On Saturday 28 November 2015, more than 400 people took part in the Cairns People’s Climate March.

The event attracted excellent media coverage (radio, print and TV) and was mentioned in Queensland Parliament by Rob Pyne MP.

Many beautiful photos from the day have been shared around Australia by hundreds of people on social media.

Families, activists, Labor members, Greens, union delegates, academics, Torres Strait Islanders… people from all walks of life came out on what turned out to be a very hot morning: a sign of climate changes to come. We were welcomed to Gimuy Walubarra Yidinji Country by Gudju Gudju with a moving speech. A sea of people in colourful shirts filled the Esplanade, representing all the many reasons to march (for renewable energy solutions, for solidarity with those on the front lines of climate dangers, for health and science, for biodiversity and so on). Hundreds of creative hand-painted banners decorated the event, sharing messages about what we all want to preserve – our one earth – and overcome – dangerous climate change.

UN Paris climate talks – the global policy context

The reason for this event was to show our political leaders that people all around Australia and the world want strong action to reduce greenhouse emissions. The UN Paris Climate talks (21st Conference of the Parties, or COP21) commenced straight after the People’s Climate Marches set the scene with 600,000 people out in the streets all over the world.

Now the Paris talks have concluded, environment movement and civil society responses vary. There is optimism that for the first time in history, the majority of world leaders have agreed to set binding targets: the Paris Agreement aims to achieve no more than 2 degree global temperature rise (or even 1.5 degrees in a new aspirational target), and now needs 55 countries, producing minimum 55% of the world’s greenhouse emissions to ratify it. For a range of optimistic world leaders’ tweets see the official COP21 website; for summary and analysis see The Conversation and ACF). There is also pessimism that the Paris Agreement doesn’t offer enough (see summary here), that “as long as fossil fuels appear to be the cheapest fuels out there, they will be continued to be burned” (James Hansen), and concern around issues of equity between developed and developing countries (including Indigenous peoples) each carrying their fair share of climate responsibility (see here, and here).

Learn more

Want the latest climate change science? Download the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) fifth Climate Change synthesis report.

Cairns event wrap up

A big thank you to our excellent guest speakers: Indigenous local custodian Gudju Gudju; Senator Jan McLucas; Member for Cairns Rob Pyne MP; Cairns Mayoral Candidate Jim Brooks for Connect Cairns; Greens FNQ spokesperson Brynn Matthews; academic and former resident of the Pacific Islands, David Tibbetts, and Fiona Ryan and Nina Bailey from CAFNEC and CCAN.

A huge thanks also to the team organising and hosting the Cairns People’s Climate March: CAFNEC Community Engagement Officer Nina Bailey, MC members Sarah and Roz, and the original and the new members of Cairns Climate Action Network (CCAN), particularly Fiona, Edith, Graeme, Lisa, Carmel, Ashley, Jonathan, Anthony and to Andy Mack for MC’ing the event.

More photos are on CAFNEC Facebook album, CCAN Facebook and the event Facebook page.

The post Cairns People’s Climate March appeared first on CAFNEC.

On 13 August CAFNEC hosted Julien Vincent from Market Forces promoting their new report ‘Fuelling the Fire’. Market Forces are an affiliate of Friends of the Earth Melbourne, and are doing great things to highlight the complex links between our everyday finances, big business and climate change. Our event was at our friends the Flying Monkey Café and included talks from Josh Coates and Nina Bailey from CAFNEC and Andy Mac from Cairns Climate Action Network on our local responses to climate change and marine protection. Stay tuned for the September edition of EcoTone for a full wrap up and discussion of the issues of divestment, the shaky future of the coal industry and the recent events associated with the Carmichael and Adani coal mine projects.

The post ‘Coal is tanking’ – Market Forces on the future of fossil fuels & the Reef appeared first on CAFNEC.

The investments our big banks make in fossil fuel (coal and gas) projects have a direct impact on the health of our environment; locally this includes threats to the Great Barrier Reef.

Market Forces is a new research and public education initiative which highlights the link between corporate investments, the fossil fuel industries and the environment.

Join CAFNEC, Julien Vincent from Market Forces, the Cairns Climate Action Network (CCAN) and The CAFNEC Marine Response Team for a discussion on fossil fuels, the Reef and the new movement of Divestment: removing your money from polluting banks and investment funds.

• 13 August 2015, 6-8pm
• Flying Monkey Café, 154 Sheridan St Cairns
• Hosted by Cairns and Far North Environment Centre
• Entry is FREE for CAFNEC members and by donation for others.
  Please RSVP to community [at] cafnec.org.au
• Food and drink available for purchase at Flying Monkey Café

Fossil Fuels, saving the Reef and Divestment:

Market Forces has just released a report, Fueling the Fire, which names the biggest lenders to the fossil fuel industry in Australia. Julien Vincent will focus on the key findings of the report and show how we are all, through our bank accounts, super, taxes and elsewhere, financially connected to the fossil fuel industry. More importantly, the talk will explore the many ways we can use our money as a force for good and shift investments away from dirty fossil fuels to drive the clean, renewable energy revolution we urgently need.

Our speakers and Q&A panel:

Julien Vincent runs Market Forces, a Friends of the Earth affiliate working to direct finance and investment away from environmentally destructive projects and into those that protect and enhance the environment.

Prior to Market Forces, Julien worked with Greenpeace both in Australia and internationally as a part of their climate and energy campaign team and has been an environmental campaigner and activist for about a decade. 

www.marketforces.org.au

Josh Coates, Director of CAFNEC

Nina Bailey, CAFNEC’s new Community Engagement Officer 

Members of Cains Climate Action Network (CCAN)

Please join and promote our Facebook event page.

The post Fossil Fuel Investments and saving the Reef appeared first on CAFNEC.

CCAN solar BBQ 2013

When: Sat 11th july, 11am – 1pm

Where: BBQ lorikeet, near the Lagoon, Cairns Esplanade

Please join us for lunch, and to support the ‘Solar Shindig’ national action calling on Australia’s politicians and community to Stand Up For Solar. Local solar companies have been invited to display solar products and answer questions about solar.

Please register your attendance and share the invite with your friends on our facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/480934245398128/

Read more about the Stand Up For Solar Campaign and Solar Shindig week of action (yes we know we are a week early) here: http://www.standupforsolar.org.au/shindig

You can also rsvp on the Stand Up For Solar website: http://www.standupforsolar.org.au/ccan/cairns_stand_up_for_solar_bbq

BBQ Lorikeet at the Lagoon is right next to the Lagoon Pool and Market Stalls.

http://www.cairns.qld.gov.au/esplanade/venue-hire/locations/bbqs/lorikeet

The post Stand Up For Solar BBQ Shindig! appeared first on CAFNEC.

CAFNEC supports the introduction of a deposit on beverage containers like the one that has been successful in SA for many years. Reducing the amount of plastic and glass ending up in landfill and littering our land and sea environment is important to our future and putting a deposit on containers is an obvious action we can take right now.

We also support reducing the use of plastic bags and other plastic packaging, banning single use plastic bags and banning the use of microbeads. CAFNEC is part of the community advocating for change on plastic pollution and are working with local groups and national groups like the Boomerang Alliance to make this change reality in Far North Queensland.

Following recent announcements by the NSW Government that it plans to introduce a container deposit scheme CAFNEC and the Boomerang Alliance are campaigning for the scheme to be expanded to Queensland.

Stay tuned and join our mailing list via this website (right sidebar) to be part of our push to reduce plastic pollution in FNQ!

Where do you stand on the issue?

The post CAFNEC fighting plastic pollution – 85% support for container deposits appeared first on CAFNEC.

Event Details:

When: Tuesday 27th January. 12:30 – 1:30pm
Where: Salt House, Marina Point
Who: Micheal Trout MP (LNP), Rob Pyne (Labor candidate), Noel Castley-Wright (Greens candidate)
What: Introduction to the issues from CAFNEC, Short talks from candidates, Q&A. 

Free to attend. 2 for 1 bar meals available from 12 noon.

CAFNEC Marine Programs Coordinator Josh Coates said:
“We are continuing our very successful Reef hour event series with an ‘Election Special’ in the week before Queenslanders go to the polls.
The protection of the Great Barrier Reef is a crucial election issue and this event is an opportunity for candidates to clearly articulate their position on a range of issues in relation to reef protection.
We are actively encouraging Far North Queenslanders to ‘vote for the reef’ this election and as part of that we are giving the politicians the chance to outline and defend their policies.
Issues discussed will include the Cairns Port dredging proposal, the development of the Reef 2050 plan and the threat of ‘World Heritage in Danger’ listing, coastal development, land based impacts such as agricultural runoff , fisheries management, protection of vulnerable species such as dugong and turtle and the issue of climate change impact on the reef.
The reef is clearly the highest profile environmental issue this election and reef health is extra important to us in the Far North. We expect a very informative session, interesting questions and a great opportunity for the community to hear directly from the local candidates and for media to report the positions of the parties in relation to the reef and FNQ.”

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