Resources

Leaflets for Walk Against Warming 2010

Get them here (front and back)

Climate Action Canberra in action

Climate Feedback slides

These slides describe with ease concepts that are very complex and difficult to grasp. Climate Action Canberra thanks both Steven and Janette for their participation on the night and for making their slides available for show.
Steve Lade
Janette Lindesay

Recent media releases

Climate Action Canberra welcomes carbon neutrality

Climate Action Canberra today welcomed the announcement of climate change targets by ACT Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Water, Simon Corbell. The announcement puts the climate policy of the ACT well ahead of every other state and territory and the Federal Government.

“It is a rare joy to see politicians rise to the challenge of climate change,” said Leigh Hughes, spokesperson for Climate Action Canberra.

“It is to the ACT Government’s credit that they have committed to a carbon neutral Canberra and have set a date for emissions to peak – although we would have preferred to see this date fall before the next election” said Hughes.

Climate Action Canberra also wants to see the government announce strong targets for the year 2020 in the next six months.

“In his announcement the Minister asked the question of how sharp the emissions reduction curve will be. This is the most important question, as the total volume of emissions is the determining factor in climate change.”

“Deep cuts to emissions in the next ten years may keep the world’s climate in a safe range for human civilisation. Leaving it much longer than that will almost certainly guarantee catastrophe.”

“The top climate scientists are saying that countries like Australia may need to cut their emissions by 60-80 per cent by 2020 to avoid unstoppable warming.”

“Considering the incalculable human cost that would result from unstoppable warming, I would recommend that we listen to the scientists”.

Climate Action Canberra also welcomed Minister Corbell’s announcement that carbon neutrality would mean emissions would be reduced through energy efficiency, renewable energy and transport solutions, “to zero or close to zero”.

“The current crop of carbon offset schemes have failed to reduce emissions. The ACT Government’s commitment to primarily meet its targets through real reductions, rather than offsetting, is something for other governments to emulate.”

Climate groups: good riddance to a bad scheme

Groups campaigning for action on climate change have welcomed the defeat of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) in the Senate today.

“The Coalition parties did the right thing, even if for the most irresponsible of reasons,” said Leigh Hughes, spokesperson for Climate Action Canberra.

“The CPRS was worse than nothing, and its failure to become law has been welcomed by the Australian climate movement.”

Labor’s emissions trading scheme, if adopted, would have seen polluting industry receive billions of dollars in handouts. The scheme would have also locked in emissions reduction targets so weak that “if adopted globally, practically guarantees destruction of most life on the planet” according to leading NASA scientist James Hansen.

“Labor suffers from its own form of climate change denialism,” says Hughes. Presenting garbage like the CPRS to the public, pretending that it is a serious response to climate change, is in itself a refusal to take the issue seriously”.

“Unwittingly, the climate change denialists of the Coalition, by destroying such a gift to the polluters, have opened the door to real strategies to reduce emissions.”

“Without the distraction of this farcical scheme, we are able to focus on setting stronger targets, phasing out dirty coal power plants, investing in energy from renewable sources and building better public transport.”

Climate Action Canberra is calling for a emissions reduction target of at least 60 percent by the year 2020, a ban on the building of new coal power plants, stiff penalties for polluters, and a rapid rollout of solar thermal and wind power facilities.
“The science should set the benchmarks for action.”
“We need to face reality, slash our emissions from fossil fuels, draw carbon down into soils and forests, and cool the planet. There are highly effective solutions for doing this and we need to stop ignoring them.”

Climate Action Canberra is one of more than 150 community based climate groups that has argued for the scrapping of the CPRS in favour of a more effective scheme.

Submission on the CPRS to the Senate Economics Committee

Climate Action Canberra recently made a submission to the inquiry by the Senate Economics Committee on the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme exposure draft legislation. The submission is available from here.