General Items

Sept 2022
ZeroSE’s Dr Di Dibley’s talk at Let’s Get Earthy conference
Making our Landscapes Sustainable
A comprehensive approach to ecological sustainability
Read the talk

Aug 2022
Keep up with news and analysis
One of the best sources is Renew Economy

April 2022
Church leaders ask political leaders to ‘take powerful action’ on climate change in Easter message
Dozens of church leaders, including many others affected by flooding and bushfires, have signed on to an open letter calling for government leaders to take action on climate.

“Our churches, along with homes and businesses in our communities, are being burnt down, flooded and severely impacted by extreme weather. Damage to the climate is a key contributing factor to these events.”

Signatories call for:
●      Halving carbon emissions this decade, in line with the recommendation of scientists and targets of their major trading partners;
●      Transforming energy system towards 100 per cent renewable electricity while delivering a planned and just transition for energy workers; and
●      Investing in programs to support communities on the frontlines to plan, prepare and adapt to the extreme weather events.
https://www.eternitynews.com.au/australia/church-leaders-ask-political-leaders-to-take-powerful-action-on-climate-change/

Feb 2022
Saul Griffith: The case for buying AGL
Energy is on everyone’s lips. First, Australia’s two biggest energy companies announce they will retire coal-fired power stations early. Great news: this is what climate science requires. Then Brookfield Asset Management and Mike Cannon-Brookes make a stunning play to buy AGL and rapidly replace coal with clean energy. Also good. Read on … (The Saturday Paper may allow limited access to this article for non-subscribers. Try putting in your email when asked)
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/opinion/topic/2022/02/26/the-case-buying-agl/164579400013402

Oct 2021
Startling costs of lagging electric vehicle roll out
Although not front of mind for motorists nor governments, the health costs of our slow transition to electric vehicles are alarmingly large. On the flip-side, the substantial savings of earlier effective action could fund a just transition for the motor trades sector. Poor EV take-up to cost Australia’s health system $1tn by 2050, modelling shows.

Oct 2021
Electrify everything in your home = save up to $6,000 a year
Electrifying everything asap is win-win-win on climate-jobs-bills. See Castles & Cars – savings in the suburbs through electrifying everything and this summary report on ABC 7:30

Oct 2021
Deloitte Report: strong economic benefits from energy efficiency retrofits for low-income homes
New analysis by Deloitte Access Economics finds that investing in low-emission and energy efficiency retrofits to low-income homes, delivering vital health and social gains, would generate tens of thousands of jobs and add billions of dollars to our economy, with sustained and ongoing productivity improvements. Summary and full report.

Sept 2021
Grattan plans out practical policies to reduce agricultural emissions
Our ZeroSE fact sheets for carbon emissions and drawdown on farms set the scene at our launch earlier this month. The very next day the Grattan Institute really put meat on the bones of climate solutions in agriculture through its report, Towards net zero: Practical Policies to reduce agricultural emissions.

August 2021
Environmental plantings: improving access to carbon markets
The Clean Energy Regulator is seeking views on the design of a pilot to encourage uptake of environmental plantings projects by farmers and landholders. It’s a pretty technical area but we hope to be able to explain it more simply soon. Read more

July 2021
People power constructing $5M Shoalhaven solar farm
Repower Shoalhaven is partnering with electricity retailer Flow Power and Shoalhaven Council in a $5M Shoalhaven Solar Farm in Nowra which features 40 local construction jobs, generating 6000 MWh annually. The bulk of the renewable power will go to local customers – a first in Australia. The Shoalhaven community has already received a big dividend from the project with Council receiving an upfront payment of $210,000 for a long-term lease. Read more