Enviro Collective forum calls for publicly-owned renewable energy in lead up to climate strike

Zara Zadro reports.

USyd Enviro Collective’s Tuesday afternoon forum welcomed guest speakers David Shoebridge and Penny Howard ahead of the SGM on April 28 and National Climate Strike on May 21. 

Collective member Angus Dermody opened the forum by addressing the crowd of around 70 gathered on the new law lawns. 

“[This forum] calls for 100% publicly-owned renewable energy and a just transition for vulnerable energy workers, as well as no new coal or gas projects. This stands in direct opposition to the gas-fired recovery plan, which would see the devastating expansion of Australia’s gas industry,” said Dermody.

The forum was held in light of the coalition’s recently- announced plans for a gas-fired power station in Kurri Kurri and Santos’ Narrabri gas project. 

Guest speaker Greens MP David Shoebridge addressed the need for a just transition to publicly owned renewables. 

“It makes environment sense, it makes social sense, and it makes economic sense to have [renewable energy] 100% publicly-owned,” he said.

Shoebridge also addressed how policies to expand the Upper Hunter’s coal industry to 2050 and increase coal in the area are being taken into its state by-election, which will occur in late May. 

According to Shoebridge, coal-dependent local communities are increasingly supportive of the move away from coal but require a plan for a just employment transition.

“When the coal industry ends, and it will end… that community, the Hunter, the Upper Hunter, parts of the Illawarra, are going to be left with huge holes in the ground, no future, no training, no jobs, no diversified economy.”

A new policy was announced by the Greens on Monday proposing 20% of all coal royalties that will be produced across NSW in the next 10 years be put into an environment and community trust fund, in order to start reinvesting back into those communities to diversify their economy. 

Shoebridge also emphasised the need to “change the language” surrounding the move to renewable energy for workers.

“People think of transition as being ‘discarded’. So we are increasingly talking about economic diversity and finding a post-coal future,” he said.

Penny Howard spoke on current issues in the construction of renewables by private companies, and alternative models for development. Howard works with the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) as a Research Officer to develop proposals on how to achieve a just transition to 100% renewable energy that is publicly-built and owned. 

Howard explained the need for a publicly-owned renewable energies sector to protect the livelihoods of workers. She indicated that the fast construction process, poor working conditions and limited long-term job prospects for workers in the renewable energy sector may make it extremely difficult for them to unionise, or for fossil fuel workers to see a reliable job transition to renewable energy. Currently, most jobs in the sector are in the construction stage, with only a few workers left afterwards for maintenance of the station.

Additionally, Howard highlighted that privately-owned renewable energy projects make it difficult to plan and build energy sources that serve the needs of populations and their environments.

“Public investment could make [these projects] happen faster, could make sure we have good quality jobs, and that [the projects] actually happen.”

“Because we don’t know if these private investors… are actually going to end up putting their money here, or if they’re going to decide there’s a project somewhere else in the world that will give a better return on investment for them. Especially if those pesky Australian workers start having campaigns about the wages they should be paid,” said Howard.

Enviro Collective Convenor Lauren Lancaster contextualised the forum, making reference to the university’s inherent hypocrisy in promoting the USU’s ‘Enviro Week’ while supporting fossil fuels on a large scale. 

“The reality is that in 2018, the University of Sydney still had millions and millions of dollars invested into coal and gas,” she said. “I think we need to move beyond the edible plates and [efforts to] stop using single-use plastics, to really consider what this place as an institution… is going to do materially in our future.”

Lancaster concluded the forum by promoting the Enviro Collective’s Student General Meeting (SGM) on April 28th. The ‘historic’  SGM will be the first since 2007, and the only in the SRC’s history to focus on environmental demands. 

The SGM aims to support the upcoming National Climate Strike on May 21 organised by School Strike 4 Climate. The meeting requires 200 undergraduate attendees to reach quorum and will hold a vote to call on Interim Vice-Chancellor Stephen Garton to commit to a position of no penalty for striking staff and students.