Dangerous rig shut down and dolphins killed
Two unreported and extremely dangerous incidents recently illustrate the contempt the offshore fossil fuel industry has for the environment and the Australian taxpayer.
A rig in a marine conservation reserve off the Pilbara coast was ordered to close this month because it was in danger of exploding or creating a massive oil slick. The National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) has told Friends of the Earth Australia (FoEA) that an inspection on November the 8th resulted in a “prohibition notice” because of the poor condition of the well’s control equipment.
COP27 outcome: Loss and damage fund established in historic first step, but other outcomes perilously weak
A historic breakthrough in deadlocked COP27 talks means a loss and damage fund to compensate developing countries for the irreversible impacts of climate change has been established, despite consistent efforts by the US and other developed countries to derail it. This fund was one of the key demands of developing countries, and it is a welcome first step that had seemed elusive. However, there is still plenty of scope for developed countries to wriggle out of their responsibilities, and other COP27 outcomes were extremely weak.
Climate & Energy Justice
Thousands of fossil gas and oil rigs that could be recycled
Sitting off Australia's coast are scores of rusting fossil gas and oil rigs, hundreds of wells and thousands of kilometres of pipeline, all of which need to be retired over coming years.
In addition, 2600 platforms, amounting to 7.5 million tonnes of steel, will need to be decommissioned across the Indo-Pacific region over the next decade.
Climate & Energy Justice
Justice and equity must accompany every decision at COP27
Friday 4 November 2022, Sharm El-Sheikh (Egypt) - To stem runaway climate change, COP27 must steer away from seductive-sounding ‘nature-based solutions’ and geoengineering fixes, and instead focus on cutting fossil fuel emissions at source, say Friends of the Earth International on the eve of the UN climate talks.
Climate & Energy Justice
Community solidarity in a time of climate crisis
We know that climate change is already impacting people and the environment around the world. Locally, the influence of human driven climate change is clear in many recent natural disasters like floods, fires and droughts. We also know that we are locked in to future climate change which will continue to make these disasters worse.
Indigenous Land & Rights
Justice For Cassius - Forever Fifteen
Cassius Turvey, a 15-year-old Noongar boy, was walking home from school with his friends on the afternoon of October 13 when he was brutally killed after alleged racial slurs were heard towards him and his friends. There needs to be a huge response to this horrific racist violence, that exposes the systemic and individual acts of racism that are still continuously present in colonial Australia.
Economics for Earth
FoEA National Meeting 2022
Friends of the Earth Australia (FoEA) is a federation made up of 13 independent member groups. We normally meet each year for our national meeting, but two years of lockdowns has made this hard. So it was great to finally get together in real life at Commonground, on Taungurung Country in north central Victoria.
Land & water
Submission: Burning Native Forests is not Renewable
Friends of the Earth Australia Submission on burning native forest timber (biomass burning) for energy production in Australia (In relation to Climate Change Bill 2022 and Climate Change (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2022)
Climate & Energy Justice
Time for a National Just Transition Authority
Australia has traditionally relied on coal fired power stations to meet its energy needs. This is now rapidly changing, as renewable energy and storage becomes cheaper and older coal fired power stations become ever more expensive to run and less reliable.
Land & water
Changing Beautifully: Transforming Carbon
"What would happen if we talked of caring for carbon?", asks Aviva Reed, a transdisciplinary visual ecologist, for Chain Reaction #143. Perhaps always thinking of carbon as the "enemy" of the climate erases the place it has in the ecology of life? This beautiful image-essay shares two of Aviva's visual artworks, and radical ecological philosophy about the importance of interrogating our relationship with carbon.