While much of the reaction has been about the ethics of Moylan’s actions, it’s really ANZ’s investment decisions that should be in the spotlight. The truth is that ANZ is gambling. It’s gambling with the wellbeing of the people of Maules Creek, its shareholders’ money, and our future. But they say they are acting responsibly – and surely this is the biggest hoax of all.

Whitehaven’s Maules Creek Coal project would be a disaster for the local community. The project would destroy thousands of hectares of forest, wiping out threatened species. Along with other mines in the area, it will result in tonnes upon tonnes of coal dust affecting surrounding farms, affecting the health of local people and the future of Australia’s food-producing land.¹ The economic assessment of the proposed strip mine ignored the health impacts of coal dust, downplayed impacts on the climate, and neglected how the mine would affect the Leard State Forest and groundwater levels in the area.² The Maules Creek Coal Project is like other coal projects: bad for the community and bad for the climate.

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This is all well and good, but should ANZ really have to consider the environmental outcomes of every one of their loans? Well, they did promise to. ANZ is a signatory to the ‘Equator Principles’, a voluntary framework for how banks manage social and environmental issues related to their funding decisions. According to their own website³, ANZ has “committed to fund only new projects that can be developed and operated according to sound social and environmental standards.” It seems unlikely that the Maules Creek Coal project meets such standards.

ANZ also has a responsibility to their shareholders to make sound investment decisions. Here too, ANZ isn’t holding up their end of the bargain. Price volatility and the impact of extreme weather is showing coal to be a risky investment. Not only that, the project’s economic analysis misleadingly valued the project using an unrealistic exchange rate and coal prices “well above long-term averages”.⁴ Not only is financing Whitehaven Coal a violation of the Equator Principles, it is a financial risk that ANZ is taking with shareholders’ money.

This discussion about ANZ’s funding of the Maules Creek Coal Project is occurring with raging bushfires in the background. While Australians suffer the impacts of extreme weather events, ANZ is gambling: it’s gambling the wellbeing of the people of Maules Creek, it’s gambling its shareholders’ money, and it’s gambling our future. But they say they are acting responsibly. If you ask me, that’s the biggest hoax of all.

- Charlie Wood and Joel Dignam

¹http://www.kateausburn.com/2012/04/10/leard-state-forest-next-frontier-of-the-coal-industry/#.UO-O132fGdm

² http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/facts-and-fiction-from-the-mining-proponents-20130109-2cgmk.html

³ http://www.anz.com.au/about-us/corporate-responsibility/customers/responsible-business-lending/equator-principles/

⁴ See (2)

In true COP style, a final agreement was eeked out by bleery-eyed negotiators in the wee small hours of Saturday morning. Termed the “Doha Climate Gateway”, it includes a number of positive developments yet fails to provide the level of finance needed by developing countries let alone the ambition needed to avoid dangerous climate change.

Highlights include:
· Australia’s decision not to carry over unused pollution credits from the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol and an overall restriction on carry-over for all parties

· for the first time ever, the text mentions “loss and damage” compensation for developing countries. Whilst a detailed work program for this won’t be developed til next year, this is a positive step towards safeguarding those most vulnerable to climate impacts

· a commitment by parties to a second phase of the Kyoto Protocol with an overall 18% rather than 5% emissions reduction target and a review of targets scheduled for 2014

Lowlights include:
· discussion of firm commitments on finance deferred until next year with no real progress made on meeting the $100 billion by 2020 long-term finance commitment (although $6 billion has been committed for next year – mostly by EU countries)

· little progress made on the mechanisms for measuring parties’ progress towards achieving their pledge (MRV)

· overall pledges remain insufficient to avoid runaway climate change

Whilst a pathway for achieving a global agreement by 2015 was set, many commentators doubt whether it is achievable, particularly given Poland (a major blocker) will host the COP next year. With time running out to peak global emissions, the efforts of the youth climate movement in the coming year will be more important than ever.

So what did the AYCC International team achieve?
· POLICY: Basha and Max worked with other Australian NGOs to keep the pressure on the Australian Government on various policy points and helped to draft text for youth interventions. Nayuka worked with other Indigenous young people to ensure human rights was at the front of the negotiators minds.
· ACTIONS: Katie helped to organise creative actions inside the conference centre to make sure the voices of young people were being hard. Sam led the campaign for the Australia Government to disregard the hot air from the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol and head for real emissions reductions from 2013 onwards – which we won!
· MEDIA: Along with other youth NGOs, Lovisa worked hard to get the AYCC International team featured in international media including the New York Times, Al Jazeera News hour, and the Guardian.
· CAPACITY-BUILDING: As well as organising the International Conference of Youth leading up to COP18, Hayden coordinated 7 capacity-building sessions with youth from around the world, with skill-shares focusing on building grassroots groups, communicating climate change and more.

On top of all this we also met with delegates from all around the world, including New Zealand, the Maldives and Kyrgyzstan to discuss plans of how we can work together in 2013 and beyond!

Every year the AYCC International Team is getting more strategic and more effective – 2013 will be our best year yet, and we’re only getting started. Watch this space for heaps of opportunities to get involved this year!

Written by Tash and the International Team

The road trip took twelve volunteers into the belly of the beast, the metaphysical enemy of the climate and the environment. Guided by James Whelan, an activist working with the Coal Terminal Action Group (CTAG), the volunteers were confronted for the first time with the magnitude of the existing coal industry, the potential size of coal expansion, and the socio-economic disparities in local communities.

It was hard not to feel overwhelmed by the pervasiveness of coal in the Hunter. We saw monster coal ships docked and waiting to export Australia’s carbon emissions. The grass we were standing on asit overlooked existing coal terminals will no longer be there if T4 is approved. A two and a half hour drive from Newcastle is the small mining town of Muswellbrook. Flanked by major coal mines, with more developments in the pipeline, Muswellbrook will be suffocated by coal dust. The prospect of a mound of overburden towering in the horizon, only 50m off the highest peak in the Hunter was truly frightening. We listened with frustration about a local community losing the fight to hold off coal expansion at Anvil Hill, the home of a unique type of orchid.

Beach time later that day was marred by the faint glimmer of lights from distant coal ships. If T4 is approved, all existing developments would be tripled—the number of coal mines, the number of coal trains, the amount of coal exported.

Yet the energy in the room as we strategised the direction forward for AYCC’s involvement was electric. Rather than defeat us, seeing coal mines with our own eyes gave us more belief that we can stop T4. Most importantly, it gave us more motivation. With the climate rapidly approaching the tipping point – the road trip was something we needed to understand the urgency of preventing the approval of T4. It is time for action.

With a decision on T4’s approval due in April 2013 it’s vitally important to Facebook, Tweet, email and call the decision makers to tell them to put the environment and health before profits and greed:

Tim Owen – Member for Newcastle
Phone: (02) 4926 1126
Fax: (02) 4926 2134

Brad Hazzard – Planning Minister
Phone: (02) 9981 1111
Fax: (02) 9981 5059
Email: Wakehurst@parliament.nsw.gov.au
Twitter

Barry O’Farrell – Premier of NSW
Phone: (02) 9228 5239
Fax: (02) 9228 3935
Email: office@premier.nsw.gov.au
Facebook
Twitter

Written by AYCC NSW volunteer Vivien Nguyen

We are all here fighting for the same thing, yet people’s journey to get here had been immensely different and they have defied the restrictions that human society has placed upon itself and them to be here. Not only cultural restrictions, but economic ones too- most youth raised the funds themselves to be here, an inspiring fact considering the developing countries that were represented.

COY is in its 8th year, and this year it attracted more than 400 young people from 83 countries. Throughout the conference I meet some truly amazing people. I met a young girl from Palestine that defied a war in her country to be at COY/COP18 to demand change. A passionate young man from the Congo who wanted to spread the message about climate change in the African basin. Youth who recently established the Arab Youth Climate Movement.

I was further inspired during a session called “A World of Achievement”, during which participants could share their accomplishments in fighting climate change in their own countries; stories from youth around the world emerged, highlighting that we are not alone in this fight. Bill McKibben also let us know this, through a video he had addressed to us, and a visit from Christiana Figueres (Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change) gave us a peek of the face behind the UN. To finish the weekend we listened, many of us in awe, to an inspiring speech from Ali Fakhry, head of Indy Act and an inspiring political activist who played a vital role in the Arab Spring.

My personal input throughout the conference varied from day to day; I was both a participant in workshops, and ran one of my own. I was giving the privilege of sharing my knowledge on a subject I’m really passionate about: non-violent direct actions (NVDA). Though I planned my workshop in advance, there are some things you just can’t plan for- questions from participants from places such as China, the Arab region and Africa where NVDA is illegal, and how to utilize NVDA as a strategy during times of war and conflict. On reflection, I realise how lucky we are in Australia to have the freedom to protest.

On the third day of COY, I was given another amazing opportunity to contribute to the international climate movement through Doha’s first action. I put together a working group which in 18 hours planned logistics, messaging and spread the word about what would come together towards the end of the conference. And at 1pm, youth from around the world came together to create a human sign spelling out عمل which conveys the message of “act” or “work hard” in Arabic.

My time at the Conference of Youth was absolutely incredible. I met so many wonderful people, learnt so much and realised that we all united by a common agenda for a common purpose! (That being CHANGE!)

Written by Katie Higgins, AYCC International Team Actions Co-Coordinator

Last week, Climate Change Minister Greg Combet announced that Australia will sign the second phase of the Kyoto Protocol.

The Kyoto Protocol remains the only legally binding global agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

The second phase of the Protocol is a vital bridge towards a more ambitious and comprehensive global climate treaty to be implemented by 2020. It will also help to ensure that those developing nations suffering severe climate impacts continue to receive global assistance.

Australia’s announcement that it will sign Kyoto 2 is great news but there’s still work to do. Australia is expected to announce its emissions reduction target on Monday.

Previously Australia pledged an unconditional target of a 5% emission reduction on 2000 emission levels by 2020. But this bare minimum target just isn’t good enough to avoid runaway climate change.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), globally developed countries (the Annex 1 Parties to the UNFCCC), including Australia, must collectively reduce their emissions by 25% to 40% below their 1990 levels by 2020 in order to limit global warming to 2°C.

Australia needs a strong target of at least 25% to really make Kyoto count and to keep global warming under 2°C.

Australia’s targets are not set according to the Kyoto framework, which calculates emission cuts as a percentage of 1990 emission levels.

Instead, Australia’s unconditional target of 5% is calculated with respect to Australia’s 2000 emissions levels. This is because Australia experienced a marked increase in its emission levels between 1990 and 2000.

Australia does have two conditional targets of 15% and 25%.

Australia’s 15% target has been made conditional on access to more comprehensive carbon markets (emissions trading).

Given that Australia now has an ETS, and has managed to link its ETS with the European Union ETS (the biggest carbon market in the world), it seems as if the conditions for a 15% reduction target may have already been met.

The 25% target is conditional on a global deal including the USA and major developing economies like China and India.

Negotiators in Doha are working towards a global deal which includes the major emitters like China, USA and India and is set to come into force by 2020.

As such, Australia could announce a 15% target for Kyoto, with the option to increase this to 25% pending international developments.

However, this kind of commitment still falls short of Australia’s contribution (as a developed country) to move into the IPCC 2°C ‘safe range’ of a 2020 reduction to 25-40% below 1990 levels.

We need a strong target of at least 25% to really make Kyoto count.

Other countries have already pledged higher targets than Australia, including:
South Africa (a non-Annex 1 Country with an economy in transition), who has pledged to reduce around 34% by 2020 and around 42% by 2025.

Japan has proposed a target of 25% relative to 1990 emissions by 2020.

Norway has a 2020 commitment of at least 30%, with an option of 40% conditional on a global agreement.

Other countries have pledged ambitious targets in excess of 25% reductions pending the negotiation of a global agreement.

So, how do we get Australia to commit to 25%?

We need to show the government negotiators here in Doha that Australians want deeper, faster emissions cuts.

We’ll be presenting a photo petition to Greg Combet and the Australian negotiators next week – add your voice by taking a photo of yourself (and your friends!) with a creative representation of the number “25″ or “25%”.

We took one this morning – what do you think?

Email your photos to us at makekyotocount@aycc.org.au, and we’ll present them to the Australian negotiators early next week.

It’s really important that we show the negotiators how many young Australians support a strong target of at least 25%. Share your photo on facebook and twitter (#makekyotocount) and get your friends and families involved!

Thanks for your help everyone!

Written by Max, Basha, Sam, Katie, Lovisa, Tash, Nayuka, and Hayden – the AYCC International Team.

PS: Don’t forget to share your photos on facebook and twitter (#makekyotocount), and email them to us at makeeveryonecount@aycc.org.au before Tuesday

Last week, Greg Combet announced that Australia will sign the second phase of the Kyoto Protocol. This is good news: the Kyoto Protocol remains the only legally binding global agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions, and the second phase will be vital if we are to create an ambitious and comprehensive global climate treaty to be implemented by 2020. It will also help to ensure that those developing nations suffering severe climate impacts continue to receive global assistance.

But with Australia expected to announce its emissions reduction target on Monday, there’s still plenty of work to do!

Previously Australia has pledged to reduce emissions by 5% on 2000 levels by 2020 – and this just isn’t good enough. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), countries like Australia must collectively reduce their emissions by 25% to 40% below their 1990 levels by 2020 if we will limit global warming to 2°C – and scientists are now suggesting the we should actually be aiming to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C to avoid the worst climate impacts.

That’s why Australia needs to take on a strong target of much more than 25% to really make Kyoto count.

Australia has previously agreed to a 15% target if there is access to global emissions trading schemes, and 25% if a global deal including the USA and major developing economies like China and India. Given that our carbon price is now linked to the European Union’s ETS, and negotiators in Doha are working towards a global deal that includes all the major players, the conditions for these increased targets may have been met or will be met soon.

It couldn’t be clearer that it’s time to step up our 5% target. To really make Kyoto count and avoid the worst impacts of climate change, we need a strong target of more than 25%.

And we won’t be doing it alone! Other countries have already pledged higher targets than Australia, including:

• South Africa, who has pledged to reduce around 34% by 2020 and around 42% by 2025.
• Japan has proposed a target of 25% relative to 1990 emissions by 2020.
• Norway has a 2020 commitment of at least 30%, with an option of 40% conditional on a global agreement.
• Other countries have pledged ambitious targets in excess of 25% reductions pending the negotiation of a global agreement.

So, how do we get Australia to commit to a target of at least 25%? We need to show the government negotiators here in Doha that Australians are watching what is happening on the global stage – and we want deeper, faster emissions cuts in line with our responsibility as a developed country.

That’s why next week we’ll be meeting with Climate Minister Greg Combet and the Australian negotiators here in Doha, and presenting a photo petition showing that we want them to commit to at least 25%. You can add your voice by taking a photo of yourself (and your friends!) with a creative representation of the number “25″ or “25%”.

We took one this morning – what do you think?

Our third day in Doha! We spent today working out the wording of our campaign here at COP- you wouldn’t think that writing four sentences would take that long, but trust us – it did.

In the afternoon we went to get our official UNFCCC badges which allow us to enter the conference centre once it becomes UN territory!

In the evening, once it cooled down, we ventured to the “ancient” souq- an Arabic market place- which was rebuilt built five years ago to resemble the set of Aladdin, for some dinner with New Zealand delegation. The souq featured shops stocking everything from rose buds to live falcons, handmade bracelets and culturally insensitive bauble heads and salt and pepper shakers.

Whilst we haven’t quite started focusing on the Conference of Youth (COY) that starts in three days or the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP18) that starts in 6 days, we did get a chance yesterday to start exploring our new home for the next three and a half weeks. And Doha, you have a lot of explaining to do.

And here is why:

After arriving in Doha, we met with the New Zealand Youth Delegation (all of whom are passionate young people who are really going to make an impact at this conference) and then we decided together it was time to go see this city.

First observation of Doha: there is NO public transport! A handful of buses, no trains, no trams- just lots and lots of cars. Oil is 30 cents per litre here, and as a result Doha is about 50% freeway. We actually saw people taking afternoon naps in their cars with the engine on. And a truck driver pulled over at the side of the road for afternoon prayer (again with the engine on). Another truck tried to run me over (there was no driver in it). There are no walking paths, bike paths or pedestrian crossings. This city is not human-friendly. It is built for gas-guzzling Hummers, Dodge ‘Power Wagons’, and Porsche Cayennes.

After having a delicious lunch of falafel and hummus, we ventured to the waterfront. From a distance this city looks intriguing; the skyline is full of high-rise buildings, each of which is unique. Individually, the buildings look extravagant, and amazingly they are all built right next to each other. But as we got closer to them, we realised something else: the city is empty and the buildings are only half finished. The buildings are made to look eye-catching from the outside, but up close they are vacant. More to the point, there are no people. This city is a ghost town. It feels as if we have walked into a city where all the local inhabitants have recently evacuated ahead of the big scary thing that’s coming; only we didn’t get the memo.

Next we visited the supermarket. Now I don’t know my stats on supermarkets, but it felt like the biggest supermarket in the world. It had 43 cash registers. In a row. Each cash register was occupied by one cashier, one plastic bag-filler, and one plastic bag-knot-tier person.

The sheer volume of Halogen lighting was enough to blind a baby. I wandered around the supermarket completely disoriented for about half an hour. Nearly everything in it was imported. There were literally no locally grown foods (which sort of makes sense, because, you know, the desert).

Katie and the New Zealand crew bought some goods for the week. They got avocados from Australia, mangos from South Africa and grapes from the United States. Nothing was from within a radius of at least 1000km. The other issue was the massive amounts of everything. Doha has a population of 1,500,000. It made us wonder who in Doha was going to buy and consume all the food by the time it reaches its expiration date?

After wandering the city, we finally stumbled across a more vibrant area for dinner, where we enjoyed a Filipino/Turkish/Lebanese feast. It was a strange combination, but cheap and cheerful.

All up, it was an interesting day.

This is the first time the UNFCCC negotiations are being held in the Persian Gulf region and the first time a major energy-producing nation has ever held the UN climate talks. It will also be the largest event ever held by Qatar (probably until the 2022 FIFA World Cup of air-conditioned stadium football (soccer)). Although I hear the 2011 Arab Games were pretty cool.

I guess my biggest question is how did a country that is built on oil and gas, and which has seemingly little to no intention of becoming environmentally sustainable, come to hold the largest annual climate change conference in the world?

Doha, I am a little confused by you, and about how the conference is going to work. But I am yet to really explore your culture or see how you hold an event. I guess the next few weeks will tell.

If anyone needs more information on the conference or has a question, feel free to email me at max.smith@aycc.org.au or on facebook

Written by AYCC Vic Volunteer Max Smith

The team is helping to build the capacity of youth climate movements internationally through:

• Helping to run a 3 day Conference of Youth on the weekend prior to COP18’s commencement
• Holding an intensive Training Day
• Skills shares and collaborative actions during the COP

They’re also campaigning for all parties, particularly Australia, to sign on to a strong and effective second phase of the Kyoto Protocol including:

• An emissions reduction target for Australia of at least 25%
      ◦ A 5% target spells runaway climate change – we need a target that is consistent with the science
      ◦ As a developed country, we’ve already committed to reduce our emissions by 25-40% by 1990
• flexibility to increase ambition
      ◦ the agreement should include a “ratcheting up” mechanism so that targets can be reviewed and increased in the coming years rather than locking parties into pledges which are too low
• removal of legal loopholes
      ◦ national emissions allowances should be informed by the latest science and carry over of unused units should be restricted accordingly
      ◦ only countries that commit to a second commitment period and an emissions target below their 2012 emissions should be eligible to benefit from the new agreement
      ◦ baselines and additionality for all projects delivered under the new agreement should be reviewed and strengthened
• Fair and forthright finance for vulnerable nations:
      ◦ ‪at least $10-15 billion in new public finance for developing countries over 2013-15, particularly for urgent adaptation and mitigation needs‬
      ◦ ‪a clear plan for getting to $100 billion per annum by 2020‬
      ◦ the establishment of global and fair carbon pricing mechanisms on international transport, with the majority of revenue raised to go towards developing countries‬

To keep abreast of the latest developments in the negotiations and our delegation’s achievements, keep an eye on the AYCC website where the team will be posting regular blog updates.