Climate Action Show

ONE MILLION JOBS/ ZERO CARBON COMMUNITIES25th May 2020. Produced remotely by Vivien Langford and Andy BrittGuests: Heidi Lee - Business and Industry lead at Beyond Zero EmissionsDr Heidi Edmonds- Communities investment lead BZE Eytan Lenko- Interim CEO at Beyond Zero EmissionsImogen Jubb- National manager Zero Carbon CommunitiesUrsula Hogben - Zero Emissions  Sydney NorthMichael Copsey- Banyule Clean Energy GroupMusic "Failed State" by David Rovics " Only a crisis produces real change. When that crisis occurs the actions that are taken depend on ideas that are laying around"* Post pandemic  there are so many ideas laying around.Will the old  ideas based on coal oil and gas receive stimulus spending? Will retrofitting buildings to require zero heating and cooling receive a boost? The French are doing that for 500,000 buildings per year.What ideas will underpin the transition to clean energy?How will heavy industry reduce its emissions to zero?Why are communities helping solar orphans? We take a look at the One Million Jobs plan which BZE launched at the Smart Energy conference. Heidi Lee tells us about Heavy Industry in Newcastle as they leapfrog gas. High energy users can actually become better citizens and make money out of balancing the grid.Dr Heidi Edmonds talks about  jobs on the land and the training in fire and water management  that Indigenous people are leading.We hear part of Eytan Lenko's talk at the Smart Energy Conference.He shows how one million jobs can accelerate positive trends already emerging. Behind the One Million Jobs plan are communities that BZE is assisting in the quest for zero emissions. Imogen Jubb find that COVID 19 has not slowed momentum. She tells us about the Snapshot you can find of your community's emissions.     https://www.snapshotclimate.com.au/ Two of the communities on the Zero Carbon path are in Sydney's  northern suburbs in NSW and Banyule in Victoria.Ursula Hogben and Michael Copsey are practical people. They talk together with Vivien on zoom about how they reduce confusion and lift confidence in making the transition.They both draw on the goodwill and expertise in their communities so that no one needs to feel that reducing emissions is just too hard. Many people have had an unhappy experience with solar power. Michael calls these the solar orphans and both groups are committed to connecting households and businesses with well regulated installers. * Naomi Klein on the Intercept uses Milton Friedman's comment to show that this i s no time to lose our nerve.   As many of you would have seen, our friends at BZE released their "Million Jobs Plan" today and the detail can be seen here: https://bze.org.au/the-million-jobs-plan/ Great Guardian article here too....

BUILDING THE BUSINESS CO-ALITIONMay 18th. Produced by Vivien Langford  and Andy BrittGuests at the Climate Emergency Summit at Melbourne Town HallPaddy ManningIan DunlopPaul GildingHeidi LeeSimon Holmes a CourtThis lively panel discussion, recorded before the pandemic showed us how great shifts can happen suddenly, is even more relevant now. Right now the Climate community is zooming and publishing and trying to influence the stimulus spending towards a livable biosphere. The practical solutions from tonight's panel  shine a light on the path forward.  Ian Dunlop, with his depth of  experience in the fossil fuel industry, speaks of the " predatory delay and moral bankruptcy " of some business leaders,who had the best access to information and knew the risks of rising emissions. He says we must keep talking about the risks as CEOs have not accepted the urgency of emissions reduction. Paul Gilding says " If a country has a good plan, the business community will support it" Heidi Lee finds that " It's not enough to say No. We must find something to say YES to. She gives practical examples of BZE's work with four trade unions and the people of Collie W.A (Hear our broadcast of November 18th 2019). She is more sympathetic to the costs and difficulties faced by industry in transition and she received rousing applause. Her can do message was much appreciated by the well informed audience whose questions showed how the public is way ahead of the politics Simon Holmes a Court reported on the demand internationally for our Green Hydrogen. He asked "are there any transition plans apart from BZEs that see NO role for gas? " And this is highly relevant, as we ease up from the pandemic and the gas lobby is positioning us to depend on it far into the future even for making hydrogen. Paddy Manning was able to  guide the panel to deeply explore the realities we face. His new book "Body Count" show how aware he is of "the hopeless failure to convey the risks of accelerating emissions leads to confusion" Climate change now has its own body count in Australia which is highly exposed and must get better prepared. He said in a previous interview " After 30 years of debate it's not so much climate change that's killing us, It's ignorance and confusion" Thanks to the Sustainable Living Festival

11th MayWINTON HIGGINS,ALBERT CAMUS AND POPE FRANCISLe Chambon and how not to be a bystander in the climate emergency. Music by KAVISHA MAZZELLA  with her new album Empty Sky.Interview by Vivien LangfordProduction by Andy Britt, Michaela Stubbs and  Raoul HernandezWinton Higgins is a distinguished writer, Secular Buddhist teacher  and Holocaust scholar. He tells us the story of Le Chambon. In 1940 the writer Camus was sent there for his TB but while writing The Plague, he observed a conspiracy of goodness. The community was committed to saving the lives of many Jewish people and helping them escape to Switzerland. As plague force global emissions in our time are temporarily lessened by flights,cruises and industry being locked down for the pandemic, many are re reading The Plague. Winton discusses the novel with Vivien in terms of what strength we can draw from it as we face the truth of the climate emergency in our generation.He also  looks at Laudato Si!  by Pope Francis to learn how not to displace our moral responsibility... How to be citizens rather than consumers. Naomi Klein warned us in Shock Doctrine,that predatory money will turbo charge the recovery if we let it. Damaging the biosphere will continue to be seen as a necessary trade off as workers are engaged in emissions intensive projects. Meanwhile,BZE has plans for One Million Jobs and  Zero Emissions Communities that embody a clear understanding of the climate emergency we are facing.  This discussion is full of practical ideas although it is more philosophical than usual.Please pass the podcast on to friends.You can Contact us: [email protected] Action this week: Friday May 15th Join the Schoolstrike4climate from 4pm til 8pm. It's interactive,It's online and we are all needed in support. Don't  be a bystander just because we are locked down.Check out their website for the zoom link.

Canberra People's Assembly Produced by Vivien Langford and Andy Britt 4th May 2020  The climate community converged on Canberra as bush fire smoke still billowed over the lawns. It was a people's assembly to deal with the climate emergency that has now fallen out of the popular news. Emissions have fallen with a global shutdown but the tipping points have already been passed for our great barrier reef and terrestrial biodiversity.  Lest we forget.We hear from Veterinarians for Climate Action, moved by the drought affected livestock and wildlife they see. Indigenous leaders calling for water tanks and the fair allocation of water along the Darling/Baaka river. Extinction Rebellion, The Green Institute and Doctors Against War demanding leadership and citizen participation in our democracy to cut through the corruption and ideology.  We also hear from two politicians who stepped out bravely in front of this well informed crowd. One called us the conscience of the nation another was heckled with the cry; " No more Coal! The speakers are:Tim Hollo on getting more participation in our democracy.Bruce Shillingsworth on the empty Darling Baaka River.Mark Butler on ALP Renewables and jobs. Challenged by the assembly calling "No more coal".Adam Bandt on his first day as leader,taking climate change seriously.Senator Larissa Waters calling us the conscience of the nation.Dr Gundi from Vets for climate action about koalas emerging from bush fire zone dehydrated and desperate.Dr Michael Banyard from Vets for climate action on how farmers are changing as climate changes.David Maher on Rehydrating the land. He was planting as we spoke down near the Aboriginal tent embassy.Doctors Against War on taking some world leaders into psychiatric care.Jane Morton XR on Extinction and why rebelling is vital.Carmen Modjito Song: Your house is on fire.

We also spoke with Maryanne Slattery. Up until recently Maryanne was the senior water researcher at the Australia Institute. Before that she worked for the Murray Darling Basin Authority as the   for 12 years. Whilst there Maryanne didn't like what she saw. So much so she left and blew the whistle on them. We're going to find out about this and why the river system came to be in such bad health.We also spoke with University of Tasmania's school of social sciences Dr Natasha Chassagne. Dr Chassange wrote a piece connecting COVID and Climate Change. She also spoke about the South American social philosophy: buen vivir.

20th April. Interviews: Vivien Langford    Podcast: Andy BrittHOLDING A BRAVE SPACE and EMPATHY CAFEGUESTSRita Gyorrfy- The Empathy Cafe. Raven Karin Steiniger - Deep Ecology and XR Regenerative CultureRev Glen Loughry - Indigenous leader, minister and artist.Professor Helen Berry- Expert in public mental health during climate catastropheDr Sebastian Rosenberg - ANU Centre for Mental Health ResearchKavisha Mazzella - Italian songsThe pandemic has shown that a crisis can bring us together or push us apart. These interviews were recorded when the bushfires were still front of mind. At the people's climate assembly in Canberra with bushfire smoke billowing on the horizon, we heard about the  mental suffering of victims and firefighters as well as how resilience was sustained and supported.Helen Berry talks about community building as the foundation for Mental health.She says "people need to be encouraged in preparation for what is actually happening " not in denial. Checkout her article about how it can be done: The pearl in the oyster: climate change as a mental health opportunity. Sebastian Rosenberg says that pro active outreach to vulnerable people is essential. He describes the Christchurch Earthquake response as his shining example of reaching out effectively. Rev Glen Loughry is a Wiradjeri man and artist. He says we live in a reciprocal relationship with the land. If songlines are interrupted by a mine for example, indigenous knowledge transmission is ruptured. We cut the lands capacity to talk to us leading to dysfunction. He was speaking at an ARRCC forum on the Bushfires and the Climate Crisis at St Michael's Uniting church in Melbourne. Extinction Rebellion understands that activism is tough.People burn out, but in a regenerative culture emotional support is there for the asking.Raven learned about Deep Ecology from Joanna Macy and John Seed. I was moved in her workshop at how many young people were particularly grief stricken by the death of so many animals in the fires. You can't just move on from that. Raven talks about creating a sacred space where we can confront our fears,anger and grief to build a stronger community. The Shambhala  Warrior story  shows how we can dismantle the mind made weapons that are destroying our biosphere just as we can dismantle the fossil fuelled infrastructure.The tools are insight and compassion. Joanna Macy writes in Active Hope,  " There is no such thing as a self made person. When floods or fires sweep away our illusions of self sufficiency we are reminded how much we need each other. How much we depend not only on people but on the web of life......we treat the rest of life with a different kind of respect when we consider that without it, we wouldn't be here at all." The pandemic has only made these ideas more dramatic. Rita Gyorrfy tells us about non violent communication. When exhausted fire fighters or people who have lost everything cannot reach out, she gives us ideas about how to reach in.Her empathy cafes have gone on line since we spoke and she is building Eco resilient communities wherever she goes. She says " hearing the story of the " other" affects and heals our own story.  Martin Luther King's comment from prison in BirminghamAlabama, only has more resonance today as Corona Consciousness touches us all." We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. What affects one affects all directly".

PAUSE EMISSION! IT'S A PANDEMIC.The Beyond Zero Emissions Community show produced by Vivien Langford and Michaela Stubbs. Broadcast at Radio 3CR in Melbourne  and  Radio Skid Row in SydneyGUESTSGilbert Rochecouste - Founder of Village WellChristine Milne - Greens International  AmbassadorJohn Grimes  - Smart Energy CouncilTragic times for many as hospitals and unemployment agencies are overwhelmed by Corona Virus.Challenging times for climate campaigners as this PAUSE in global emissions is a fork in the road.  CANA chat lunchtime webinars show we could  flatten the curve of emissions path we are on. The shutdown of industry in China is reportedly  yielding a 25% drop in emissions.Aviation and other transport is slowing and how happy will the elderly be to go on a cruise ship in the future? Could we achieve 700% Renewable energy and not only provision new green industries here but export green energy overseas?The lifting of some pollution means better health and blue skies. But will the global dimming effect of all that smoke mean a rise in emissions? Gilbert Rochecouste, fresh from an epiphany in the Tarkine, talks about pressing the reset button on the rat race.Climate action is often stymied by the elephant in the room which is consumption. How can we reset our lives,to relocalise and share, in the decade when emissions need to plummet? Citizens are leading a new narrative after the drought, the fires and now the pandemic. We  are at a tipping point in consciousness. We must not let the big institutions and corporations drag us back to the old paradigm which is destroying the biosphere. Christine Milne spoke to the Beyond Zero Emissions show at the Climate Emergency Summit. She is sure the fossil fuel industry was positioning itself for bail outs at Davos even before the pandemic was declared worldwide. "They are years ahead of in the strategy".  We must not supply thecinfrastructure them to o p en up the Gallee,# the Beetaloo and the North West Shelf. In a wide ranging analysis she says we must stop their subsidies. They are not too big to fail and there are many alternatives. John Grimes gave a talk to the People's Assembly on the first day of Federal Parliament in Canberra. Bushfire smoke was still billowing over the lawns and boxes of now rare face masks were on hand for anyone with trouble breathing.He was scathing about the lobbyists for coal,oil and gas who greatly outnumber lobbyists for clean energy solutions. They have far greater access and are a corrupting influence on our democracy. He is a true patriot and impatient for the climate emergency to turbo charge training in all the trades needed for 700% renewable energy.With leadership we could remain as an energy exporter instead of the" international parriah" holding out against the global shift a green economy. # The biggest coal reserve in the world.South Australia is already at 75% and ACT at 100%. But our present renewable energy target is zero.

30th March 2020THE NEW NEW DEAL from the National Climate Emergency Summit in Melbourne Town Hall Produced by Vivien Langford. Broadcast at 3CR and Radio Skid RowIn the month since these speakers were talking about transforming the economy,we have seen an uncanny slowing of our economy and cooling of global emissions caused by the pandemic. Now more than ever, we need to know how to use this opportunity to make an economic transition. Miriam Lyons  Organising director from Get Up! Spoke on a vision for a safe climateJohn Altman from ANU on inviting Indigenous People to assist in zero emissions industriesBlair Palese from Climate Risk on Insurance and Green BondsCatherine Welles from ACF on Rationing, massive economic change and  governance needed to take us along.Simon Shaw - Song : This changes EverythingIdeas arising in this session are:Developing Northern Australia must be done in partnership with indigenous people. Bio diversity conservation and drawdown strategies need their expertise. JAAt 2 degrees of warming insurance risk goes off the charts. Homeowners need to demand access to data collected by Insurance companies.The ABC site " Looking at the rise of red zones" is a start. Look up your house and see how vulnerable it is to climate risk.BPAs the climate emergency intensifies, power will be more centralised.We can learn from the US wartime transformation of their economy. Rationing and other regulation will be more acceptable as destabilising climate events become the norm and it will be hard to maintain our democratic rights.CWThere is huge popular support for renationalising such things as transport.MLBZE plans are not the whole deal. The Drawdown industry will be bigger than coal,oil and gas combined.It will not be profitable in the time we have so it must be paid for by government.PS

We spoke with Australian journalist Paddy Manning about his new book Inside the greens.Reefs worldwide are under threat from overfishing, industrial and agricultural runoff and of course climate change. Today the Great Barrier Reef is a boneyard in comparison to its former vivid glory. Yet Fiji are two decades into a reef conservation effort that draws on traditional indigenous knowledge and modern science. How are they doing? Very well it seems. Dr Austin Bowden-Kerby is The Coral Gardener who is an expert in both modern science and indigenous knowledge. The quality of the call was terrible there was such a lag so the traditional interview method didn't work but that was ok because Dr Austin was a great storyteller. I will explain each part - the first he talks about how the traditional Fijian idea of a tabu - a nofish area was rediscovered: here is the first part.

SNOWY 2.0 THE NUMBERS DONT STACK UPProduced by Vivien Langford for Beyond Zero Emissions at Radio 3CR and Radio Skid rowPodcast by Andy BrittGuests:Bruce Mountain - Director of Victorian Energy Policy CentreTed Woodley - Treasurer National Parks Association and Energy expertGary Dunnett -  EO National Parks Association and ecology specialist Could the Goverment's huge project called Snowy 2.0 be an expensive white elephant?These interviews were recorded in Sydney as the historic 2019/2020 bushfires raged. All the  people were concerned about the Kosciusko National park. But beyond this, they have gathered evidence that the pumped hydro project announced by PM  Turnbull will never be used as the battery of our nation. At the very least they are begging the authorities to STOP and reconsider yet Government people.  to paraphrase Henry Higgins, " listen very nicely, then go out and do precisely what they want".The jobs and stimulus to the economy are irresistible. But climate action isn't always glamorous.  If we want the greatest amount of stored renewable energy, there are many better and cheaper ways to get it. These experts are like the retired fire chiefs who were ignored at our peril. Please listen carefully, it's technical and I am not the Four Corners team, but this story is a scoop.