Thanks for your interest in helping create The People's Climate Strategy for Victoria!

Here's everything you need to know... 

How To Get Involved

Friends of the Earth are looking for people from all walks of life to participate - First Nations people, unionists, and more. We want to hand a strategy to the Andrews government that's been put together by a big and diverse group of Victorian community members, who all want strong action on climate.

Any and all input is welcome, whether you just time to fill in a survey, or have an hour a day to spare.

• Join your local working group by filling out the registration form below.
• Complete our online Climate Impacts survey yourself and share it with people in your community.
• Click here for a PDF copy of the survey.
• Promote the People's Climate Strategy in your region with this great poster.
• Email us at anna.langford@foe.org.au for more info. 

Background

Friends of the Earth Melbourne has been building the case for science-based Emissions Reduction Targets in Victoria for the last couple of years through the work of the Act on Climate campaign.

We are expanding our focus to the state's first Climate Change Strategy which the Andrews govt is required to prepare by 31 Oct 2020. It represents an opportunity to create jobs, tackle disadvantage, and rein in emissions. But as the government is occupied dealing with the pandemic, we’ve decided to take the strategy off their hands - and throw it to the community.

On June 3, we announced our plan to write a People's Climate Strategy for Victoria. This bottom-up initiative seeks to capture local knowledge about climate impacts and solutions, and identify the policy priorities for the state and sub regions.

We're recruiting community members to help us undertake two rounds of surveying (climate impacts + solutions); participate in online conversations to design policy responses; meet local state Labor MPs to talk to them about the strategy; and drive community voting on the priorities.  

You can watch the recorded project launch here, or listen to a shorter podcast version here.

Friends of the Earth Melbourne's Act on Climate collective officially launched its push to write a People's Climate Strategy for Victoria with over one thousand people watching the online launch via Zoom and Facebook live. The strong level of interest is a vote of confidence in the idea.

Writing a People's Climate Strategy for Victoria to present to the Andrews government later this year is a bold and ambitious undertaking. But shaping the state's first climate strategy is an opportunity that can't be missed.

The Victorian government is required to prepare and rollout a climate strategy every five years out to 2050. Our efforts in coming months will influence the Labor government's own plan (which must be prepared by October 31) as well as all those that follow it.  

Friends of the Earth and the Act on Climate collective cant do it alone... 

The collective needs your help to ensure the strategy is robust, capable of getting us to zero emissions as-soon-as-possible, and leaves no Victorian behind.

Here are the immediate next steps...

Friends of the Earth Melbourne has called on the Andrews government to make climate action a focus of the recovery from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic after experts have criticised the Morrison government for pushing for a fossil-fuel-led stimulus.

Community-driven environment group Friends of the Earth have urged the Victorian government to forge its own path and instead embrace new industries and technologies that can make Victoria the national leader on climate action, while creating thousands of jobs.

"Not only does the backward-looking approach of the Morrison government undermine global efforts on climate, but it ties our economic future to out-dated and polluting technology," said Friends of the Earth community campaigner Anna Langford.

"Premier Andrews has already created thousands of climate jobs through legislation such as the Victorian Renewable Energy Target. It can build on this momentum."

On Wednesday 26 February, Friends of the Earth had the opportunity to present to the Victorian Parliament's inquiry into community action on climate change. Here's Act on Climate coordinator Leigh Ewbank's statement to the Planning & Environment committee:  

In my time at Friends of the Earth, I’ve seen the incredible commitment of Victorian communities to tackling the climate crisis.

Friends of the Earth is a community-driven organisation formed in 1974. We have been a strong voice for environmental protection and social justice since then.

We have been engaged on the issue of climate change for over two decades and work towards cutting greenhouse gas emissions and building resilience through practical programs and advocacy.

Friends of the Earth’s Food Co-op & Café in Collingwood is a case in point. With produce from 150 farmers across the state, the café serves organic, seasonal, and vegan meals to our community every day.

The intentional use of local produce minimises the embodied carbon emissions from excessive transportation. Each year the café serves over 24,000 plates of food including to vulnerable people in the neighbourhood.

The co-op has also pioneered local organic waste composting to demonstrate ways to reduce methane emissions from food waste going to landfill and encourage low-carbon food production.

All compostable waste from the cafe is transported to a nearby primary school, which is only a couple of hundred metres away, where it is composted and used by the students to grow vegetables and educate them about the benefits of urban farming.

In addition to these practical examples, Friends of the Earth has been actively involved in advocacy. Each night of the week, dozens of community members work together on positive solutions.

In less than two months, the Andrews government will make its decision on the state’s first Emissions Reduction Targets for 2025 and ’30. And we’re not wasting a minute calling for ambition. 

The summer bushfires and the impact they’ve had on communities, responders, wildlife and the natural world remind us what’s at stake if we fail to tackle the climate crisis.

Here’s a quick update on our efforts over the last month...

Victorian opposition leader Michael O'Brien has responded to surging community concern about the climate crisis by announcing a policy shift on the issue, accepting the need for state emissions reductions.

Friends of the Earth says the shift is a positive first step.

Mr O'Brien told The Age newspaper that state Emissions Reduction Targets were necessary in the absence of a "consistent national policy."

The Victorian Liberal leader also called on the Morrison government to set national targets for cutting emissions beyond 2030.

Do you want Victoria to be the national leader on climate action?...

Do you think climate policy should be based on science not political expediency?...

Do you want to show the Morrison government what real climate action looks like?...

There’s just ten weeks to influence the Andrews government's decision on state Emissions Reduction Targets for 2025 and ‘30.

It’s a decision that will set the pace of climate action in Victoria for the next decade and have major implications for energy policy, transport planning, forest protection, and more.

The window of opportunity to influence the decision closing fast so we have to make every day count.

With climate impacts occurring much faster than scientists predicted, the key litmus test for the government is whether the targets help keep global warming below 1.5°C. 

Here's what we have in store to demonstrate to strong community support for climate leadership and counter the fossil fuel lobbyists who will be working behind the scenes for loopholes and low ambition.

We’re calling on all community climate champions like you join us on the campaign trail over the next ten weeks so that our call for science-based targets is one that cannot be ignored...

The Federal Coalition is currently enjoying its third term in government. And yet, like Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull before him, Prime Minister Scott Morrison is seriously failing Australia on climate solutions.

The Federal Coalition has been under a steadily rising pressure from climate change advocacy groups since its ascension in 2013.

To date, the Federal Coalition still has not provided a policy agenda to mitigate catastrophic climate change by reducing emissions. Data released earlier this year reveals that national emissions are increasing rather than decreasing.

It is not simply a matter of ignorance or inaction on the part of the Federal Coalition but wilful environmental vandalism.

Many commentators have linked the Coalition's destructive climate policies to the climate effects that are increasingly experienced in Australia, for example coastal erosion and severe weather events like the recent bushfires, as well as abroad such as rising sea levels affecting the Pacific Islands.

Act on Climate has previously showcased some of the Coalition's climate failure highlights between 2013-18.

As we near the end of 2019, let's take a look at some of the 'highlights' of their climate vandalism and neglect over the last two years...

Last month, the Victorian Labor Party met for its annual conference on November 16 and 17. During the conference, Victorian Labor passed motions backing climate science and offshore wind.

The Labor Environment Action Network (LEAN), a group of party members and supporters, called on the "next Albanese government" to '"rely on the best scientific advice when setting targets for emissions reduction and renewable energy generation" and stimulate new, sustainable, well-paying, unionised jobs through climate action & enviro protections’ (@LEAN_Victoria).

The backing of the Victorian Labor rank and file for climate and energy policy to be based on the "best scientific advice" sends a strong signal to the Andrews government in its upcoming decision on Emissions Reduction Targets. 

It has been an epic year. We've been supporting communities on the frontline of climate impacts; putting climate blockers such on the backfoot; boosting the climate movement in all its forms; and meeting with as many Victorian Labor politicians as possible...

Why the latter? 

Because Premier Dan Andrews and the Labor government will soon set Emissions Reduction Targets for 2025 and '30. 

It's the first time a state government will set short- and medium-term targets across the whole economy. And, given PM Scott Morrison's refusal to tackle the climate crisis, it's an opportunity that we can't miss. 

With climate impacts occurring much faster that predicted, the litmus test for the Andrews government is whether the Emissions Reduction Targets help keep global warming below 1.5°C.

Science-based targets will continue Victoria's renewable energy rollout and put the state on the map for the jobs-rich offshore wind industry. It will require greater investment in public transport and greater protection for forests and the natural world.  

While we've urged well over a dozen MPs to lead the drive for less than 1.5°C, we need your help to reach the rest of them.