just transition

In many parts of Queensland currently under threat from coal mining and gas extraction, the community is not waiting for government action on climate change. Instead, they are working to develop alternative pathways for future energy and food security that are not dependent upon coal. One inspiring example is evident in the Felton Valley, where the community has developed a renewable energy plan for an area which is under threat from a proposed open cut coal mine.

Six Degrees is currently developing a transition and adjustment policy program for Queensland, as part of our campaign to reduce our dependence on the coal industry.

One of the most influential reports shaping our thinking for Queensland policy was released last year by the University Of Newcastle's Centre for Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE), which looked at the economic impacts of a transition from coal-fired power generation to a renewable energy economy in the Huter Region of New South Wales.  Not only did their analysis demonstrate the feasibility of this transition - it also showed a net increase in secure and high-paying employment in the region of between 3,900 and 10,700 jobs. And this while reducing as much as 50% of the state's entire domestic emissions. 

On Sunday, 21st June, the Brisbane Transition Hub will present a workshop with renowned economist and entreprenuer Michael Shuman on The Local Opportunity: Building Resilient Businesses and Local Living Economies. If you are interested in positive and viable ways to build stronger businesses and communities in the changing economic, environmental and global context, then this workshop is for you.

Resource abundance in Australia is often presented as an asset, waiting to be exploited. Reflecting this, the recent resource boom is unquestioned – in fact celebrated – as a great windfall for the Australian people. But how far should it be welcomed? In the context of accelerated climate change, and a continuing rural crisis in Australia, it is salutary to be reminded of what Sheik Ahmed Yamani, long-time Oil Minister of Saudi Arabia, said in regard to their major resource asset: "All in all, I wish we had discovered water."