Carbon Tax

Australia’s carbon price mechanism has become law.

While domestically the political noise about this has been deafening, globally, the concept of a market mechanism for pricing carbon emissions is quietly accepted. Long standing champions of the carbon tax mechanism include science, economics and business luminaries such as James E. Hansen (NASA), Carl Pope, Gary Becker, Rex Tillerson (Exxon Mobil), Jack Pezzey, Jeffrey Sachs, Gregory Mankiw. Our new legislation has recently been praised in the media by the likes of Peter Voser, the global CEO of Shell, gas giant Santos, Ban Ki Moon (UN), the IMF Deputy Managing Director Min Zhu and more than 334 Australian companies including Fujitsu, AGL, Alstom, Kell&Rigby, Unilever and industrial products and finance group GE.

 We are now members of the Global Carbon Club- joining some 850 million people now living with a carbon price. Fighting climate change with a carbon tax with us are the European countries Denmark, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK. China, Taiwan, Costa Rica, Chile and South Korea, a number of Canadian provinces, California and 10 eastern US states are either considering developing their own schemes or already have trial schemes to price carbon.

 

We have nothing to fear being part of this club. If Treasury modeling is right, about half of household carbon cost will be included in energy bills, which are now about 3% of household expenditure. The scheme is supposed to spur businesses to become more energy efficient and cut emissions, and your household will benefit from energy efficiency also. It’s so easy to save energy.

Around $10 saved on your weekly energy will offset all your carbon costs. Apart from all the other tips on this site, simply switching off the beer fridge in the garage when you’re not using it could save you as much as you’ll spend on the carbon tax!  And since most households will be compensated for much or all of their carbon cost- any actions will make you a financial winner.

PRICE ON POLLUTION

We’ve been busy explaining to residents how to avoid paying for costs passed on by energy retailers.

EARTH HOUR

This year SiS went beyond Earth Hour with a new drive to help residents save energy all year long.

SIS recommends you check out this cool website and the great work Jason Kimberly is doing to help create future environmental leaders. Become a member of Cool Melbourne they’ll plant a tree for you, and the environment.

BEYOND ZERO EMISSIONS

Are a remarkable group of volunteers working with the aim to facilitate the implementation of the social changes and technologies that will reduce the impacts of climate change- and give our society and global ecosystems a chance of surviving into the future.

Their Zero Carbon 2020 Plan is an ambitious and immaculately researched document showing how we can practically transition to renewable energy in 10 years. This poster gives a graphic illustration of the idea.

Safe Climate Australia is an apolitical science and research based organisation of community, business, environmental and scientific leaders, working to develop a comprehensive solutions framework for Australia to address the threat of global warming.

 

SIS documented the first meeting of Australia’s Climate Action Groups in Canberra, January 2009

SIS was proudly involved in the 2009 fundraiser
Run for a Safe Climate.
www.runforasafeclimate.org

 

THE HUMAN SIGN

St Kilda Beach, May 17 2009.

SIS joined LIVE.org and Bayside Climate Change Action Group and thousands of other concerned citizens to make the biggest human sign ever seen in Australia. It was seen on the news and in the press and without doubt, will be for years to come. Share with us the special video we made to commemorate the day.

100% RENEWABLE

HAZELWOOD POWER STATION

SIS documented it in 2009, marking the start of a concerted campaign to replace Hazelwood. Share the video here:

Global Environment Movement

This year climate groups all over Victoria are supporting EV’s campaign to Replace Hazelwood, the most polluting coal fired power station in the world, here in our back yard. Fast-tracking Victoria’s clean energy future is a recent report outlining the options and opportunities for replacing Hazelwood Power Station with Clean Energy by 2012.

 The Walk Against Warming is Environment Victoria’s key annual public event and Australia’s largest day of community action on climate change. In 2007 a record 50,000 Melbourne people participated.