CAFNEC continues to campaign for greater action on climate change, but we also know that communities need help now. That’s why we have teamed up with Regional Conservation Groups across Queensland to call for all sides of politics to commit to greater protection of Queenslanders. As the Queensland State election approaches, we have a critical window to push for real action to protect Queenslanders and help us adapt. We need to secure bipartisan commitment to two key priorities:

1. A business case for QHeat2050 to address the increasing heat risks.

2. Resources to improve mapping that integrates riverine flooding, coastal hazards, and nature-based solutions, alongside better science for QCoast2100.

 

You have the power to influence this. Take Action and write to decision makers today!

Want more detail about this campaign? Read more here: https://cafnec.org.au/heat-and-hazards-keeping-queenslanders-safe/

Summer 2023 was devastating for Far North Queensland communities. Over the last 6 months CAFNEC has been working with flood impacted communities to understand the impacts of the floods associated with Tropical Cyclone Jasper and what they think would have helped better prepare and protect them from the natural disaster. We launched the report in September, and it also has important actions to protect Queenslanders. Read the Report here. 

You have the power to influence this. Take Action and write to decision makers today!

We share this post as we watch devastating floods occur across the world, and particularly in Florida. Our communities are still reeling from the floods here in FNQ and as we enter into a new storm season, some of our community still haven’t recovered. This is not a time for in action. We need your voice to better protect communities for climate change. Take Action and write to decision makers today!

Location: Cairns Institute, JCU, Smithfield , 29th February, 530pm for a 6pm sharp start.

This forum is a unique opportunity for you to engage with the mayoral candidates for Cairns Regional Council who are vying to lead the Cairns Region.

We know that climate change impacts are increasingly affecting our communities; fire, floods, coastal erosion and heatwaves are something we have all experienced or seen impact our communities. CAFNEC is hosting this event to provide a platform for the candidates to share their visions, strategies, and plans to uplift and empower those most impacted by climate change, and how to look after the environment in the meantime.  

While tree planting alone cannot curb atmospheric CO2 levels and the climate crisis, planting and offset schemes remain an important component of energy transition in Australia.

Revegetation and restoration of degraded sites, improving not only their carbon capture but also their ecological value, is one of the project types undertaken by environmental services provider CO2 Australia.

CAFNEC’s FNQ Climate Action Newsletter (November Edition) features an interview with Propagation Coordinator and representative of CO2 Australia, Vanessa Oxley. Read on to learn about Vanessa and her work in the carbon capture space.

To hear more stories of climate action in FNQ – the good, the bad, and what you can do about it – subscribe to CAFNEC’s FNQ Climate Action Newsletter, released every second month. 

Vanessa Oxley, Propagation Coordinator, CO2 Australia

Vanessa has over 25 years’ experience in natural area management and seedling propagation, and in the last 7 years has revegetated almost 3000 ha with more than 3 million seedlings across VIC, NSW and QLD. She engages with clients, First Nations people and groups, nurseries, landholders, contractors and community members for successful project delivery for all stakeholders. Vanessa is Chair of CO2 Australia’s RAP Committee.

 — Begin transcript —

J: Thanks for making time for me today. To start off, can you tell me a little about your background and why you’re passionate about climate action?

V: I grew up in the Great Western Woodlands, in Western Australia. It’s the largest temperate woodland on the planet and the flora and fauna there, the eucalyptus trees and wildflowers, it’s absolutely mind-blowing. When I left the area and started working across Australia, I started to see for the first time the impacts of land clearing and drought on our landscapes. It was obvious to me that we need to plant back our forests at a large scale.
So, I studied horticulture and conservation and land management. I worked in mine site rehabilitation, which doesn’t always involve tree planting, and then I started working with CO2 Australia in carbon farming. My position as Propagation Coordinator is to ensure our relationships with landowners, local botanists and ecologists, seed collectors and nurseries gives us the nicest seedlings and greatest diversity best suited to the project.
This work has given me the opportunity to contribute to what I love: restoring degraded landscapes, all the way through to the final stages of rehabilitation and restoration, and looking after plantings that are going to be cared for long-term.

J: Sounds very inspiring. And there are some similarities there with the Wet Tropics – our ancient rainforests are designated the second most irreplaceable World Heritage Area on the planet, and that’s not all – they also protect the quality of the water flowing to our World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef.

V: Yes – it’s incredible to be working in the Wet Tropics, another amazing and biodiverse Australian landscape. The region here is absolutely ideal for certain carbon capture initiatives because of the rich, dense, fast-growing forests.

J: So can you give us some background on CO2 Australia?

V: Yes – CO2 Australia is a leading environmental services company offering projects including carbon offsetting. We are a diverse organisation with skilled and passionate people, from our ecologist teams that perform site assessment and monitoring, to our carbon team that does calculations and projections of carbon storage, and more!
I first learnt of carbon offsetting and sequestration when I was employed with CO2 Australia in 2015. The Clean Energy Regulator (CER) started as a statutory authority in 2012, and one of the CER schemes is the Emissions Reduction Fund which offers landholders, communities, and business the opportunity to be involved in projects to reduce and remove atmospheric carbon dioxide. In the case of CO2 Australia in FNQ, it is via vegetation and environmental plantings.

J: So it’s beneficial to many different sectors of the community.

V: Yes, the model was developed because of drought and other climate change impacts affecting landholders and their long-term prospects. The carbon capture projects and associated projects offer opportunities to diversify revenue streams.

J: How does the process work – in simple terms?

V: First our teams work with landowners, stakeholders and local commerce to identify a project to reduce emissions. We put a lot of work into developing a project proposal and plan, which is then registered with the CER. After this CO2 delivers the project, and continues to monitor and report on the maturation of the project. In accordance with the project plan, after a certain time and certain targets are reached, the next step is to claim Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCU) for the project to either hold or sell the ACCUs.

J: Tell us a little about some of the CO2 projects currently happening here in Far North Queensland.

V: FNQ has awesome potential for ACCU generation. These dense forests with large, fast-growing tree species are a natural fit for carbon capture plantings. To initially propose a site, our teams work with landowners, stakeholders and local business to identify a project that will reduce emissions. Then the project is registered with the Clean Energy Regulator, and CO2 delivers the project, monitors and reports on outcomes, and finally the ACCUs for the project can be held or sold. So just one of our FNQ projects right now covers about 50 hectares and approximately 100,000 rainforest trees representing a mix of species will be planted at that site. There’s a period of several years for the trees to establish, and then within about 10 years many of the trees (depending upon species) will reach maturity. But they’ll be providing habitat, food and shelter for wildlife earlier than that – some of them almost as soon as they go into the ground.

J: What sorts of trees are being planted?

V: That depends upon the site. We have a team of ecologists that will assess a site before drafting the project proposal. Part of that is to look at the land use history, and what work will be required to get the site to what we call “planting ready” – it can be extensive, because we put a lot of work into making sure our young trees succeed. Our biodiversity team looks at the regional ecosystems in the area, soil type, and other environmetnal factors, and through that biocondition assessment we come up with our regional ecosystem benchmarks and our species list, in collaboration with the Queensland Herbarium. We work with several different regional ecosystem types up here in FNQ – from rainforest, wetland woodland to dryland sclerophyll forest. The end goal for environmental plantings is to return the site to pre-clearing conditions, though other types of plantings can have different goals. All our environmental plantings are monitored by our biodiversity team, and reported on according to the Accounting for Nature® framework and the Native Vegetation Econd® methodology for assessing native wooded ecosystem condition.

J: Wow – the process sounds very involved. And I didn’t realise the projects are happening across a diversity of land tenures.

V: We plan and deliver our environmental projects on a case-by-case basis because no two sites are the same. For example, we have two projects happening in FNQ right now that are situated on cane farms that are no longer economically viable due to industry changes. Other sites we’ve selected complement dairy and cattle farming, providing shelter belts and shade to benefit those operations in addition to carbon capture.

J: So there are benefits way beyond the carbon sequestration side of it.

V: Yes – carbon offsetting can have many benefits for biodiversity. Tree plantings provide habitat for wildlife, shade which reduces temperatures in the surrounding area, wildlife corridors, soil retention and improving waterway health with benefits also flowing to the Great Barrier Reef. And there are the benefits to agribusiness, such as timber harvest for sustainable native timber, after the 25-year carbon sequestration period, for certain plantings. Other benefits can include beekeeping, and improved conditions for stock such as cattle (once the trees are mature).

J: How do CO2’s projects compare to other local tree planting projects?

V: I don’t think we need to compare – rather we complement each other, to give more opportunities to landowners.

J: So imagine someone is reading your story and feeling inspired to get involved in climate action… what advice would you give them?

V: This planet we are privileged to live on is beautiful, rugged, but so fragile, and we just need to care for it.
My advice is to not be intimidated and just give it a go. You don’t have to be into planting trees – there are many ways to be involved in protecting the environment. It’s about soil, atmosphere, plastic, waste, water, and so much more. You don’t have to love plants to make a difference.
And one more thing – don’t be discouraged. At CO2 we have a wonderful team that sees environmental plantings as a creative process. Years ago people would call us idiots and say that what we’re trying to do, it’s not possible. Well, it is. You just need skilled, passionate people, the involvement of local community, and it’s very achievable.

J: Last question… what’s your favorite tree species that you have worked with?

V: This is the hardest question! Well… the rainforest in the Far North is so biodiverse, and full of incredible plants, it’s impossible to pick just one. But I have to go back to my roots, in Western Australia, and say Banksia. They are an amazing plant, one of the oldest lineages. I also love Wooly Bush but that’s not a tree. And all the eucalypts!

J: Thanks so much for your time Vanessa, and I’m looking forward to catching up with you as those CO2 projects grow and mature over the coming years!

— End transcript —

To hear more stories of climate action in FNQ – the good, the bad, and what you can do about it – subscribe to CAFNEC’s FNQ Climate Action Newsletter, released every second month. 

The Australian government currently has no duty of care to protect young people and future generations from climate change. This has allowed politicians and policy makers to make decisions regarding climate policy without considering how they affect future Australians. However, this may soon change…

PHOTO: Activist Anjali Sharma (left), Hana (centre), and Senator David Pocock (right) at Parliament House, Canberra.

For the first time, the Federal Parliament is considering a Bill to implement a duty of care to require decision makers to consider the wellbeing of current and future children when making certain decisions that are likely to contribute to climate change, including decisions that will increase scope one, two, or three emissions. The Bill builds on the case of Sharma v Minister for the Environment, which was a legal challenge by brave Australian children who argued that all young Australians are owed a duty to take reasonable care to protect them from climate change harm. Read more about their story here.

The Climate Change Amendment (Duty of Care and Intergenerational Equity) Bill 2023 imposes a statutory duty on decision makers:

1. To consider the likely impact of decisions that could harm the climate on the health and wellbeing of current and future children as the paramount consideration; and

2. Not to make a decision that could harm the climate if the decision poses a material risk of harm to the health and wellbeing of current and future children in Australia. 

The Senate Committee on Environment and Communications is accepting public submissions on the Climate Change Amendment (Duty of Care and Intergenerational Climate Equity) Bill 2023 until 23 November 2023.

Make A Submission

We have a chance to make our voices heard on this important Bill by making submissions to the inquiry. The Duty of Care team has prepared a How-To Guide for submissions, which can provides details on how the Bill would work, how to structure your submission, and some key points to include. It’s very important that the Committee hears from young people on this issue, so encourage the young people in your life to use these resources to write a submission too. 

Make Your Submission

ONLINE: Lodge your submission by uploading to My Parliament – link below. If this is your first time submitting online to an inquiry, you will need to create a My Parliament log in.

EMAIL: You can make a submission by sending an email to ec.sen@nullaph.gov.au. 

Submission Writing Workshop – Online

The Duty of Care Team has organised Youth Writeshops to help young people under the age of 25 write submissions for the Duty of Care Bill. Find and register for these events here. 

CAFNEC and Parents 4 Climate co-hosted an online workshop for all ages, which included an explainer on the Bill from Duty of Care team member Jess, and a how-to guide for writing submissions. 

Parents for Climate (P4C) are urging parents, grandparents, carers and family members to sign a petition calling on Federal Parliamentarians to support the Climate Change Amendment (Duty of Care and Intergenerational Equity) Bill 2023. Support this initiative by signing their petition here. 

Our way of life in Far North Queensland is special, living side-by-side with the oldest living tropical rainforest, and the stunning Great Barrier Reef. The natural environment that surrounds us is such a big part of our everyday experience. The places we love to see, and the activities we love to do. But the future of our climate, and our way of life hangs in the balance. You can be a part of changing our future.

We all have a choice. The pandemic has shown us how rapidly we can adjust our way of life. This year CAFNEC has big ambitions! We are looking beyond the election cycle and taking long-term action. We are wanting to change the status quo, and inspire and accelerate transformative changes to our climate and our way of life.

When: 7pm-8:30pm Tuesday 27th April

Where: Machans Beach Community Hall (82 Tucker Street, Machans Hall) 

Arrive 6:45pm for refreshments

Come along to discover opportunities to take action with like-minded people, and make our climate the top issue in our community.

It’s going to take all of us to secure the action we need to protect our climate and our way of life. The earth’s surface temperature is now at one degree celsius above pre-industrial levels. Everything is changing tremendously! In Far North Queensland alone, our region is experiencing a diverse range of extreme weather conditions, from floods and cyclones to drought and fires. Our way of life here in Far North Queensland is not the same as it used to be. We have so much to lose – our ecosystems, cities, towns, human wellbeing, medicines, agriculture and economy – just to name a few. 

Politicians are sitting idle but together we can combat this lack of action. Find out how you can have powerful conversations with friends, neighbours and community members about action for our climate and our way of life by joining the campaign.

We all have a responsibility to step up. We need our Far North Qld community to turn up, turn out and get LOUD. We want feet on the ground: door knocking, listening, sharing, acting for a safer climate. 

RSVP to the Our Climate, Our Way of Life Launch today to find out how you can get involved!

Hope to see you there. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email Liz at intern1@nullcafnec.org.au

Our way of life in Far North Queensland is special, living side-by-side with the oldest living tropical rainforest, and the stunning Great Barrier Reef. The natural environment that surrounds us is such a big part of our everyday experience. The places we love to see, and the activities we love to do.

We know that communities across Far North Queensland are feeling the impacts of a changing climate, here and now. Our homes vulnerable to flooding, our work more and more uncertain, and our beautiful beaches being swept away. 

This year we want to hear from you. We want to know your experiences of living in Far North Queensland. To understand the challenges and the changes you have seen to our way of life.

This year we are stepping into our neighbourhoods talking to, and bringing together our community; hearing and learning from you, how we can all make sure our way of life remains better for ourselves, our communities, and our unique natural environment.