A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step…
Let’s be clear, the carbon price policy announced today is not science-based or visionary and won’t achieve that much. However, it can genuinely be described as a small step in the right direction. If Australia is to do its bit towards achieving a safe climate future – a lot more needs to happen. Now is not a time to be resting on our laurels. This post is not an exhaustive list of what the carbon price policies entail, rather a summary of the most important points as we see them.
On Tuesday night Yarra Council voted four votes to five to reject a motion calling on the Federal Government to implement a large range of measures for achieving a safe climate future. This motion was put to council by Mayor Alison Clarke at the request of Yarra Climate Action Now and was found by a [...]
The Federal Government, with support from the fossil fuel industry, have openly admitted that the price on pollution will lead to coal being replaced with gas, rather than renewable energy – if no further policy initiatives are introduced. Additionally, the Yarra Energy Foundation is exploring gas-fired co-generation and tri-generation as ways to reduce our local area’s emissions.
This statement clearly outlines why shifting from coal to gas, rather than to renewable energy, is suicidal from an economic and environmental standpoint.
A carbon price is a step in the right direction if well designed, but other mechanisms are far more effective at getting renewable energy built and reducing emissions. Click here for more details.
What will a price on pollution mean for the community and what else will we need to do to reduce emissions? Come along to hear Adam Bandt, Federal MP for Melbourne, Yarra City Council Mayor Alison Clarke and Richard Denniss from the Australia Institute. Wednesday 4 May, 6.30-8pm, Fitzroy Town Hall (201 Napier Street).
A rally for action on the climate crisis, organised in a few days, attracted over 8000 people on Saturday 12 March. A rally organised by climate change deniers on the same day attracted 200 people, showing that resistance to a carbon tax is far weaker than the Liberal Party and the extremist Murdoch press have made out.
A well-designed carbon price may be a step forward in addressing the climate crisis, but a lot more needs to be done to achieve a zero emissions economy.
