Everyday Australians see the solutions to climate change

By ACF

March 30^th, 2022

When a coal miner stands up and says “we need climate action”, it’s clear the demand for change is far bigger than within the green walls of the environment movement.

Grant Howard has been a miner in the coal industry for 40 years.

His story was recently shared across media outlets in his home state of Queensland along with Australia’s biggest climate poll showing that people’s top priority solution for greater action on climate change this decade is to replace coal and gas power with renewable energy and battery storage.

Everyday Australians see the solutions to climate change

“About three years ago, I sort of woke up. I understood we have severely impacted our climate, and we need to do something about it,” says Grant, who is based near Mackay in Queensland.

“I live in a place where coal mining is a big part of our community, and a significant industry for us.

“But my view on climate change is quite simple: we've damaged our climate by unearthing fossil fuel (coal and gas) and burning it, and by destroying natural carbon sinks like forests and other ecosystems.”

Grant isn't the only mine worker who feels this way. But not everyone is comfortable speaking out and not everyone is clear on how they can move forward.

Grant emphasises that, as Australia moves away from polluting coal and gas and into renewable energy, genuinely engaging more mine workers means bringing the mining community along on the journey too.

“The best thing we can do is be honest with mine workers and, at the moment, we're not,” says Grant.

Too many voices to ignore

Grant is just one of tens of thousands of everyday Australians who are calling for climate solutions to be a top priority.

Farmers, teachers, kids, parents, businesses, sport lovers, health workers, surfers, gardeners, grandparents … everyday people right across this country are ready to get behind the climate change solutions we have ready to go.

For Nuria Jadai, a Martu/Mangala woman from the Kimberly region of Western Australia, the land her people have been caring for thousands of years is now under threat because of the impact of polluting coal and gas.

Nuria lives part time between Broome and her hometown of Bidyadanga and she says all of the Country on which she lives, travels and works is feeling the effects of climate change.

“It’s getting hotter, our food less and less each season. It hurts when we go out fishing and the sources of food are not there like when we were younger. People don't go out as much because it's too hot,” Nuria explains.

“With these oil and gas companies coming in … if they continue we’ll have no Country anymore and the damage is irreversible.”

We all have a story. We’re all doing our bit. Now we need our leaders to do theirs.

Australia’s biggest ever climate survey conducted over two years has shown the majority of people in every federal electorate in the country want our government to do more to stop climate damage.

But more than that, they know climate action is good for our economy and our health. They know the benefits of climate action outweigh the costs. Australians are calling for solutions that are ready now and that will cut climate pollution by more than half this decade.

Farmers feeling the heat too

Bruce Currie is a farmer from Jericho in central Queensland. He and his wife Annette run cattle on a 25,300 hectare property and their business relies almost entirely on two groundwater bores.

Their patch is remote and peaceful, and yet they also find themselves on the frontline of mining and climate damage. For more than a decade they’ve been forced to live with the uncertainty of two proposed coal ‘mega mines’ — including the Adani coal mine — and the threat they pose to the groundwater.

On top of this, it’s heating up in Queensland.

“Increased temperatures and more extreme weather events like droughts decimate our bioregion. Some plant species and beneficial insects are unable to survive,” says Bruce.

“Every farmer knows the value of biodiversity to survive as we rotate our crops and livestock.

"Biodiversity is what puts healthy food on supermarket shelves. But today's fossil fuel industry is fueling climate change, destroying farmers' water, soil, air, biodiversity and our environment."

“Addressing climate change is not only good for farmers' businesses, it is essential for our survival,” he says.

“I believe we can and should focus on reducing emissions this decade. We can turn this liability into an asset — action that needs to be taken to stop climate change will profit and benefit agriculture and society.”

The solutions are here and ready

Done right, we can all share the benefits of climate solutions — cleaner air and water. Affordable, reliable cleaner energy. Jobs in growing industries. And we can protect the people and places we love.

But our leaders are not taking climate action seriously so we’re missing out. A responsible government will ramp up clean energy and nature solutions for a safer healthier future for all of us.

Together, we can protect the people and places we love from climate change. People across Australia want real action from our government to cut climate pollution. If we speak up together they will listen.