All articles
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Something stopped me in my tracks
This is a guest blog written by WA Break Free group member Madu Venkatesan At the end of last year something happened that stopped me in my tracks. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report was released, and its message was stark: we had less than twelve years to drastically reduce our greenhouse…
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Explained: Energy market operator calls for urgent investment in dispatchable power
This morning AEMO published its annual Electricity Statement of Opportunities, which predicts risks to the grid, potential power shortfalls and investment opportunities over the next ten years The threats AEMO has identified are caused by aging and increasingly unreliable coal-burning power stations. They’ve previously identified cheap and reliable wind and solar as the solution to…
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REPORT: Invisible killer – Toxic sulfur dioxide hotspots revealed in Australia
A new Greenpeace report has revealed that Australia is ranked 12th on the list of the top human-caused sulphur dioxide hotspots as tracked by NASA satellites.
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“I am somebody. You are somebody. And together we are powerful.” – Sanja, Geelong Break Free Group
“As a community, we need to come together and show the council that we care; that we will do what it takes to rescue our beautiful beaches, wetlands, our farms, and our homes.” “I am somebody. You are somebody. And together we are powerful! We can be the change that’s needed, to create the world…
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“This movement is gathering momentum every day”: Naia, Wollongong
|Photo credit: Destination Wollongong My name is Naia and I am a student from Wollongong. I’m asking for support for our local campaign for our council, Wollongong, to declare a climate emergency and move all council operations to 100% renewable. For a long time, I felt helpless to the changes I saw around me; coral…
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The water came from everywhere but the sky
Brisbane City Council is about to vote on whether to declare a climate emergency: a powerful first step to building a future free of disasters like the 2011 floods in Brisbane. Local Break Free Action Group member Jo Owen shares her story and explains why this one matters so much. ||| From droughts to flooding…
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Climate emergency vote fails but this is just the start for Brisbane
Brisbane’s climate emergency declaration vote has fallen short today. It’s a disappointing result, but with a second vote all but certain, now is the time to lift our game. So many people in Brisbane mobilised to get the climate emergency firmly in the public eye. Whether they signed a petition, emailed a councillor or turned…
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Melbourne City joins the global fight by declaring a climate emergency
In a big win for Melbourne, Australia and the entire global community, Melbourne City Councillor Cathy Oke has announced that the Future Melbourne Committee will declare a climate and biodiversity emergency. || This committee, which oversees the implementation of council strategies across a range of portfolio areas, including Environment, voted emotionally and unanimously to support…
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The climate emergency revolution is underway!
From Kingborough in Tassie, to Wagga Wagga, to Sydney, Paris, London and New York: the wave of councils, towns and cities declaring climate emergencies is growing by the day. ||| While our federal government drags its feet on climate action, ordinary people are stepping up. Since the election, we’ve seen a surge of people from…
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Courage in the face of a crisis
Clover Moore, Lord Mayor of Sydney, has just declared a climate emergency in a bold demonstration of leadership. In doing so, Sydney has become the latest of 24 Australian local governments and territories representing over 2.5 million people to have formally acknowledged the climate emergency. ||| As Mayor Moore’s declaration has shown, we can’t sit…