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Join the Climate court case against Shell Petition
Shell is one of the biggest climate polluters in the world. This transnational company has known about the severity of climate change and the impacts of oil and gas drilling for decades, but has not only misled the public on the issue, it continues drilling for fossil fuels. Across the world Shell’s climate wrecking activities are leaving a trail of devastation, from Australia to the Netherlands. We cannot save the climate if large corporations continue to pollute the planet. This is why Friends of the Earth Netherlands is taking Shell to court.
This historic case could set a powerful legal precedent: if we win, one of the world’s biggest polluters will have to stop wrecking the climate. Join the case against Shell as an honorary co-claimant.
Petition
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, has told the Business Council of Australia that he wants to ‘overhaul’ environmental approvals for major projects as part of an attempt to ‘further streamline’ the industrial relations system.
History has repeatedly shown that any deregulation government approvals is bad for workers and bad for the environment.
Mr Morrison says the federal government wants to “get major projects off the ground sooner” by reducing the length of time it takes for businesses to navigate environmental approvals.
This is part of an ongoing campaign by his government to cut what they call ‘green tape’.
Major environmental projects always bring substantial ecological or climate costs. Over years Australian and state and territory governments have established approvals processes that seek to find the right balance between approving large projects and protecting the environment.
While we have never had a perfect national approvals system, it is essential we do not lose the processes currently in place.
‘Cutting Green Tape’ is code for ‘let business do what it wants’. In the real world, it will mean large resource companies being given the green light to cut corners and get their projects waved through by government.
This is not an agenda that is acceptable to the majority of the Australian people.
Protect land, water, and climate Petition
A recent review has concluded that national environment laws aren't working: in fact things are getting worse.
Friends of the Earth are calling on Scott Morrison to implement the recommendations of that review which says that we need:
- to rebuild and strengthen the national environment laws
- legally enforceable national environment standards
- a strong, independent regulatory body to oversee the laws
Read more about the recent review and why we need to take action.
SIGN THE PETITION: Protect Bass Strait: No New Oil & Gas Petition
Did you know that Bass Strait is at risk from new oil and gas drilling?
Polluting fossil fuels companies are intent on drilling for oil and gas.
New fossil fuel development in the waters of the iconic Bass Strait puts whales, sea lions, birds, turtles, and fish at risk.
Any oil spills in this area would be devastating to local fishing and tourism industries.
Governments must rule out new fossil fuel developments if we're to have any chance of avoiding catastrophic climate change.
SIGN THE PETITION: Call on PM Scott Morrison and Minister for Resources Keith Pitt to cancel the oil and gas licenses.
Email CEO of Alcoa: Justice for Koalas!
Friends of the Earth has been alarmed to learn that a koala was horrifically burnt at the Portland Aluminium smelter, in South West Victoria in late January.
The animal, apparently somehow entered the facility and ended up climbing some type of attachment in the smelter’s room and got injured.
The burnt koala was removed, put in a bag and then released at a nearby golf course 3.6km away.
Apparently, this is not the first time that koalas have been released at the golf course from the smelter.
It’s obvious that there has been a complete breakdown at Alcoa in terms of humanely dealing with a badly injured koala.
This is corporate mismanagement at its worst.
Please email the CEO of Alcoa here to ask for immediate action to be taken.
Scott Morrison, it's time to establish a national Just Transition Authority
Australia has traditionally relied on coal fired power stations to meet its energy needs. This is now rapidly changing, yet the federal government refuses to accept reality.
Up to five of Australia’s remaining 16 coal power plants could be financially unviable by 2025 due to a flood of cheap solar and wind energy entering the electricity grid.
Will the federal government accept the fact and intervene to support affected communities through the transition, or will it continue to pretend there is a role for coal in a climate change future? Choosing to do so will mean they fail coal reliant communities.
The first stage in responding to the inevitable changes will be the establishment of a national Authority to guide a Just and Fair Transition for all affected communities in coal mining and burning regions across Australia.
Please email our PM to urge him to establish a Just Transition Authority.
More information can be found here.
Tell Scott Morrison: We need a national aerial firefighting fleet
Australia’s fires over the summer of 2019/20 were unprecedented in scale and level of destruction. Fuelled by climate change, the hottest and driest year ever recorded resulted in fires that burned through more than 17 million hectares, killed up to 3 billion animals, and affected nearly 80% of Australians. This included the tragic loss of over 450 lives from the fires and smoke.
Aerial firefighting capacity – planes and helicopters - are an essential component of Australia’s ability to respond to bushfires. This was demonstrated in the 2019-2020 bushfire season, when an unprecedented use of aircraft occurred.
However last summer also showed that we simply don’t have enough aircraft to fight fires in a bad season. This puts landscape, people, towns and houses, and fire fighters at risk.
The recent Bushfire Royal Commission report recommends the creation of a national publicly-owned aerial firefighting fleet, which can then be allocated to the states "according to greatest national need".
Given Australia currently relies heavily on overseas-based aircraft which are leased for the season, this makes sense. The severity and duration of the 2019-2020 bushfire season placed strain on the existing arrangements for sharing aerial firefighting capabilities between the states and territories. Predicted longer northern and southern hemisphere fire seasons is also likely to cause problems, as planes will be needed for longer in each hemisphere, driving up the cost of hiring them.
The prospect of lengthening and increasingly severe fire seasons will only increase the demand for aerial firefighting services in the future.
We need a publicly owned fleet of planes and aircraft suitable for effectively fighting the fires we will continue to see in a warming world.
Please sign the letter to the PM, calling on the government to allocate funds to establish a publicly owned air fleet.
Image: By Tech. Sgt. Joselito Aribuabo - https://www.dvidshub.net/image/584330, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39573336
Save Lake Torrens
Voice your objection to iron oxide copper-gold copper mineralisation at Ngarndamukina / Lake Torrens.
This week, despite opposition from at least four First Nations groups, 20 truckloads of drilling equipment, accommodation units, ground protection matting and ancillary vehicles has been delivered Lake Torrens National Park. Mining, and the permission granted by the SA Premier to "damage, disturb or interfere" with a sacred site risks destroying its cultural heritage and puts at risk the unique salt lake ecosystem.
Call on the SA Premier Steven Marshall to stop work today!
To stay in touch with the First Nations communities on the frontline as resistance builds to protect Ngarndamukina / Lake Torrens, follow the campaign on the 'Save Lake Torrens' Facebook page.