Four people have chained themselves to the main conveyor belt at Bayswater power station this morning to stop coal feeding into Australia’s largest coal fired power station. They are joined by more than thirty other protestors who are occupying the stations coal stock-piles.

Protestors, from climate action group Rising Tide Newcastle, are locked onto machinery, stopping the conveyor belts that carry coal to Bayswater’s furnaces in protest against the Federal Government’s failure to stop Australia’s greenhouse pollution rising.

Spokesperson, Georgina Woods, said,

“Australia’s greenhouse pollution is still increasing and our addiction to coal-fired power is the main cause. We are here because every day we hesitate, we are killing the Great Barrier Reef.”

In 2006/07, Bayswater Power Station created approximately 14 million tonnes of carbon dioxide pollution, making it equal greatest single source of greenhouse pollution in the country and among the top 100 polluting power stations in the world.

The Federal Government is expected to announce medium term greenhouse emission reduction targets at the end of the month, but protestors say that 2020 is too late, and want a commitment that 2010 will be Australia’s “peak emissions” year.

The Bayswater power station near Muswellbrook in the Upper Hunter and the adjacent Liddell power station together supply around 40% of NSW’s electricity.

The protestors say power stations like Bayswater will need to be shut down over the next few years: “Where is the plan to phase out facilities like these? Why are we twiddling our thumbs?”

“The nation and the world are watching and we will not get another chance. The people that are here today are parents and grandparents, professionals and tradespeople. We are demanding a commitment from the Government today: Australia’s greenhouse emissions must start dropping from 2010, we must do whatever it takes to save the Barrier Reef from wipe-out and the world from devastating runaway climate change.”

The fight for the climate is far from over; the need for people to protest our failure to reverse greenhouse pollution is greater than ever.

Further comment: Georgina Woods 0438 223 771

The Garnaut Review has now come to a concluded its work, back in July the ’supplementary draft’ was released and now comes the final report.

The report is an Australian version of the British Stern Review. I only hope that the Australian govornment pay more attention to the letter from its author than our govornment appears to be paying to Nicholas Stern’s conclusions.

The letter concludes:

Prime Minister, I have completed my task with the view that there is a solution to the diabolical problem. It is a global solution, to which Australia has much to contribute, and in the achievement of which Australia can make a difference. It is not an easy solution, for Australia or for the rest of the world. There is a chance, just a chance, that humanity will deal with this matter in a way that future generations judge to be satisfactory. So much is at stake, that it is worth a large effort to take that chance.

News Coverage:

• Sydney Morning Herald (article, comment)
• The Australian (article)
• Herland And Sun (article)

Related articles on Climate Change Action : Economics of Climate Change

The Change Agency have just completed and published the results of two year research project: Building the Climate Movement Online (PDF). 200 activists were surveyed and they’ve just put the report up on their website. This report is a first of its kind, a really useful tool for climate activists.

Building the climate movement | Action research project

Climate change is high on the agenda for most environmental and social justice non-government organisations in Australia. Increasing community awareness and political traction present important opportunities to campaign for impact. What kind of social movement will be necessary to bring about a climate-conscious society and avoid dangerous climate change? How will this movement be built and sustained? What will it take?

Objectives
Our team initiated this action research project in 2006 to:

strengthen the Australian climate movement draw lessons and insights from climate change organising since the 1980s facilitate dialogue, reflection and relationship building
bridge the gaps between grassroots and NGO activists, between environmentalists and other citizens concerned about climate change, and between the rebels, reformers, citizens and change agents in this crucial people’s movement.

This was one of my favourite stories of recent weeks. The Australian Climate Camp managed to obstruct the ralway line into one of the worlds largest coal ports in the world.

• ABC News
• Sydney Morning Herald

An article in solidarity with the protest from US youth blog Itsgettinghotinhere.

• Photos.

Tasmania has some of the finest, and most unique forests in the world. Unfortunately they are being logged at a frightening pace. However, there are people fighting this disgraceful exploitation of natural wealth.

A description of the problem, along with a annotated google map of the logging sites can be found here, you can zoon in and see the true extent of logging activities. The thing that is amazing about this is that Australia is a wealthy nation so it dosent need to destroy its environment in order support its economy. How can we ask the poorer nations of the earth to give up this practice if enven the wealthy cant resisit making a fast buck?

A personal view on the Huon and Styx valleys can be read here. The video bellow is a superb talk give by Cookie at the camp for climate action.

The first news out of the Bali climate talks:

“Spontaneous applause erupted for Australia as hundreds of delegates at the Bali climate change conference lauded Canberra’s decision to ratify the Kyoto protocol….

Indonesia’s Environment Minister and the new president of the UNFCCC, Rachmat Witoelar, told the conference he spoke for everyone “giving a sigh of relief” on Australia’s change of position.

After the initial reaction, Witoelar invited delegates to offer a second round of applause, which they enthusiastically did. Some delegates even rose to their feet.

UNFCCC executive secretary Yvo de Boer later told reporters: “I think that it was an emotional and spontaneous reaction to a very significant political decision on the part of the Australian government to ratify the Kyoto protocol”.“

An Australian viewpoint on climate change. A very eloquent and empassioned exploration of the topic.

As Australia goes to the polls, Phillip Adams says solutions to the climate crisis require global unity

Saturday November 24th, 2007

Phillip Adams is the presenter of Late Night Live on Australia’s ABC Radio National. He has been a contributor to The Times and The Financial Times in London, and to the New York Times. Honors include two Orders of Australia, and the Australian Humanist of the Year (1987) and the Republican of the Year (2005) awards.

Kelvin Thomson MP visits the environmentally friendly WestWyk site of Mike Hill in Brunswick, to discuss Labor’s plan to make homes greener.