The message is clear: the era of coal and fossil gas is over.
That’s how Greens NSW MP John Kaye summed up yesterday’s North Coast National Day of Action on Climate Change events in the Tweed and Byron shires which drew hundreds of people throughout the north coast.
Dr Kaye told a rally in Murwillumbah at the weekend that prime minister Tony Abbott ‘is pushing ahead with his anti-science agenda and ripping up Australia’s clean energy laws.
‘The NSW government continues its war on solar and wind energy with scandalously low feed-in tariffs and hostile draft planning guidelines,’ he said.
‘People attending rallies across the North Coast are determined to not let Tony Abbott or Barry O’Farrell drag their region back to the fossil fuel age.
‘Ripping up the existing Clean Energy Laws will deprive the North Coast of the benefits of making crucial progress on cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
‘Australia is now at risk of becoming the poor cousin to other nations that are serious about cutting greenhouse gas emissions and reaping the economic, social and environmental benefits of investing in renewable energy.
‘Both the state and federal governments are running the tired old jobs versus the environment myth.
‘Investment in renewable energy will not only slash carbon emissions but will boost jobs and help Australia become a leader in the global clean energy economy.
‘The North Coast deserves clean air, safe drinking water and stable power bills. A transition to a low carbon economy powered by renewable energy will help guarantee this future.
‘Thousands of potential new jobs on the North Coast will never become a reality if the renewable energy industry is destroyed by the repeal of the price on carbon and the failure of governments to invest in the clean alternatives.
‘As communities across NSW are standing up for renewable energy, the Greens are moving a bill in parliament to transition the state to 100 percent renewable energy.
‘Politicians at all levels are being challenged to stand up for jobs and the environment.
‘Today’s actions across the country sent a clear message to Canberra: the Australian community wants strong action on climate change and the economic and environmental benefits low carbon economy can offer.
‘It is time for the federal Coalition to stop pursuing their anti-science agenda and give this generation what they want and need: strong action on climate change,’ Dr Kaye said.
And the Abbott government’s undertaking to get guarantees from power companies they will pass on the savings is a furphy. Such a guarantee would be no more enforceable than Telstra’s customer service guarantee upon privatization or the health insurance companies undertaking they wouldn’t creep premiums to get back the private health insurance rebate from customers. The power companies have spent a year working out exactly how much we can stand, they’re not about to surrender that and if they did their (mostly offshore and institutional) shareholders would be quite rightly annoyed at their management surrendering significant profits just because the government asked them ever so nicely. The only way the government can do this is by forcing price ceilings on power companies, which would defy LNP free market ideology, the last 30 years of free marketing by all governments and no doubt annoy a lot of generous contributors. It is just an opportunity lost which we, the consumer, will all pay for, especially rural customers where there is little choice in power companies thus little competition. Advice to LNP Cabinet, don’t ever take up poker.
The Europeans have all cut their alternate power programmes seriously down, many have cut t hem out completely on the bass that they achieve nothing and cost the Earth. Therefore a waste of resources.
There has been no increase in Global temperature for more than 17 years. It appears to have stooped
Besides most Climate people now reject the whole idea