The Federal Coalition’s last-ditch attempt to hit the reset button on climate change has been a flop with several dozen community members appearing at a snap rally at the Prime Minister’s press conference in Melbourne this morning.“The Coalition has failed to review the science and adopt measures that are commensurate with the scale and urgency of the climate crisis,” said Leigh Ewbank, FoE climate spokesperson.“An Emissions Reduction Fund that fails to keep coal, oil, and gas in the ground is a hoax.”

The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) has backed Australia's first major offshore wind project, Star of the South proposed off Victoria's Gippsland coast, urging the federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor to sign off on the project's exploration license.

Australia could soon be home to the world’s largest offshore wind farm, with the 2GW Star of the South proposed off Victoria’s Gippsland coast in June 2017.  This landmark project promises to deliver clean renewable energy to 1.2 million homes, creating an estimated 12,000 jobs and avoiding up to 10 million tonnes of polluting  greenhouse gas emissions.The Star of the South requires both state and federal planning approval, but has been held up by the federal Coalition government for unknown reasons.

Environment group Friends of the Earth Australia reject indications that the Morrison government will seek to use public funds to underwrite new coal and gas projects, and say they should be 100% focused on landmark renewable energy projects like the proposed Star of the South offshore wind farm instead.

Reacting to the news that Adani has decided to self-fund the entirety of its Carmichael coal project, Executive Director of Friends of the Earth affiliate member group, Market Forces, Julien Vincent said:

MEDIA RELEASE - 8 October 2018 - Friends of the Earth The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released its highly-anticipated Special Report into the impacts of 1.5 degrees global warming. The report finds climate change is already impacting communities around the world through increased severity of flooding, storms, drought and heatwaves, and that radical action is required to limit warming to well-below 1.5C.Friends of the Earth Australia says the report is a stark wake-up call on climate change and reaffirms that all governments must undertake immediate, transformative action on climate or risk catastrophic impacts.

Marx and the Earth is a righteously good read and indispensable for any politically and socio-economically literate environmentalist or Socialist.

Adani says they’ve locked in funding for their dirty coal mine. So, now’s the time we need to push our politicians like never before to #StopAdani. The majority of Australians don’t support the Adani Carmichael coal mine, which is a proposed thermal coal mine in the north of the Galilee Basin in Central Queensland, yet the major parties do. Our politicians could #StopAdani tomorrow, but they won’t unless our movement is everywhere they look.

From September 8, there will be thousands of rallies in cities and towns around the world to demand our local leaders commit to building a fossil free world that puts people and justice before profit. No more stalling, no more delays: it’s time for a fast and fair transition to 100% renewable energy for all.

By Catherine Hearse and the Quit Coal Collective at Friends of the Earth Melbourne Golden Beach is an idyllic section of Victoria's Ninety Mile Beach. It boasts a pristine coastline, plentiful fish, multitudes of birds and the skeletal remains of an 1897 shipwreck. But there is a cloud hanging over this lovely place.