Climate & Energy Justice
Tassie Forest Fires - a climate wake up call
Fires have raged across Tasmania since lightning strikes ignited more than 100 spot fires on January 13. Since that time, about 14,000 hectares of World Heritage Area forests and other vegetation have been incinerated, with almost 100,000 hectares of land burnt in total.
Overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the fires, the Tasmanian Fire Service (TFS) initially – and understandably - concentrated on human assets like towns and infrastructure. As TFS workers fought a heroic campaign against fires that threatened communities, a series of wildfires burnt huge areas in the north-west and on the central plateau. It was the arrival of milder weather as well as additional fire-fighting crews from interstate in the second week, especially teams of remote area fire fighters, which allowed serious operations to occur to slow the fires in mountainous and forested regions.
Climate & Energy Justice
Let's ban onshore gas and grow renewables
Big energy companies have sought to "open up" Victoria to onshore gas drilling and fracking--putting prime farmland and water resources at risk. Regional communities around the state have said "no" to risky unconventional gas extraction. On the other side of the coin, the Federal government has sabotaged our renewable energy sector by cutting the national Renewable Energy Target by 20%. The federal government's attack on renewables has resulted in a 90% decrease in investment and 2,500 people losing their jobs.
In the first half of 2016, the Victorian government will need to decide whether to lift the current ban on onshore gas drilling. They will set the state Renewable Energy Targets for 2020 and 2025 (the VRETs).
The community has waited too long for the Parliament to resolve these issues.
Climate & Energy Justice
A reportback from the frontline of climate change
Paris climate negotiations. What was it like? What's next?
Ursula Rakova, the director of Tulele Peisa, responsible for relocating Carteret Island families forced to move to Bougainville because of climate change, has gained international recognition for her work.
Climate & Energy Justice
Global palm oil companies and financiers responsible for Indonesian peat fires
Paris, France / Jakarta, Indonesia, December 8, 2015 – Global palm oil companies Wilmar International and Bumitama Agri, backed by major U.S. and European investors, have created conditions that have allowed Indonesia’s recent devastating forest fires to burn out of control, according to a report released today by Friends of the Earth groups in Indonesia, Europe and the US.With civil society organizations, governments and corporations gathered in Paris this week for the UN climate talks, the Friends of the Earth groups argue that the voluntary policies of corporate actors and their financiers are failing to prevent the huge climate impacts of industrial palm oil expansion.
Climate & Energy Justice
Chain Reaction magazine out now
Chain Reaction #125 − November 2015
National Magazine of Friends of the Earth, Australia
Read online at foe.org.au/chain-reaction/editions/125 or subscribe (details below).
Climate & Energy Justice
New report on financing climate action: Richest 782 people could power half the world with 100% renewable energy
The personal fortunes of the 782 wealthiest people on the planet, many CEOs of major corporations, could power Africa, Latin America and most of Asia with 100% renewable energy by 2030, said Friends of the Earth International in a new report released today. [1]
Launched just a week before the UN climate summit in Paris, the report illustrates that the finance for an energy revolution certainly exists, while the political will to drive the transformation is so far shockingly absent.
Climate & Energy Justice
Coal Atlas 2015 released
Facts and figures show the environmental and social impact of coal production
Brussels, Belgium, 18 November 2015 – The Heinrich Böll Foundation and Friends of the Earth International have published today the first English edition of the Coal Atlas 2015 in Brussels. The Coal Atlas contains the latest facts and figures on the use of coal and its environmental and social consequences. With more than 60 detailed infographics, the atlas illustrates the coal industry’s impact on nature, health, labour, human rights and politics.
Climate & Energy Justice
Paris climate negotiations
[Please scroll down for our media work and commentary on the negotiations]
The Paris climate talks are over. The good news is that we have a deal. In the words of commentator George Monbiot, “By comparison to what it could have been, it’s a miracle. By comparison to what it should have been, it’s a disaster”.
Response from FoE UK.
Response from FoE International.
Check the photos from our community mobilisation on the last day of the conference: 3,000 people spelt out the words 'Climate Justice. Peace' on the streets of Paris.
Climate & Energy Justice
National Radioactive Waste Unwelcome in Queensland
Australian Nuclear Free Alliance
Friends of the Earth Brisbane
Qld Nuclear Free Alliance
The Australian Nuclear Free Alliance and Friends of the Earth Brisbane will vigorously oppose the Federal Government’s siting of a national nuclear waste storage facility anywhere in Queensland.
The federal government has today released a short-list of six possible sites for a national nuclear waste repository, and one is in Queensland. The site, called Oman Ama, is 150 km inland from the Gold Coast.
Climate & Energy Justice
Is Australia ready to address the challenge of forced climate migrants?
Friends of the Earth Australia media release November 12, 2015
Friends of the Earth Australia has welcomed the public communication by Shadow Immigration Minister, Richard Marles MP*, indicating that Labor is finally willing to take up in a serious way the issue of Pacific people forced to migrate because of climate change related displacement. Mr Marles has stated that “Australia being a destination for climate change migrants has to be up for discussion.”