Lighter Footprints is getting out on the streets! Together with our friends at the Kooyong Climate Change Alliance we will be holding street stalls on Saturday mornings, starting mid-July, in shopping centres around Boroondara. We will be providing high quality...
Category: Climate Policy
Community battery meeting wrap
At our June 30 meeting, we were pleased and privileged to have Greg Hannan from CitiPower/United Energy and Chris Wallin from the Yarra Energy Foundation (YEF) addressing the role of community batteries and Yarra’s current community battery project. A recording...
Community Battery Challenges
The regulations covering community batteries are consistent across the National Electricity Market (NEM). However, Western Australia has a separate regulatory framework. This discussion paper focuses on challenges that face community batteries in the eastern states...
Local Government Working Group, and what we do
Local Government Working Group The days when your local council was judged on the basis of “roads, rubbish and rates” have long passed. Local Government is now a significant third level of government in Australia with access to substantial authority and resources. ...
We need a renewable-energy future for the sake of our kids
Woodside’s intent to develop its Scarborough gas reservoir is deeply at odds with its commitment to net-zero by 2050 and the company’s stated imperative to act on climate change. Contrary to comments made by Woodside’s acting chief executive Meg O’Neill recently on...
IEA’s massive about-face, Big Oil’s bad week, and a landmark win for our kids on climate
The world’s premier energy agency, the notoriously conservative International Energy Agency (IEA), has just released a landmark report that marks a huge shift in approach, setting out “an ambitious global energy roadmap” to reach net-zero by 2050. Of great...
Climate Targets & Tariffs: Australia on the World Stage
At our April 28 meeting, we were pleased and privileged to have Glen Klatovsky from Climate Action Network Australia (CANA) and Richie Merzian from The Australia Institute (TAI) addressing climate targets and tariffs shortly after the Biden Climate summit. Check out...
The Biden Effect
Can Biden shift Australia’s climate approach? By Carolyn Ingvarson – Founder of Lighter Footprints It goes without saying that the US is a very powerful influence on Australia. Formal relations are strong, like the ANZUS Treaty, the Free Trade Agreement, and...
A night with our current State MPs (Nov 2020 belated blog)
“Reflections and Hopes: Getting to know our local State MPs” Thank you to everyone who came along to our State MP forum event last November. And special thanks to John Kennedy MP (Hawthorn), Paul Hamer MP (Box Hill), and Will Fowles MP (Burwood) for making themselves...
Simon Holmes à Court: Riding the Clean Energy Wave
2021: Riding the Clean Energy Wave An insider’s view with Simon Holmes à Court Wed, 24th February 2021 We were privileged to get a general update and some special insights into the Energy and Climate sector in Australia on 24th February from long-time friend of...
Why we are opposed to a “gas-fired recovery”
Gasfield south of Chinchilla, Qld. Background The Morrison government established the National Covid-19 Coordination Commission to provide a business perspective to Government on Australia’s economic recovery. There were concerns about member connections to the fossil...
Boroondara Candidates Forum
Coming event September 30th Boroondara Council Candidates Forum Boroondara Council elections are happening in October. Often we know little about our Council candidates. To help you make an informed vote we are inviting all Council candidates to attend this forum so...
Hannah Snape, Cr Amanda Stone, Cr Tina Liu and Cr Prue Cutts – Councils stepping up on climate
Overview Last Wednesday we welcomed a terrific panel to discuss climate solutions at a local government level. What are some best-practice programs and actions being implemented right now in Australia, and what are some of Boroondara City’s neighbors doing? This is...
Councils and climate action: what are Boroondara’s neighbours doing?
Boroondara Climate Action Plan Consultation – Complete the Survey Now! The City of Boroondara is developing a new Climate Action Plan that will guide Council’s climate action over the next ten years. The first phase of community consultation on...
Anna Skarbek – Decarbonisation Futures
ClimateWorks Last Wednesday we were joined by ClimateWorks CEO Anna Skarbek. Her organisation has spent two years carefully plotting out updated paths to economy-wide decarbonisation in Australia, and Lighter Footprints members were lucky enough to get a breakdown of...
Simon Holmes à Court – Building the Recovery
BUILDING THE RECOVERY ( ‘A new and better normal’) An hour with Simon Holmes à Court 13th May 2020 Simon’s special insights into Energy and Climate returned to Lighter Footprints with a review of the opportunities for a renewables based recovery from the pandemic. He...
Climate, the Financial Sector and Shareholder Action – Market Forces
On Wednesday 29 April at 7:30 pm we welcomed Pablo Brait and Rachel Deans from Market Forces. This is a report of the meeting. Pablo Brait It is necessary to align your finances with your values. Many money-managing organisations still invest in the fossil fuel (FF)...
Join the consultation process for Boroondara’s Climate Action Plan now
It’s time to have our say. Local climate action is powerful! Would you like a more walkable city? Better public transport? Support for putting on solar and storage? Cleaner local power? It’s time to put our support behind the clean energy transition and...
Working Groups – central to Lighter Footprints’ climate action
Energy Transition Working Group The Energy Transitions Group meets fortnightly with a focus on pulling together energy data, latest innovations and submissions to government and making climate solutions accessible to a variety of audiences. Please contact Mick Nolan...
A re-lived night of the bushfires and all that… by Carolyn Ingvarson
“I was, again, shocked” After three riveting shows tonight on the bushfires, I’m still reeling. Four Corners showed us what it felt like to be in the middle of those terrors and just what the people were feeling like. I found myself watching with my hand...
Anthea Harris – potential for a Victorian clean economy
“One of the country’s most experienced climate policy practitioners”. This how Frank Jotzo described Anthea Harris when lamenting the Abbott government’s spree of public servant sackings over carbon predicting her probable demise as the CEO of the...
Climate politics – Dr Ken Coghill
7pm for 7.30 pm start Guide Hall – Faversham Rd Canterbury Doing Climate Politics: Insights into Political Processes Guest speaker: Dr Ken Coghill Ken will lead a discussion of how politicians and political parties relate to the community on climate...
Community delegation to Canberra: “Don’t drop the ball on the climate laws!”
On June 19, the ACF organised a delegation of community representatives from each of the states to visit Canberra with the petition to hold onto the climate laws which had been signed by 235,000 people. We met with several politicians and left information related to...
Obama makes a strong stance on climate change; Why is the Bonn meeting important?
Two useful pieces of information: 1. A summary of the US stance on climate change as announced by Obama.This has been put together by the Climate Institute. 2. Laura Kelly from CANA adds some commentary about the Bonn meeting in June. Both of these issues need to be...
Lighter Footprints meets with Greg Hunt
Here is a report of the meeting held on June 7th in Josh Frydenberg’s office. Lighter Footprints meets with Greg Hunt, Shadow Minister for Climate Action, Environment and Heritage. Eight members of Lighter Footprints met with Greg Hunt at Josh...