taking action against coal in Australia, 350 org

Dear friends,

There’s something we simply can’t wait any longer to email you about. At one stage or another, I’m sure you’ve thought about it already, and perhaps you’ve even wondered why 350.org isn’t more actively doing something about the situation.

What’s “it…?” Coal.

If there’s one particular burden that Australia bears when dealing with climate change, it’s coal. For any of you who read Bill McKibben’s recent article in Rolling Stone magazine know, there’s a very finite amount of carbon that can be put in the atmosphere if we’re going to have any chance of limiting global warming to 2 degrees C, let alone return back to 350 ppm. Australian coal alone holds 182.1 gigatonnes of potential CO2 emissions — carbon that needs to remain in the ground. And, with proposals for massive new coal ports and countless mine expansions around Australia, the coal industry plans to ensure every last bit we have burns.

This isn’t likely to be news to you. Australian coal has loomed large for the climate change movement domestically and internationally. So what’s been holding us back? Well, simply that we wanted to be able to communicate about the issue with the strongest plan possible at the most timely moment possible. That combined with the fact that 350.org as a global campaigning organization has very limited resources to put towards any one particular country, and we’re truthfully not sure what resources we can bring to the coal struggle in Australia.

Yet we write to you now, not because we’ve resolved these questions — we don’t have a detailed plan in place, nor do we have resources secured for scaling up a campaign. We write to you now because we simply couldn’t go another week receiving more news from you — friends, partners and organisers — about the latest coal mining, coal export proposals and infrastructure build up or failed government policy meant to reduce domestic coal use. Put simply, we needed to let you know that we’re stepping up to find ways to reduce the climate and health impacts of coal, promoting clean energy solutions and working with individuals and organisations interested in helping.

For starters, if you agree that there’s no time to waste in taking action against coal in Australia, here are two things we ask you do:

1) Sign this petition letter that our friends at the Coal Terminal Action Group have organised to stop a fourth coal terminal in Newcastle (which would double the volume of coal exports through Newcastle). Their representatives need to hear from as many people as possible!

2) Let us know your ideas for how to move Australia beyond coal(including exports), and how 350.org can play a role in educating the public and working for alternatives to polluting coal. Email us at australia@350.org.

350.org Australia and other organisations are already working on reducing our dependence on coal. Over the next few months, we will be asking for your support — both political and financial — and your participation to bring new capacity and strategies to address this urgent issue.

Thanks to everyone ready to take on this enormous challenge. We look forward to working on this issue together.

Onwards,

Aaron Packard, Blair Palese, and the 350.org team