Lethal Heating: 02/10/22

10/02/2022

(AU New Daily) ‘Guilty Of Greenwashing’: Major Electricity Retailers Panned In Climate Rankings

New Daily - Matthew Elmas

Greenpeace has named and shamed Australia's dirtiest electricity retailers. Photo: AAP Matthew Elmas

Australians looking for greener electricity are being urged to ditch major retailers after new research found that most households are buying power from the dirtiest companies.

Greenpeace released its 2022 green power rankings on Tuesday, pitting 48 Australian electricity retailers against each other on their response to the climate crisis and how much of their energy comes from fossil fuels.

The results revealed a stark difference between Australia’s three largest power retailers – AGL, Origin and Energy Australia – and small retailers, with the major providers dominating the bottom of the Greenpeace rankings.

AGL, Australia’s largest generator and retailer of electricity, scored a one out of 10 (ranked last), with 83 per cent of its energy coming from coal.

In contrast, independent Enova Energy was ranked first and given a 10 out of 10 score, with 100 per cent of its electricity being sourced from renewables.

Greenpeace senior campaigner Glenn Walker was the lead author of the report and said the prevalence of big retailers at the bottom of the list showed that consumers have the power to change the market by switching providers.

Most Australians are buying power from the big three providers, he said.

“Australia’s largest electricity retailers are also Australia’s biggest climate polluters,” Mr Walker said.

“It only takes a few minutes to switch electricity providers.”

Greenpeace surveyed retailers and used publicly available information from market regulators and the stock exchange to prepare the report.

The charity reviewed where retailers get their power and whether they support fossil fuel subsidies to determine their green credentials.

Mr Walker said it was a necessary job because the big retailers present themselves as climate-friendly in their advertising, only to continue burning fossil fuels and backing policies that support coal and gas.

A quick look at AGL Australia’s YouTube channel shows it is packed with ads about wind farms, electric vehicles and other renewable projects.

But despite this marketing, AGL has confirmed it plans to burn coal until 2048.

“The big retailers are guilty of greenwashing,” Mr Walker said.

“They promote themselves through wind farms and solar energy, but in reality most of their energy comes from dirty coal.”

Switching retailers is easier than you think

Thankfully, switching energy retailers is easier than you might think.

It usually only takes a few minutes and your lights shouldn’t switch off.

The first step is to contact the retailer you want to switch to and ask for its best deal.

Have the offer you are interested in and any concession you are eligible for close to hand. This will help you get the right electricity plan.

It’s a good idea to ask about the electricity price per kilowatt hour and if there are any fees or other conditions in your contract before signing.

Once you have signed up, your new retailer will start using your existing smart meter data so your power shouldn’t switch off, even for a second.

Your next bill will come from your new retailer rather than your old one.

One thing to watch out for is whether your existing retailer has any exit fees or other conditions that might make it costly to cancel your deal.

If you need to make a complaint or have any questions about regulatory protections for consumers switching providers, the best point of contact is your state- or territory-based energy and water ombudsman’s office.

Just google “electricity ombudsman” followed by your state or territory.

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(USA NBC) Date Set For First Youth-Led Climate Trial In U.S. History

NBC - Lucas Thompson

In Held v. State of Montana, 16 youth plaintiffs have sued the state over its energy policy, alleging that fossil fuel development accelerates climate change.

Firefighters watch a hillside burn on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation on Aug 11, 2021, near Lame Deer, Mont., as the Richard Spring fire was threatening hundreds of homes. Matthew Brown / AP file

For the first time in U.S. history, a youth-led climate change lawsuit will go to trial.

In Held v. State of Montana, 16 youth plaintiffs have sued the state over its energy policy, alleging that its heavy dependence on fossil fuel development accelerates climate change and infringes on their constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment.

The trial will start Feb. 6, 2023, according to documents obtained by NBC News.

The complaint was filed in March 2020. In August 2021, a judge denied the state’s move to dismiss it, allowing it to move to trial — the first lawsuit of its kind in the United States.

“Children are uniquely vulnerable to the consequences of the climate crisis, which harms Youth Plaintiffs’ physical and psychological health and safety, interferes with family and cultural foundations and integrity, and causes economic deprivations,” the complaint states.

Montana is one of six states that mention environmental rights in its state constitution. Article IX, added in 1972, reads: “The state and each person shall maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations.”

Globally, lawsuits around climate change are becoming more frequent. A database kept by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School now includes case documents for more than 1,000 climate change lawsuits from around the world.

A federal judge in Australia ruled last May that the government had a “duty of care” for young people when making decisions involving climate change. But the group of teenage climate change activists lost its fight against the expansion of a coal mine.

Climate experts worry warming temperatures could impact future Winter Games 3min 38sec

In the U.S., however, such lawsuits remain rare. One, Juliana v. United States, was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon in 2015 and included allegations similar to those in Held v. Montana, but that case has not yet been given a trial date.

“One way that people respond when other systems fail, when politics fail, governments fail, corporate governance fails is they go to court to try and seek redress,” said Michael Burger, executive director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law.

Though the Montana trial is not set to start for another year, Burger said its outcome would be “highly significant.”

But he cautioned that a trial alone does not effect change.

“The fact that they’re going to trial doesn’t mean that the plaintiffs have won,” he said. “One of the things that the plaintiffs have to prove is that these government policies and statutes are a substantial cause of their injury. And that may have some interesting twists and turns.”

Rikki Held. Courtesy Rikki Held

Rikki Held, 20, the only named plaintiff in the suit, said: “It’s been a long time coming. … Having the courts actually going through … the actual scientific evidence, the best evidence we have so far, to help us protect our constitutional rights … protect the homes we love and the people we care about.”

Nate Bellinger, co-counsel for the youth plaintiffs and a senior staff attorney with Our Children’s Trust, a nonprofit law firm that focuses on young people’s right to a safe climate, said: “We have an opportunity to go into open court before a judge, before the public, and tell this story from beginning to end.

“How the state of Montana is permitting fossil fuels, how those fossil fuels are causing and contributing to climate change, how climate change is harming the 16 youth plaintiffs in really specific and individualized ways,” he said.

A representative for the state of Montana did not return a request for comment.

Last year, every county in Montana experienced some level of drought, and the state had a particularly active year for wildfires. Fires burned the fifth largest amount of acreage since 1980. Held pointed to them as examples of how climate change has continued to wreak havoc on their lives since the complaint was filed almost two years ago.

“Those played a big role in my family and our businesses,” Held said. “The roads were closed. … August was our peak season … with hunting season. And we lost, like, half our revenue, just because of road closures.”

Held said the heat and wildfires also directly affected her health. She said she experienced headaches from the smoke, and heat exhaustion, while working outside on her family’s 7,000-acre ranch.

“It’s really real and frightening,” she said. “It’s kind of frustrating that we’re not doing as much as we should.”

The trial court said it could not issue an injunction against the government of Montana, nor order what it should do. The court said, however, that it would still rule if the state is violating the plaintiffs’ constitutional rights.

“To have a state court determine that the failure to consider climate change under a state’s environmental impact assessment law, is unconstitutional … that’s a big deal,” Burger said.

Kian Tanner. Courtesy Kian Tanner

A ruling in the case could set significant legal precedent that other states or countries could cite.

“I feel that it is monumentous,” said Kian Tanner, another plaintiff in the case who was 14 when it was filed.

Both Held and Tanner said they hoped this case would put a spotlight on what it means to be a young person during the fight against climate change, and what it means to protect future generations.

“Our governments … they should serve us,” Held said. “If people are being hurt by supporting a fossil fuel system, then I just don’t see why you wouldn’t want to change and, you know, help the people of your state.”

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(AU Canberra Times) Local Councils Are Leading On Climate Resilience

Canberra Times - Portia Odell

Nillumbik Shire Council installed an off-grid solar and battery system on the roof of a local stadium/emergency shelter. Picture: Supplied

Author

Dr Portia Odell is director of the Cities Power Partnership, Australia's largest network of local councils working toward a zero-emissions future.

Have you noticed more intense and frequent extreme weather this summer? I have.

A friend and her family were forced to flee to their pool when their house was engulfed in a bushfire in regional Western Australia; the campground I was at in Wye River, Victoria flooded for the second year in a row when the river burst its banks because of heavy rainfall in the hills; friends in Queensland have suffered through brutally intense storms.

I'm sure you have your own stories, too. Wild weather events are affecting each one of us, and we can expect that to continue as climate change exacerbates extreme weather like heatwaves, drought, flooding, bushfires and cyclones.

Fortunately, many local councils are working to curb the worst impacts of climate change by cutting greenhouse gas emissions and rolling out initiatives to protect their communities.

From coast to coast and in between, there are plenty of examples of councils acting to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

In Victoria, Nillumbik Shire's Hybrid Solar and Battery Off-Grid Stadium and Relief Centre can operate as an emergency shelter, playing a critical role as a safe place for the community during heatwaves, bushfires and storms.

The solar and battery system can provide off-grid power for up to eight hours during an emergency. On an average day, the system helps cut emissions and costs by reducing grid-sourced electricity by 80 per cent.

You may also have heard about (or been in one of) the many communities in NSW inundated by flooding at the end of 2021.

Lake Macquarie Council is home to one of the most exposed estuaries in the nation, with hundreds of houses susceptible to flooding. The council has a long history of flood management, most recently adopting local adaptation plans for the region's townships.

To inform residents about expected flooding and when evacuation is necessary, the council promoted the Flood and Coastal Intelligence tool, which helps to improve emergency literacy and provide critical advanced emergency advice.

On the other side of the country, West Australians have been feeling the heat and threat of bushfires. As the former mayor of Fremantle, Brad Pettit, wrote recently, "Perth has sweltered through so many hot days this summer that any day under 40 degrees almost feels like light relief."

Further south, the Shire of Augusta Margaret River had a devastating start to the summer, with 7800 hectares of iconic forest burnt. To protect the region, their council created a plan to support the recovery and ongoing management of Boranup Forest and the Leeuwin Naturaliste National Park.

This targeted plan, along with long-term strategies to achieve net zero emissions by 2030, puts Augusta Margaret River Shire in a leadership role when it comes to acting to protect its community from climate impacts.

South Australians have faced both heavy rain and oppressive heat. To address these climate impacts, Alexandrina Council's A2040 Strategic Community Plan identifies tree canopy and urban greening as one of five key actions to achieve their livability aspirations.

Alexandrina has also begun a canopy baseline study of urban trees to increase the cooling and anti-erosion effects of plants, taking urban greening to the next level.

These are just a few of the many examples of how local councils are mitigating and planning for climate impacts to safeguard their communities. But while councils are already punching above their weight on climate action, they can't do it alone.

A report, Neighbourhood Issue: Climate costs and risks to councils, prepared by the Climate Council and Cities Power Partnership, revealed that more support and funding is needed to support local councils to prepare for and cope with the impacts of climate change.

Ensuring the long-term economic security and resilience of our communities means state, territory and federal governments must put resources, actions and policies in place that protect them.

With the right support, our cities and towns can create the safe and liveable communities we all deserve.

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