Back

Climate leaders & everyday heroes call for 'ambitious' government action

Better Futures Australia

Media are invited to the third Better Futures Forum
10-11 September: National Film and Sound Archive, Canberra

Hear how communities are acting faster, from the ground up, demonstrating greater climate ambition than the Australian government.

●       Australians are world champions in adopting rooftop solar. Our technology is used in most of the world’s solar cells – now we’re developing cheaper, safer solar and battery technologies.

●       We’re learning to sustainably mine the critical minerals needed for energy transformation.

●       Farmers are increasing sheep and wool production under solar farms.

●       We’re creating clean energy export opportunities.

●        And local councils across Australia are leading the charge to net zero by 2030.

●       Together, climate leaders and community innovators are driving a climate resilient future.

But we’re being held back…

●       It is time for the Australian government to lead, adopting climate targets and policies to mirror this ambition and catch up with community/grassroots action.

●      Australia’s Net Zero Plan is too slow. Timid targets and an over-reliance on large, centralised solutions risk sidelining the very communities at the forefront of the climate transition.

●      Too many Australians are also being left behind, from First Nations people to CALD communities (including migrants); renters; the elderly; and 3.7 million Australians who live below the poverty line.

●      The Better Futures Australia alliance is coming together to call for decisive action. To see the government lead with policies that match the pace of climate groups, community organisations and everyday heroes across the country.

The Better Futures Forum will gather hundreds of leaders from every sector – including First Nations-led organisations, finance and faith communities, cities and states, businesses large and small, agriculture, resources and energy sectors, health and social services, unions, think tanks, charities, and higher education. The Better Futures Australia alliance’s strength lies in this diversity, united in our determination to rise to the challenges and opportunities climate change presents.

We’ll be releasing reports on community energy, export energy, local government and more.

We’ll have 80+ diverse speakers, sharing insights on local and scalable solutions. Scientists, doctors, mayors and ministers, union leaders, social service workers, ‘rewilding’ architects, economists and social ecologists, a mining executive-turned climate change activist, Pacific nations climate champions, a museum curator, AFL football star, ‘climate’ actuary, and more…

We’ll hear from leaders who are working at scale across the national landscape. And from everyday Australians who are driving climate action one ‘conduction’ cooking class, factory or farm at a time.

All with the aim of reaching net zero faster, creating new industries and jobs, and saving all of us from the cataclysmic risks of climate change.

Forum Highlights include

●        Repowering Households and Communities

●        Nature Conservation and Land Use in Climate Strategy

●        A new approach to the rollout of renewables in our regions

●        Scale, Speed, and Solidarity - policy and investment strategy for a just transition

●        Green metals: Jobs and Justice - crafting an inclusive & clean economy

●        Climate Safe and Climate Ready Communities

●        Australia’s Sector Pathways to Paris

●        Planetary Health Equity

●        The Wellbeing Economy (for people and planet)

●        Zero-Carbon Energy for Asia-Pacific

●        Unlocking public engagement via ‘Action for Climate Empowerment’ at COPs

●        Australia’s Role in Co-hosting COP31: Partnering with our Pacific Neighbours

●        Greater ambition on the path to net zero

Lisa Cliff, Director of Better Futures Australia program says: “Across Australia, businesses, councils, and communities are stepping up to the challenge, creating resilient, low-carbon communities and industries of the future. The Better Futures Forum is all about raising the voices of Australians who understand their future survival, livelihood and prosperity depend on the government setting ambitious and forward-looking climate policies, so nobody is left behind.”

Speakers include: 

●        Climate Change Authority Chair, Matt Kean

●        Paris Agreement architect, Laurence Tubiana 

●        ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr 

●        Pastor Ray Minniecon, Indigenous Peoples’ Organisation (IPO) Australia

●        Natalie Unterstell, president of Brazil’s climate policy think tank, the Talanoa Institute

●        Michele O’Neil, ACTU president

●        Dr Brendan French, Energy Consumers Australia CEO

●        Reece Whitby, WA Minister for Energy, Environment, Climate Action

Full list of speakers at https://www.betterfutures.org.au/full_lineup_2024 and program at https://www.betterfutures.org.au/full_program_2024

 

Contact details:

For more information and media accreditation contact: Shelley Thomas 0416-377-444, shelley@scienceinpublic.com.au or Niall Byrne 0417-131-977, niall@scienceinpublic.com.au