry this week leaves no doubt that solar power is able to provide electricity just as well as coal. […]
I’ve had quite a lot of time to contemplate tonight’s federal budget, having spent four hours in the Treasury lock-up with papers open to pages numbering into the 300s and a confused look on my face shouting: “WHAT? … HUH? … OK, so it’s $100 coming from this department, but only allocated after the first […]
Later this year in Copenhagen, Denmark, governments will seek to finalise a framework to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. It is our collective last chance to put in place global policies to reduce emissions, to have a roughly 50/50 chance of avoiding runaway climate change.
The International Alliance of Research Universities organised a […]
Over 2500 climate activists and concerned Australians are currently encircling Parliament House in Canberra. They have linked hands around the building with a united message for Australia’s leaders:
“We will not let you commit us to a dangerous climate future.”
They are calling for urgent action on the climate emergency that threatens Australia’s future and the world. […]
Latest from Elsa Evers at the Climate Summit:
At the close of the final day of Australia’s Climate Action Summit, I understand what has made this summit so special. I’ll try to paint the picture:
An elderly man sits next to me, deliberately scribbling notes. Two kids run down the aisle next to me, stepping over those […]
The latest from Elsa Evers at the Climate Summit in Canberra, day 2:
After yesterday’s uplifting opener, today has been exhausting and emotional for many of us at Australia’s Climate Action Summit.
I spent a lot of time in the policy and politics sessions, looking first at Rudd’s carbon pollution reduction scheme (CPRS) with Richard Dennis from […]
Robert D. McCallum, Jr., Ambassador of the USA to Australia, was asked on ABC Breakfast yesterday how he felt about his country’s declining moral authority.
Steve Cannane, presenter of Summer Breakfast, topped and tailed the long interview with diplomatic questions but the middle was a series of tough questions about Iraq, WMD, Gitmo, torture. (It was […]
As Australian government delegates do nothing in Poznan, our unsupported renewables industry starts to close down back home. Last night, ABC-TV’s 7.30 Report program revealed that hundreds of Australian wind industry employees are about to be sacked, thanks to government inaction on renewables target promises. And there’s a bitter irony. In the same town as […]
This week has seen yet another round of protestations from the big end of town about how difficult it will be to cut greenhouse emissions, and how they are going to have to move offshore if a decent emissions trading scheme is introduced. Meanwhile, another renewable energy manufacturer has just announced that they are actually […]
You’ve heard about this great way of delivering large-scale renewable energy, you’ve seen how well it has worked overseas, you’ve been presented with a mountain of supporting evidence that suggests it could turn Australia into a renewable energy leader and the economist you’ve hired to look at the economics of dealing with climate change has […]
Barack Obama has won the election and will go on to make history, as the first black President of the USA. The planet will sigh with relief because President Obama has a clear electoral mandate on the biggest issue in the world, stopping dangerous climate change.
Our own ‘change generation’ PM, Kevin Rudd, is now under […]
On Sunday night Cairns local residents helped to create a 3000 candle art installation in the shape of a wind turbine on Cairns city esplanade. The event marked the end of our highly successful 6-week tour up the eastern seaboard from Sydney to Cairns. It was a beautiful statement of the community’s support for our […]
We’ve made our message loud and clear over the past 6 weeks. The Tour began with the release of our Energy [R]evolution Scenario, which shows how Australia could phase out coal-fired power by 2030 through a combination of energy efficiency and renewable energy. Shortly after we released another report, demonstrating the job opportunities in turning […]
Another Saturday, another balmy, sunny open boat day in far North Queensland. This week we are in Townsville and with the 400 people who visited the ship today, the total number of people who’ve been on board since we began in Sydney 5 weeks ago climbed to over 5000.
That’s over 5000 people who have heard […]
Our coal ship painting action the other day put both Queensland Premier Anna Bligh and Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett on the spot, forcing them to respond publicly about their plans to expand the coal industry. Both politicians used the development of so-called ‘clean coal’ technology as their defence.
‘Clean coal’, or carbon […]
If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say that there’s no point in Australia doing anything about climate change because China and India are going to keep guzzling energy anyway, I could probably begin immediate construction of a baseload solar thermal plant. This refrain is commonly employed whenever the issue of […]