The following letter was delivered to the electorate office of Chris Bowen, Minister for Climate Change and Energy on Thursday 27 July 2023.
Dear Minister Bowen,
Cc: Ministers Plibersek and Marles
Firstly, we – the Sydney Knitting Nannas – thank you for your work towards Australia’s transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
As an environmental group with a primary focus on climate change and the importance of there being no new coal or gas projects, we know that a complete, urgent and just transition to renewable energy is critical for all our futures.
Our greatest concern is that the timeframe for drastic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions globally is within this decade. Yet in Australia we are witnessing fossil fuel mining approvals stretching out for two or more decades. Wherever these fossil fuels are burnt they will contribute to global warming and the climate crisis.
Every approval of a new coal or gas project by an Australian government flies in the face of climate science and further reduces the window in which we have to act.
We cannot afford to have new coal or gas mined if we are to have a hope of achieving the 1.5C goal and reach our legislated target of net zero emissions by 2050 [source: IEA, IPCC].
The division of responsibility for emissions reduction between yourself (through the Safeguard Mechanism) and Minister Plibersek (through the current EPBC Act, which Minister Plibersek acknowledges has failed) is allowing new coal and gas projects to proceed.
We ask that further expansion of fossil fuel mining be put on hold until reforms to the EPBC Act can be put in place to provide real environmental protection including consideration of climate change impacts.
The news of extreme temperatures, floods, wild fires and the possible permanent loss of sea ice has made us very fearful for the future of Australia and the planet. We fear that the climate tipping points are closer than climate scientists have been predicting.
With the uncertainty about how quickly global leaders need to act to avoid the worst outcomes of global warming we join former ADF Chief Chris Barrie in asking that the government release a declassified version of the Office of National Intelligence’s “urgent climate risk assessment” report which it received late last year.
The climate crisis is an existential crisis. We need our industries and our entire communities to be fully aware of the risks.
Thank you for taking action on these critical issues. We look forward to receiving your reply.
Bernie Hobbs
On behalf of Sydney Knitting Nannas