Let’s repower Mackay with clean energy!
The Great Barrier Reef and our climate are in crisis. Rising carbon pollution from coal, oil and gas are fuelling climate change which is leading to more extreme weather events -- from super storms and floods, to bushfires and extreme heat. August was the hottest month on record, and marks the 11th record setting month in a row. Our Pacific island neighbours are already facing sea level rise and salt-water intrusion which is threatening livelihoods and culture. This year, the largest coral bleaching event in history, caused by global warming decimated the Great Barrier Reef. Almost one quarter of the reef did not recover.
To avoid the worst effects of global warming we must plan for a rapid phase out of coal and gas fired power and its replacement with renewable sources, like solar and wind. Investment in renewable energy will create thousands of long-term sustainable jobs across the region and will help safeguard precious icons like the Great Barrier Reef for future generations.
Mackay can play a leading role in the transition to clean energy. Click here to join our team and help make Mackay 100% clean energy
Queensland has a natural renewable energy advantage including some of the world’s best solar resources, and yet we are falling behind other states and countries with only 4% of our state’s energy needs coming from renewable resources like solar and wind. We are missing out on the clean energy jobs boom that is happening across the globe as economies move away from fossil fuels.
Queenslanders have embraced this enormous resource and the result is one of the highest levels of solar PV penetration rates in the world. Almost 30% of households in Queensland have rooftop solar PV installed—a massive 473,000 installations. A clean energy transition is underway in Queensland but so far it is mainly being driven by households. What’s needed is much stronger government support to drive the transition at a larger scale.
The Queensland Government has taken some positive first steps by establishing a Renewable Energy Expert Panel to establish a credible pathway for achieving 50% renewable energy by 2030 and committing to increasing the number of households and businesses with solar panels to 1,000,000 by 2020.
However, there is no detailed plan for Queensland to achieve the renewable energy target, nor to retire our aging coal and gas fired power stations and replace them with clean energy.
Here in Mackay we are building a broad, diverse and powerful network of individuals, businesses, organisations and communities that support an urgent transition to clean energy to ensure the Queensland Government implements concrete steps to meet the renewable energy target.
Click here to join our team and help make Mackay 100% clean energy
