Author Archive: roman

We’ve put in the first two submissions to the Royal Commission on nukes (thanks to Robyn and Philip), and Nectaria, our anti-nuke campaigner, is busy working on the next two. Lots of dates for your diary this issue, and don’t forget the CANE meetings: Mondays at Kappys Tea & Coffee Merchants, in Compton Street near the market, from 5 to 6pm.

And a reminder: If you would like to give a one-off or ongoing donation to the Campaign Against Nuclear Expansion (CANE) you can use the online form at

https://www.givenow.com.au/foeadelaide

Donations are tax deductible.

Join the Repower Port Augusta Alliance for an evening discussing why and how we can make Solar Thermal happen in South Australia.

When : Wednesday the 5th of August. Doors open 6pm for 6:30 start.

Where : Allan Scott Auditorium (H2-16), Hawke Building, City West Campus, University of South Australia (55 North Tce, Adelaide)

With Dr Keith Lovegrove a solar thermal expert with the Climate Change Institute at ANU (Canberra); Dr. Peter Burdon a Senior Lecturer at the Adelaide Law School; Gary Rowbottom the Chairperson of Repower Port Augusta, and technical officer at Alinta Energy’s Pt Augusta Power Stations. Plus Darrin Spinks the Executive Director of Heliostat SA.

Entry by donation to support the campaign.

RSVP on the Facebook event.

Two major players have joined the divesters this fortnight:

Climate progress reports

At a business and climate change conference held this week in Paris, AXA — France’s largest insurer — announced that it would sell €500 million ($US559 million) in coal assets by the end of 2015, while increasing its “green investments” in things like renewable energy, green infrastructure, and green bonds to €3 billion ($US3.3 billion) by 2020.

During the announcement on Friday, AXA’s chief executive Henri de Castries spoke about the threat that climate change poses to the environment, and the responsibility of insurance companies to deal with those threats. Last year, AXA paid over €1 billion ($US1.1 billion) globally in weather-related insurance claims, citing climate change as a “core business issue” already driving an increase in weather-related risks.

From a report in the Business Spectator

The Climate Spectator notes

Norway’s giant Government Pension Fund Global is set to divest from companies that derive more than 30% of their revenue or operations from coal, with activists calling it the biggest step yet in the global fossil fuels divestment campaign.

However

Bloomberg said Australian coal mine operators BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Glencore were set to fall safely under the 30% threshold.

Details at “Norway’s giant fund to divest coal-reliant companies” by John Conroy at the Climate Spectator

The next antinuclear coalition meeting will be on Tuesday 30th June 6pm start at Mad Mouse Alley, 58 Light Square (on the eastern end of the square, along the alley to the north of the People’s Choice Credit Union building).  Mad Mouse is a DIY not-for-profit social centre.  This time we will be joined by  Adnyamathanha woman Jillian Marsh and Arabunna elder Uncle Kevin Buzzacott for an informal chat about the Royal Commissions process of engagement with aboriginal communities, and the impacts of the nuclear industry on traditional owners.

This will be followed by the meeting at 7.30pm, so people can come for the whole night or elect to come to either of the two sessions. It will look something like this:

6pm – 7.15 yarn with guest speakers

7.30 – 9 pm planning/strategy meeting

Some suggested agenda items for the meeting:

where are we at?

• Greens roundtable report-back
• report-backs from groups working on Royal Commission/nukes
  • – capacity, focus and what each group is/has been doing (FOE, NOWPA, CCSA, Greens)
• report-backs from individuals?
• where is the Royal Commission at?
• Royal Commission community meeting – strategic or not?
• July

  -waste dump

  -Students of Sustainability

  -submissions deadlines

Hope to see you all there. Tea, (instant) coffee, and beers available at Mad Mouse. Bring a snack to share if you want.

Nectaria