Author Archive: roman

Friends of the Earth Adelaide > Articles by: roman

Divestment from Fossil Fuels

June 29, 2015

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

Old_Notes

Antinuclear coalition meeting

June 29, 2015

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

Old_Notes

The Pope weighs in on climate change

June 29, 2015

Last Thursday, Pope Francis issued an encyclical on our place in the environment.He had some interesting things to say on energy:

“We know that technology based on the use of highly polluting fossil fuels – especially coal, but also oil and, to a lesser degree, gas — needs to be progressively replaced without delay.”

 “There is an urgent need to develop policies so that, in the next few years, the emission of carbon dioxide and other highly polluting gases can be drastically reduced, for example, substituting for fossil fuels and developing sources of renewable energy. There is still a need to develop adequate storage technologies.”

There’s a nice article in RenewEconomy, “The Pope is an Energy wonk”

The encyclical itself is an interesting and poetic read, even in the english translation.

Climate, Old_Notes

Tony Abbott in denial

June 28, 2015

There’s a lovely summary of government energy policy on the RenewEconomy webiste:

Grahame Morris – a former chief of staff to Coalition prime minister John Howard, and a corporate lobbyist who is influential in the government of Tony Abbott – had, in the words of Q & A host Tony Jones, steam coming out of his ears at the idea that wind and solar could offer a future energy solution.

morrisFlapping his arms about and pointing his finger, Morris exclaimed: “Look, not everyone wants a bloody big windmill in their backyard … nuclear power is clean … one of the problems with the third world with poverty is that they don’t have electricity. We have coal and we have uranium that can provide energy sources for those people. You are talking about poverty  … that is the answer.”

Read the full article Tony Abbott in denial about Australia’s energy future

Old_Notes

Raising CANE: the Campaign Against Nuclear Expansion

June 25, 2015

The SA Government has launched a Royal Commission into the Nuclear Fuel Cycle in the hope of garnering support for an expansion of the nuclear industry. The terms of reference and the makeup of the commission and its experts are clearly biassed towards expanding the industry.

We believe this is an attempt to soften up the public for the creation of a nuclear waste dump for high-level waste from overseas.

FoE Adelaide are proud to announce the launch of the Campaign Against Nuclear Expansion

We believe that renewable energy is the best alternative to fossil fuels and SA is not the place for a nuclear waste dump, an enrichment facility or expansion of uranium mining.

How you can help

If you’ve got time, or skills to help in the campaign, contact FoE Adelaide or meet fellow campaigners upstairs at Kappy’s Tea & Coffee Merchants at 1/22 Compton Street, Adelaide, between 4 and 6pm Mondays.

Keep up to date on events by joining the FoE anti-nuke google newsgroup (email robyn.wood@foe.org.au and ask to subscribe), or subscribe to the fortnightly email from FoE Adelaide (form on website adelaide.foe.org.au, bottom left).

Join Friends of the Earth Adelaide

If you’ve got a busy job and can afford it, please contribute to the CANE fund, either with a one-off donation, or a regular contribution (eg $10, $20 or $50) for several weeks or months.  Here’s an online donation form

FoE Adelaide Plans

Friends of the Earth Adelaide have hired a part-time campaigner to respond to the Royal Commission into the Nuclear Fuel Cycle, highlighting how we wish to keep our state nuclear-free. They’ll also note opportunities to interact with the Royal Commission and campaign for renewables.

  • We’ve already allocated $5000 towards the campaign, but we hope to raise more funds to extend the campaign into the public arena.
  • When we reach $15,000, we’ll extend the hours of our campaigner, and provide financial support for FoE Australia’s Nuclear Campaigner Dr Jim Green, so that he can focus on the Royal Commission at key stages of its process.
  • Reaching $20,000, we can also prepare and circulate leaflets about key issues and counter some of the pro-nuclear propaganda.
  • With $30,000, we’ll be able to start a series of big public meetings on the issues, focussing not just on the dangers of nuclear power/waste, but also boosting the case for expanding the state’s use of renewables.
  • $40,000 would let us employ a campaigner full-time, perhaps organising visits from international experts and canvassing key electorates, surveying their preferences for an energy future.

Our local campaigner will track the Royal Commission activities, plan our campaign, arrange public meetings, disseminate information, build our membership and coordinate volunteers.

The battle in South Australia is highly relevant to all Australians as it has been suggested that SA host a dump site for the world’s high level nuclear waste.

If you would like to give a one-off or ongoing donation you can use  the online form at

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

Donations are tax deductible.

Climate, FoE, Nuclear