China and South Africa are among countries at the international climate talk-fest in Poznan pleading with the Australian government not to block consensus on binding short-term emissions reduction targets yet again.
Although it is widely known that Australia helped to wreck climate negotiations all through the denialist Howard years, it is less widely known that at the UNFCC in Bali, one month after the Rudd government's election, Australia yet again teamed up with the US, Canada and Japan to block consensus on binding short-term targets.
Instead, Australia committed to an aspirational target of 25-40% by 2020, a promise which they are expected to break when Penny Wong announces Australia's target next Monday.
China, whom Rudd and Wong routinely blame for climate change, has now called on Australia to keep its promise and not to pull a Bali again.
Scientists are unsure that a 40% reduction by 2020, if implemented universally, will be enough to prevent humanity from completely melting the Arctic ice cap and tipping us into a dangerous runaway climate zone.
However, new hopes emerged at Stansted airport this morning, where 57 people from the action group Plane Stupid have put their freedom on the line by blockading the runaway and leading to the cancellation of 50 flights, saving 2300 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
The activists were protesting against the hypocritical approval of an airport expansion intended largely to service short-haul "love mile" flights, even as the UK has adopted a stricter 80% by 2050 emissions reduction target.
"We're afraid of what the police might do to us, we're afraid of going to jail but nothing scares us as much as the threat of runaway climate change. We've thought through the consequences of what we're doing here but we're determined to stop as many tonnes of CO2 as we can," said spokesperson Lily Kember.
Showing posts with label global action. Show all posts
Showing posts with label global action. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Exclusive: Kooragang 16 tried after successful vigil
Quakers, Buddhists, atheists and members of the Uniting Church were among those holding a climate change vigil in front of Newcastle Local Court this morning ahead of the trial of the Kooragang 16. Seven women and nine men were arrested at a peaceful protest on the construction site of Newcastle's third coal loader on April 19, where close to 50 people successfully stopped work for 90 minutes.
All sixteen pleaded guilty to trespass. Magistrate Michael Morahan sentenced eleven of the arrestees, who had no prior convictions, to community service to be determined at a later date. The other five were fined $200 each and ordered to pay costs of $70 each.
Outside, the group's supporters, young and old, held banners in a festive atmosphere.
Tonight's budget is expected to feature an $18 billion budget surplus, to be invested in reducing "infrastructure bottlenecks", including the massive expansion of Australia's coal export capacity. Australia is already the world's biggest coal exporter, exporting 18% of the world's coal.
In Rangoon, aid organisations are already moving in to help the victims of a recent cyclone which killed over 100,000 people. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that such natural disasters will become more and more frequent as we continue to increase our greenhouse gas emissions.
More nonviolent direct action is expected at the Camp for Climate Action, to be held in Newcastle in July.
All sixteen pleaded guilty to trespass. Magistrate Michael Morahan sentenced eleven of the arrestees, who had no prior convictions, to community service to be determined at a later date. The other five were fined $200 each and ordered to pay costs of $70 each.
Outside, the group's supporters, young and old, held banners in a festive atmosphere.
Tonight's budget is expected to feature an $18 billion budget surplus, to be invested in reducing "infrastructure bottlenecks", including the massive expansion of Australia's coal export capacity. Australia is already the world's biggest coal exporter, exporting 18% of the world's coal.
In Rangoon, aid organisations are already moving in to help the victims of a recent cyclone which killed over 100,000 people. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that such natural disasters will become more and more frequent as we continue to increase our greenhouse gas emissions.
More nonviolent direct action is expected at the Camp for Climate Action, to be held in Newcastle in July.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Ploughshares activists receive bail
The three Ploughshares peace activists who entered the Waihopai spy base in New Zealand have finally been released on strict bail conditions after five days of detention.Adrian Leason, Peter Murnane and Sam Land entered the ECHELON military base last Wednesday and deflated one of the protective domes covering the espionage satellites with sickles. Today they were ordered not to contact each other, not to go to the region where they were arrested or near any other military facility and they were given strict reporting conditions.
The New Zealand government was embarrassed by the breach by the Catholic group, including a Dominican friar, which highlighted New Zealand's collaboration in the Australia-Canada-NZ-UK-US ECHELON intelligence network.
Most international satellite data, including internet, phone, and fax transmissions are collected by these satellites, filtered through a computer system and shared between the English-speaking countries for military, diplomatic and industrial intelligence as well as monitoring domestic communication.
The Ploughshares activists declared that they were taking their action to demonstrate their total opposition to war. About 60 people held a demonstration in Wellington last Saturday to support the activists.
Earlier this year a group known as the Pine Gap 6, or Christians Against All Terrorism, were cleared of all charges for breaking into an ECHELON satellite facility at Pine Gap, in Australia's Northern Territory.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Peaceful action camp opens registrations
The organising collective of the Camp for Climate Action, to be held in Newcastle this July, has announced that online registrations have now opened. According to its website, the camp will involve "five days of inspiring workshops & direct action aimed a shutting down the world's largest coal port in Newcastle".
The camp is one of seven climate camps being organised in Europe, Australia and North America and aims to shift attention away from voluntary lifestyle changes, and "false solutions" such as clean coal, nuclear power, carbon offsets and carbon trading to the "cause of the climate crisis - fossil fuels".
The organising collective is expecting hundreds of participants and is being supported by Rising Tide, the Australian Students' Environment Network and Friends of the Earth.
The camp is one of seven climate camps being organised in Europe, Australia and North America and aims to shift attention away from voluntary lifestyle changes, and "false solutions" such as clean coal, nuclear power, carbon offsets and carbon trading to the "cause of the climate crisis - fossil fuels".
The organising collective is expecting hundreds of participants and is being supported by Rising Tide, the Australian Students' Environment Network and Friends of the Earth.
Monday, April 28, 2008
International Statement from 'Coal River' Newcastle Activists
Statement from Newcastle activists to the Global Greens Conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil, 1st-4th May 2008 which will be presented by John Sutton (representing the Australian Greens) and Carrie Jacobi, of Newcastle Greens.
It is endorsed by:
Climate Action Newcastle
Green Corridor Coalition
Hunter Community Environment Centre
Newcastle Greens
Rising Tide (Newcastle)
The Wilderness Society (Newcastle)
To all assembled at this Global Greens gathering, we bring you the greetings, solidarity and best wishes of caring citizens and grassroots activists of Newcastle and the Hunter Valley, in New South Wales, Australia.
Our community is at the centre of climate change. Our country is the world's largest coal exporter, and our city, at the mouth of the Hunter River, is the largest coal exporting port in the world.
Last year Australia exported 245 million tonnes of coal. A third of this (81 million tonnes) passed through the port of Newcastle, most of it mined in the Hunter Valley hinterland. Next year, authorities say this will increase to 95 million tonnes, and, in the near future, to 170 million. Current plans would eventually give the port the capacity to export more than 200 million tonnes each year.
For many years, local citizens have campaigned against the damaging impact of coal mining and transport on the Hunter Valley's eco-systems and human communities. Climate change has brought a global dimension to this struggle. The coal exported through Newcastle has been calculated to cause more than five times its export value in climate change damage.
Citizens throughout the Hunter region are challenging the social licence to mine, burn and export coal.
We have called on our state and federal governments to commit to a Just Transition to phase out the coal industry, and to help local coal-dependent communities restructure for a sustainable future.
In November 2006, more than 800 locals braved unseasonable cold and wet to write "Beyond Coal" in human bodies on the sands of our local beach.
The same month, in response to a grassroots campaign, Newcastle City Council formally resolved "to recognise the urgent need to protect local and global environments from increasing greenhouse gas emissions and to reduce Newcastle's role in that increase".
In a move that made news around the world, our city council called on the New South Wales state government to cap coal exports, declare a moratorium on new coal mines, adopt mandatory renewable energy targets, and establish a community trust to support a transition to a clean energy economy, funded by a levy on coal exports through the Port of Newcastle.
In September last year, local citizens organised a Smart Energy Expo attended by more than 2000 people to demonstrate sustainable energy alternatives. The city council is now moving to make this an annual signature event.
In November last year, a flotilla of hundreds of activists blockaded the port for more than four hours. Hundreds of local citizens marched in a Walk Against Warming to urge other citizens to "Vote for the Climate" in last year's national election.
In December, as part of a Global Day of Action against climate change, local activists occupied the site of a proposed massive expansion of coal-loading infrastructure at the port.
In this struggle, we are pitted against some of the world's most powerful transnational corporations, including BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Xstrata, and AngloCoal. These companies are supported by the government of our state, which owns the port and regulates the coal industry, and continues to approve massive new coal mines and coal-loading infrastructure, and by the government of our nation, which approves the export licences and subsidises the mining operations.
We know that our struggle is shared by local communities around the world. We know that we are a small part of a rising tide of humanity demanding that our governments take the action necessary to stop runaway climate change and set our planet and our communities on a course to a sustainable future. We base our hope for our planet in the capacity of ordinary citizens taking local grassroots action to demand that our politicians and governments place people and the planet before profits.
We take heart that gatherings such as the Global Greens conference in Sao Paulo bring together activists from around the world committed to this cause, to make decisions that will guide our politicians and governments to take the actions necessary to meet the great global challenge of climate change.
It is endorsed by:
Climate Action Newcastle
Green Corridor Coalition
Hunter Community Environment Centre
Newcastle Greens
Rising Tide (Newcastle)
The Wilderness Society (Newcastle)
To all assembled at this Global Greens gathering, we bring you the greetings, solidarity and best wishes of caring citizens and grassroots activists of Newcastle and the Hunter Valley, in New South Wales, Australia.
Our community is at the centre of climate change. Our country is the world's largest coal exporter, and our city, at the mouth of the Hunter River, is the largest coal exporting port in the world.
Last year Australia exported 245 million tonnes of coal. A third of this (81 million tonnes) passed through the port of Newcastle, most of it mined in the Hunter Valley hinterland. Next year, authorities say this will increase to 95 million tonnes, and, in the near future, to 170 million. Current plans would eventually give the port the capacity to export more than 200 million tonnes each year.
For many years, local citizens have campaigned against the damaging impact of coal mining and transport on the Hunter Valley's eco-systems and human communities. Climate change has brought a global dimension to this struggle. The coal exported through Newcastle has been calculated to cause more than five times its export value in climate change damage.
Citizens throughout the Hunter region are challenging the social licence to mine, burn and export coal.
We have called on our state and federal governments to commit to a Just Transition to phase out the coal industry, and to help local coal-dependent communities restructure for a sustainable future.
In November 2006, more than 800 locals braved unseasonable cold and wet to write "Beyond Coal" in human bodies on the sands of our local beach.
The same month, in response to a grassroots campaign, Newcastle City Council formally resolved "to recognise the urgent need to protect local and global environments from increasing greenhouse gas emissions and to reduce Newcastle's role in that increase".
In a move that made news around the world, our city council called on the New South Wales state government to cap coal exports, declare a moratorium on new coal mines, adopt mandatory renewable energy targets, and establish a community trust to support a transition to a clean energy economy, funded by a levy on coal exports through the Port of Newcastle.
In September last year, local citizens organised a Smart Energy Expo attended by more than 2000 people to demonstrate sustainable energy alternatives. The city council is now moving to make this an annual signature event.
In November last year, a flotilla of hundreds of activists blockaded the port for more than four hours. Hundreds of local citizens marched in a Walk Against Warming to urge other citizens to "Vote for the Climate" in last year's national election.
In December, as part of a Global Day of Action against climate change, local activists occupied the site of a proposed massive expansion of coal-loading infrastructure at the port.
In this struggle, we are pitted against some of the world's most powerful transnational corporations, including BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Xstrata, and AngloCoal. These companies are supported by the government of our state, which owns the port and regulates the coal industry, and continues to approve massive new coal mines and coal-loading infrastructure, and by the government of our nation, which approves the export licences and subsidises the mining operations.
We know that our struggle is shared by local communities around the world. We know that we are a small part of a rising tide of humanity demanding that our governments take the action necessary to stop runaway climate change and set our planet and our communities on a course to a sustainable future. We base our hope for our planet in the capacity of ordinary citizens taking local grassroots action to demand that our politicians and governments place people and the planet before profits.
We take heart that gatherings such as the Global Greens conference in Sao Paulo bring together activists from around the world committed to this cause, to make decisions that will guide our politicians and governments to take the actions necessary to meet the great global challenge of climate change.
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