This week we are joined by Anna Langford from Friends of the Earth's Act on Climate collective to talk about the People's Climate Strategy - a bold project that crowdsourced climate solutions from the general public.

Friends of the Earth Melbourne expresses great disappointment that the Victorian government has deferred setting the state’s first interim Emissions Reduction Targets. It is the second time this has occurred.

When the Andrews government strengthened the Victorian Climate Change Act 2017  it introduced deadlines to ensure our state’s response to the climate crisis is swift and steady. It demonstrated a keen awareness of the urgency of the issue when enshrining these deadlines in law.

Since 2017, community members across the state have been calling on the government to set science-based targets that contribute towards the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global warming below 1.5°C.

It is an outcome that would accelerate the rollout of renewables, increase investment in sustainable transport, require greater protection of forests and the natural world, and help protect communities from intensifying impacts. 

Friends of the Earth Melbourne has released a statement in response to the Victorian government's delay to setting interim Emissions Reduction Targets.

It is the second time a decision on the targets has been delayed.

Friends of the Earth's Act on Climate coordinator, Leigh Ewbank, said: 

"Despite our deep disappointment about the delay, we believe it is essential that the Victorian government makes the right decision, not a rushed decision on climate targets."

On June 16, the Victorian Upper House voted on legislation to lift the moratorium on onshore gas development from June 30, 2021.

This is a heartbreaking outcome as the moratorium was the only protection communities and the natural world had from conventional onshore gas drilling.

But the fight is far from over.

Companies will not be able to apply for exploration licences until July 1, 2021. Then there is the approvals process, which takes time. We are likely at least two years away from any serious activity happening.

Community opposition will not go away.

It was the community of Seaspray that forced the Napthine government to enact the moratorium in 2014. This is because they were resolute in the face of attempts to drill for tight gas in their area, and they threatened peaceful protests and even a horse ride up Bourke Street to parliament.

Community members in Gippsland are still reeling from a delayed consultation process which took place just two weeks ago, and two months after the official report from the Victorian Gas Program was released. In Western Victoria the Protect the West Alliance, made up of farming communities, environmental groups, and locals concerned about the disruption of land water and communities recently released this statement in opposition to the lifting of the moratorium.

With all we know about climate science, the prospect of drilling new sources of gas looks like a worse decision than it was back in 2014.
Community resistance will happen when and where companies seek to develop onshore gas reserves. Friends of the Earth will be there to support them.

Friends of the Earth Melbourne has called on the Andrews government to make climate action a focus of the recovery from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic after experts have criticised the Morrison government for pushing for a fossil-fuel-led stimulus.

Community-driven environment group Friends of the Earth have urged the Victorian government to forge its own path and instead embrace new industries and technologies that can make Victoria the national leader on climate action, while creating thousands of jobs.

"Not only does the backward-looking approach of the Morrison government undermine global efforts on climate, but it ties our economic future to out-dated and polluting technology," said Friends of the Earth community campaigner Anna Langford.

"Premier Andrews has already created thousands of climate jobs through legislation such as the Victorian Renewable Energy Target. It can build on this momentum."

Australia suffered through a terrible summer. The 2019–20 bushfires have been described as 'the worst bushfires in our history’. Australia wide, approximately 19.4 million hectares have burnt since 1 July 2019 and at least 33 people dead. It has been estimated that a billion animals died. More than 2,500 homes were destroyed, with more than 300 in Victoria.

In Victoria, more than 1.2 million hectares have been burnt—making it the largest bushfire since 1939.

Now the Victorian government is holding an independent investigation into the 2019–20 fire season. It is being led by the Inspector-General for Emergency Management, and is looking at Victoria's ‘preparedness for, and response to, the current fire season, as well as review Victoria's recovery effort’. Submissions to this process are open until the end of April and preliminary recommendations are due on 31 July 2020.

In response to the economic impacts of the outbreak of the Coronavirus/ Covid-19, state and federal governments are now announcing rolling, large-scale stimulus packages to keep the economy afloat. These already total billions of dollars and are likely to be ongoing. 

This is both a threat and an opportunity for the future of the economy, the climate and ecosystems at a time of overlapping crises.

Will we see the Morrison government attempt to force through subsidies for new coal mines and fossil fuel generators, bailouts of large corporations and guarantees for executive pay while regular people struggle to pay rent and emissions continue to rise?

Or will we take this opportunity to transform the economic system to get the climate crisis under control, and ensure the safety and health of people? We cannot return to business as usual.