Safe Climate Transition Plan To Be Developed For Australia

Safe Climate Transition Plan to be developed for Australia

Nobel prize-winner Al Gore will be the keynote speaker at an event launching the development of a bold transition plan for Australia to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Mr Gore will help launch Safe Climate Australia to 1,000 of Australia's key stakeholders at an invitation-only breakfast on Monday July 13 in Melbourne.

Safe Climate Australia is a non-profit, non-partisan organisation dedicated to planning the transition to a net-zero carbon economy, and has been formed by a group of concerned climate scientists, community and business leaders with a shared understanding of the need for emergency action to restore a safe climate.


Attendees to the breakfast briefing have been invited according to their capacity to help influence the economic and political transition to safe levels of greenhouse gas emissions. Guests will include representatives from all tiers of government, industry, finance and investment, the science and innovation sector, the community and not-for-profit sector, unions and employer groups.

The event will be hosted by VicSuper in conjunction with Safe Climate Australia.

Safe Climate Australia Chief Executive, Brendan Condon said: "There is no more time for talk. We are past the point of awareness campaigns and education. We need to move quickly to a solutions-based approach working openly and in partnership with all elements of the community and government to ensure Australia's prosperity."

"We've established Safe Climate Australia because our planet is on a precipice beyond which human actions may no longer be able to control the trajectory of the climate system, or the fate of human life in a rapidly degrading natural world. As the developed nation most vulnerable to damage from global warming, Australia has compelling environmental, security, economic and moral imperatives for decisive action. It's literally now or never."

Safe Climate Australia's first task is synthesise a range of existing scientific research to determine what climate conditions are essential to maintenance of critical ecosystems, water and agriculture, and to support a healthy, biodiverse planet. The second task is to prepare a blueprint for Australia's transition to zero carbon covering all major sectors of the Australian economy, including energy, transport, agriculture and forestry, industry, the built environment and community services. This body of work is expected to be accomplished within two years.


Safe Climate Australia will have open, transparent and accountable governance and will freely share and disseminate findings across government, industry and the community in order to lead Australia to safe climate levels in the shortest possible timeframe.

Further information, contact Richard Hayward: 0414 632 979 or go to www.safeclimateaustralia.org


Background: About Safe Climate Australia

Safe Climate Australia aims to mobilise Australia's extensive technological, economic and political expertise and resources in planning the transition of the Australian economy to zero carbon, the sequestering of existing carbon from the atmosphere and in assisting the building of a global consensus for restoring a safe climate.

These actions will include:

Identify and disseminate the most up-to-date and credible scientific
evidence of the urgent need for emergency responses to restore a safe
climate through reducing atmospheric carbon pollution.

Identify the key research priorities, gaps and tasks needed to
produce an all-sector plan for transitioning to a zero-carbon economy
at emergency speed. This will include investment priorities and
actions for all sectors of the Australian economy including energy,
transport, agriculture, forestry, manufacturing, housing, health and
education. This work will also include identifying the investment and
production targets, labour market and social programs, and policy
implementation mechanisms needed to achieve a zero-carbon economy.

Model the economic, social and environmental costs and benefits of
the most promising strategies for transitioning the Australian
economy to zero carbon and for implementing large-scale sequestration
of existing atmospheric carbon.

Examine the social, psychological, organisational and political
obstacles and accelerants to this process, to determine the optimal
approach to achieving the transition.

Produce, circulate and seek broad feedback on an integrated draft
Australian Safe Climate Transition Plan.
Work to achieve broad and strong support for the rapid implementation
of the Australian Safe Climate Transition Plan.

SCA has been formed and is governed by a group of concerned scientists, community and business leaders with a shared view about the scientific and moral imperative for emergency action to restore a safe climate.

Safe Climate Australia will have open, transparent and accountable governance, and will freely share and disseminate findings across government, industry and the community.


SOURCE: Safe Climate