27/02/2020

12 Climate Actions To Make An Impact



The devastating losses our nation has endured throughout the catastrophic bushfire season in Australia,  have helped illustrate the scale, speed and intensity of the climate crisis.


But if anything, this has only galvanised public support for action on climate change.
Even the Federal Government is starting to feel the heat, and is showing possible signs of movement – Scott Morrison even said the words ‘climate action now’.
But we need to make sure his words are matched with real action.
So how do we do that? What are the next steps? And how can you help us transform this social tipping point into real policies and tangible change?
We’re glad you asked.
Here’s how you can use your time, money and resources to effectively fight for climate action in Australia.

STEP 1 – Grow awareness of the urgency of the problem and educate people on the solutions  
One of the major roadblocks to climate action in Australia is that people still don’t connect the issue to their daily lives. Most Australians are genuinely concerned about climate change, but too many see it as a future or faraway threat – only affecting polar bears and low-lying islands in the Pacific.
So the first step in combating the climate change problem is to help people understand it. We need to grow awareness of what climate change is, why it’s happening, and how it affects us – personally, as well as it’s larger impacts on society, the economy and our environment.
And critically, we need to educate people on how we can fix it.
You see, stating that climate change will cause catastrophic extreme weather or mass extinction often scares people into ignoring the problem, and has the opposite effect on motivating people to act. Understanding the urgency of the problem is important, but we also need to communicate the path forward. We need people to know that, as scary and daunting as climate change seems, it is solvable.
And to do that, we need to work together.

What can I do?
  • Share our content –   The Climate Council creates blockbuster research reports, web articles, fact sheets, videos and social media content for exactly this purpose – getting accurate, scientific information to as many people as possible. We decode and decipher key facts and figures, explode myths and aim to ensure anyone and everyone can make informed decisions when it comes to climate change. Click here to find us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
  • Have conversations – In addition to sharing content and resources digitally, one of the best ways to raise awareness and educate others, is by having face-to-face conversations. Talking to people let’s you find common ground and understand where their perspective might stem from. And ideally, they’ll begin to understand why you think the way you do too. Check out our range of conversation guides here to help you spread the word.
  • Join, or invite people to join our mailing list – The Climate Council regularly updates our community on the amazing solutions that local communities, businesses, and local and state/territory governments are up to. Like the fact that Australia *technically* has a net zero emissions reduction target (because all the States and Territories do!) or that through the Cities Power Partnership program, more than 120 local councils across Australia are implementing solutions like large-scale renewable energy projects. Join now!


Why does this help?
Every conversation, real or virtual, that you have about climate change and climate science is strengthening our movement – because it brings diverse ideas, opinions and perspectives on board. We must create a chorus of different communities, united in asking for urgent action.
Through a platform like Facebook, the Climate Council can communicate climate change information, solutions and the need for action, to several million people a month – people we would otherwise be unable to reach.
This is critical, because some people haven’t seen much information on climate change before, or very rarely talk about it. If people don’t know enough about the issue, they can often feel locked out of the conversation, or be confused by false or misleading information.
Through our regular email updates, we empower you with the facts and connect you with the resources to help you communicate the science in your day-to-day life.
We often mobilise our community to share ideas and solutions, and regularly ask for your help with spreading our fact-checking guides and myth-busting articles. This is critical when it comes to pushing back against misinformation.
So whether it’s in the pub, supermarket, classroom, newsfeed or overcrowded train,  keep sharing and talking about the science!
Let’s educate people on the solutions, and the urgency with which we need to act and build a stronger, more powerful and united consensus around the push for climate action in Australia.
Why not invite 5 of your friends to follow our social media or sign up to our mailing list today?
Just remember, it’s not about telling people that they are wrong. It’s about growing awareness, and making climate science accessible to everyone.

STEP 2 – Make sustainable choices in your personal lives about things like diet, transport and money.
Below are some simple swaps you can start implementing today to help reduce your own carbon footprint.
  • Divest your super – Have you checked whether or not your super contributions are actively funding the fossil fuel industry? What about your bank? Click here to check! Some financial institutions essentially use your money to bankroll fossil fuel projects, but some are making a conscious effort to avoid them. You have power over where your money goes, and can choose to put it into ethical banks and super funds that will take your dollars out of the fossil fuel industry and invest them in renewable energy projects instead. Super!
  • Travel sustainably – Travelling uses energy and that energy has to come from somewhere, but transport produces around 19% of our annual national greenhouse gas emissions, (the equal-second-largest source of greenhouse gas pollution after electricity – in year to June 2019). By making smart travel choices where you can (like using public transport, walking, cycling or carpooling), or switching to an electric vehicle, you can significantly reduce the amount of energy you use to get around.
  • Eat less meat, shop locally, reduce waste – Did you know that if the greenhouse gases emitted from livestock were their own nation, they would be the world’s third-largest emitter? Everyone has different dietary and cultural needs and we recognise that a plant-based diet isn’t for everyone. But even small actions can have a big impact, like incorporating just a bit more plant-based foods and less meat into your diet, or shopping locally to reduce food transport emissions.
  • Invest in solar panels – The biggest solution to the climate crisis is to meet our energy needs with renewable energy. You can contribute to this by either purchasing accredited green-power, or by investing in solar panels on your roof. Already, 2 million Australian households are powered by the sun, and this number is expected to continue going up. Not only do solar panels slash your carbon footprint, they’ll also slash your electricity bill – with some houses generating more energy than they consume. It’s a win-win.
What difference can one person make? 
You’re more powerful than you think. Your voice, and the opinions you share, can carry real influence.
Greta Thunberg  is the perfect example of the power of one. She started striking alone on the steps of the Swedish Parliament, and in less than 12 months, up to 7 million people took to the streets in more than 150 countries, as part of the global climate strike movement.


While the individual choices you make daily add up to make a big difference, we also desperately need strong, national climate policy reform. But you can help influence this.

STEP 3 – exert political and social pressure everywhere you can. 
  • Email your MP – We’ve got the solutions we need to address climate change. But in many areas, the political will is missing. Contacting your local, state and federal representatives about the importance of climate action is one of the best ways to force their hand. After all, we voted them in, and they have a duty to represent their constituents, so make sure your voice is heard. 
  • Vote – We know sometimes it’s hard to see through the political spin, and that there are lots of other factors that can determine how you vote. But more than ever, we need strong political leadership, with the guts and determination to make the policy changes required. Under the Federal Coalition Government, Australia’s action on climate change has gone backwards, and wIthin its ranks, climate deniers still hold power. The next time you get a chance, exercise your democratic right with the climate and future generations in mind.
  • Attend rallies and marches – We need to harness our collective power and show our leaders in Government that there is a strong consensus for climate action. The more people who attend, the stronger the message – inaction is not an option.


How does emailing a politician or voting achieve climate action?
Our MPs are there to listen to the views of the public, understand your perspective, and represent you in Parliament. As one of their constituents, your opinion holds a lot of weight, because based on your vote, they could win or lose elections. The more people who contact their local MP on a given topic (e.g. climate change), the more likely they are to raise this matter in the Parliament and their party room.
Politicians also respond to public pressure, so getting involved with your local climate action group is a great way to use your voice and make sure your opinions are heard.
Use this tool to send our pre-written email to your local Federal MP right now, or click here to download our Climate Action Toolkit for more tips on writing your own letter to your MP.
 
STEP 4 – Help us unite your efforts and scale them up to a national level. We need our community alongside us.
Tackling the climate crisis requires leadership, strong advocacy and strategic intervention. The Climate Council is Australia’s leading climate change communications organisation. Raising awareness, educating the public, exerting political pressure – we achieve this day in, day out, but on a national scale.
We’ve been working to foster a political, economic and cultural shift in the way Australia views and acts on climate change, but there’s so much more to do.
  • Become a regular giver to the Climate Council – Through our team of researchers and climate scientists, media experts and communications specialists – we keep the public informed and our governments under pressure. We had a big impact connecting climate change and the bushfire crisis, through the work of Greg Mullins and the Emergency Leaders for Climate Action.
    But our work is powered by our community, and less time fundraising means more time putting climate change at the top of the national conversation.
    With your regular support, we can:
  • Support replicable solutions that can be scaled up quickly to demonstrate that a clean, renewable-powered future is not only possible, but already underway.
  • Shape the national conversation and ensure more evidence-based information in the media.
  • Fact check myths and misleading information.
  • Communicate accurate information to the public and make climate science accessible to everyone.
  • Fundraise for us. If you can’t make a financial contribution on your own, why not try and crowdsource a donation from your friends and family? You can host bake sales, compete in fun runs or marathons, or set yourself a unique challenge (one person cycled across Australia!) to fundraise on behalf of the Climate Council. By getting involved, you can help us raise both money and awareness about climate change impacts and solutions amongst your friends, family and colleagues – as well as inspire them to get involved themselves! We’ve put together a range of resources to get you started, including a Fundraising Toolkit, and a Social Media Pack.


Tackling the climate crisis requires leadership, strong advocacy and strategic intervention. The Climate Council is Australia’s leading climate change communications organisation. Raising awareness, educating the public, exerting political pressure – we achieve this day in, day out, but on a national scale.
We’ve been working to foster a political, economic and cultural shift in the way Australia views and acts on climate change, but there’s so much more to do.
But our work is powered by our community, and less time fundraising means more time putting climate change at the top of the national conversation.

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10 Things You Can Do About Climate Change, According To The Shepherds Of The Paris Agreement

Forbes - Jeff McMahon

Former United Nations climate chief Christiana Figueres at the U.N Climate Conference in Le Bourget, outside Paris, France in 2015. AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani
Christiana Figueres once credited the Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh with helping her shepherd 192 countries from blaming to collaborating, from paralysis to empowerment in the Paris Agreement.
Now Figueres and her strategic advisor, former Buddhist monk Tom Rivett-Carnac, have penned a book that shepherds climate activism from changing mental states to changing the world.
“Throughout our lives we have found that what we do and how we do it is largely determined by how we think,” Figueres told me via email. “While there is never a guarantee of success at any challenge, the chances of success are predicated on our attitude toward that very challenge....
“It is a lesson we learned as we prepared the Paris Agreement, and is a valuable guide for the urgent challenge we are facing this decade."
In “The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis,” published today by Alfred A. Knopf, the authors recommend a mindset for climate activism that rests on three attitudes: radical optimism, endless abundance and radical regeneration.
Radical optimism echoes an organization the authors formed, Global Optimism, to combat pessimism and denialism. Endless abundance is the sense that there are resources enough for all, to combat competitiveness and tribalism. Radical regeneration means caring for both nature and oneself, to combat exploitation and burnout.
Then the authors get to action.
“We have discussed the mindset everyone needs to cultivate in order to meet the global challenge of the climate crisis, but on its own, this is not enough,” they write. “For change to become transformational, our change in mindset must manifest in our actions.”
Many of the recommended actions also occur in the mind, at least initially, constituting a transformation in priorities. In a chapter titled “Doing What Is Necessary,” Figueres and Rivett-Carnac propose these ten actions:

1 Let Go Of The Old World
First, the authors propose that we honor the past—for example, it’s okay to acknowledge that fossil fuels have improved quality of life, for some—and then let the past go. Let the change come that is necessary to transform the world. That means not only pragmatic change like allowing offshore wind development but, they say, psychological change like resisting the urge to engage in tribalism and the illusion of certainty.

2 Face Your Grief...
but hold a vision of the future. The world under climate change will not resemble the world many us knew in our youth. “We cannot hide from the grief that flows from the loss of biodiversity and the impoverished lives of future generations,” the authors write. They advise readers to face this grief, rather than turn away from it—an approach that borrows from their Buddhist influences—and then to embrace an optimist vision of the future. “A compelling vision is like a hook in the future. It connects you to the pockets of possibility that are emerging and helps you pull them into the present.”

3 Defend The Truth
Here the authors defend objective science and warn readers not to give in to pseudoscience. But they also urge readers not to vilify those who embrace denialism. “If you reach them, it will be because you sincerely listened to them and strove to understand their concerns. By giving care, love, and attention to every individual, we can counter the forces pulling us apart.”

4 See Yourself As A Citizen...
not as a consumer. Here the authors depart from the usual approach of urging people to stop buying stuff. Instead, they focus on the psychology behind consumption. “Much of what we buy,” they say, “is designed to enhance our sense of identity.” Instead, they say, envision a good life that does not depend on material goods.

5 Move Beyond Fossil Fuels
As pragmatic as this action sounds, the authors depict fossil-fuel reliance as an attachment—an attachment to the past. “Only when this mindset is challenged can we migrate our thinking, finances, and infrastructure to the new energies.”

6 Reforest The Earth
Here the authors urge the most pragmatic actions: plant trees, let natural areas go wild, eat less meat and dairy, boycott products that contribute to deforestation. They mention palm oil in an example but not pork, beef or chicken—major products that drive deforestation. Instead they stay positive, emphasizing the benefits of a plant-based diet. “The future we must choose will require us to pay more attention to our bond with nature.”

7 Invest In A Clean Economy
Here the authors mean much more than putting money into wind and solar. They mean moving beyond a model of economic growth that rewards extraction and pollution, toward “a clean economy that operates in harmony with nature, repurposes used resources as much as possible, minimizes waste, and actively replenishes depleted resources.”

8 Use Technology Responsibly
Artificial intelligence has the potential to solve problems that have so far remained intractable, the authors argue, such as any attempt to shift from an extractive economy to a circular one. But that will happen only—they say—if AI is used responsibly. “If we make it through the climate crisis and arrive on the other side with humanity and the planet intact, it will be largely because we have learned to live well with technology.”

9 Build Gender Equality
When women lead, good things happen, the authors say, citing a wealth of studies. “Women often have a leadership style that makes them more open and sensitive to a wide range of views, and they are better at working collaboratively, with a longer-term perspective. These traits are essential to responding to the climate crisis.”

10 Engage In Politics
The authors are not just talking about voting. Mentioning Greta Thunberg, Extinction Rebellion, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Nelson Mandela, Figuera and Rivett-Carnac urge civil disobedience.
“Civil disobedience is not only a moral choice, it is also the most powerful way of shaping world politics.”

Former UN Climate Chief Calls For Civil Disobedience 
Tom Rivett-Carnac and Christiana Figueres. Photo by Henry Dallal
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Revealed: Quarter Of All Tweets About Climate Crisis Produced By Bots

The Guardian - 

Draft of Brown study says findings suggest ‘substantial impact of mechanized bots in amplifying denialist messages’
The researchers examined 6.5m tweets posted in the days leading up to and the month after Trump announced the US exit from the Paris accords on 1 June 2017. Photograph: Oliver Berg/AFP/Getty Images
The social media conversation over the climate crisis is being reshaped by an army of automated Twitter bots, with a new analysis finding that a quarter of all tweets about climate on an average day are produced by bots, the Guardian can reveal.
The stunning levels of Twitter bot activity on topics related to global heating and the climate crisis is distorting the online discourse to include far more climate science denialism than it would otherwise.
An analysis of millions of tweets from around the period when Donald Trump announced the US would withdraw from the Paris climate agreement found that bots tended to applaud the president for his actions and spread misinformation about the science.
The study of Twitter bots and climate was undertaken by Brown University and has yet to be published. Bots are a type of software that can be directed to autonomously tweet, retweet, like or direct message on Twitter, under the guise of a human-fronted account.
“These findings suggest a substantial impact of mechanized bots in amplifying denialist messages about climate change, including support for Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris agreement,” states the draft study, seen by the Guardian.
On an average day during the period studied, 25% of all tweets about the climate crisis came from bots. This proportion was higher in certain topics – bots were responsible for 38% of tweets about “fake science” and 28% of all tweets about the petroleum giant Exxon.
Conversely, tweets that could be categorized as online activism to support action on the climate crisis featured very few bots, at about 5% prevalence. The findings “suggest that bots are not just prevalent, but disproportionately so in topics that were supportive of Trump’s announcement or skeptical of climate science and action”, the analysis states.
Thomas Marlow, a PhD candidate at Brown who led the study, said the research came about as he and his colleagues are “always kind of wondering why there’s persistent levels of denial about something that the science is more or less settled on”.
The researchers examined 6.5m tweets posted in the days leading up to and the month after Trump announced the US exit from the Paris accords on 1 June 2017. The tweets were sorted into topic category, with an Indiana University tool called Botometer used to estimate the probability the user behind the tweet is a bot.
In terms of influence, I personally am convinced that they do make a difference, although this can be hard to quantifyStephen Lewandowsky
Marlow said he was surprised that bots were responsible for a quarter of climate tweets on an average day. “I was like, ‘Wow that seems really high,’” he said.
The consistent drumbeat of bot activity around climate topics is highlighted by the day of Trump’s announcement, when a huge spike in general interest in the topic saw the bot proportion drop by about half to 13%. Tweets by suspected bots did increase from hundreds a day to more than 25,000 a day during the days around the announcement but it wasn’t enough to prevent a fall in proportional share.
Trump has consistently spread misinformation about the climate crisis, most famously calling it “bullshit” and a “hoax”, although more recently the US president has said he accepts the science that the world is heating up. Nevertheless, his administration has dismantled any major policy aimed at cutting planet-warming gases, including car emissions standards and restrictions on coal-fired power plants.
The Brown University study wasn’t able to identify any individuals or groups behind the battalion of Twitter bots, nor ascertain the level of influence they have had around the often fraught climate debate.
However, a number of suspected bots that have consistently disparaged climate science and activists have large numbers of followers on Twitter. One that ranks highly on the Botometer score, @sh_irredeemable, wrote “Get lost Greta!” in December, in reference to the Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.
This was followed by a tweet that doubted the world will reach a 9-billion population due to “#climatechange lunacy stopping progress”. The account has nearly 16,000 followers.
Another suspected bot, @petefrt, has nearly 52,000 followers and has repeatedly rejected climate science. “Get real, CNN: ‘Climate Change’ dogma is religion, not science,” the account posted in August. Another tweet from November called for the Paris agreement to be ditched in order to “reject a future built by globalists and European eco-mandarins”.
Twitter accounts spreading falsehoods about the climate crisis are also able to use the promoted tweets option available to those willing to pay for extra visibility. Twitter bans a number of things from its promoted tweets, including political content and tobacco advertising, but allows any sort of content, true or otherwise, on the climate crisis.
Research on internet blogs published last year found that climate misinformation is often spread due to readers’ perception of how widely this opinion is shared by other readers.
Stephan Lewandowsky, an academic at the University of Bristol who co-authored the research, said he was “not at all surprised” at the Brown University study due to his own interactions with climate-related messages on Twitter.
“More often than not, they turn out to have all the fingerprints of bots,” he said. “The more denialist trolls are out there, the more likely people will think that there is a diversity of opinion and hence will weaken their support for climate science.
“In terms of influence, I personally am convinced that they do make a difference, although this can be hard to quantify.”
John Cook, an Australian cognitive scientist and co-author with Lewandowsky, said that bots are “dangerous and potentially influential”, with evidence showing that when people are exposed to facts and misinformation they are often left misled.
“This is one of the most insidious and dangerous elements of misinformation spread by bots – not just that misinformation is convincing to people but that just the mere existence of misinformation in social networks can cause people to trust accurate information less or disengage from the facts,” Cook said.
Although Twitter bots didn’t ramp up significantly around the Paris withdrawal announcement, some advocates of action to tackle the climate crisis are wary of a spike in activity around the US presidential election later this year.
“Even though we don’t know who they are, or their exact motives, it seems self-evident that Trump thrives on the positive reinforcement he receives from these bots and their makers,” said Ed Maibach, an expert in climate communication at George Mason University.
“It is terrifying to ponder the possibility that the Potus was cajoled by bots into committing an atrocity against humanity.”

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