The fossils fuels industry is environmentally and economically unsustainable. If we do not reimagine Australia’s energy industries the challenge of reducing CO2 emissions will become virtually impossible, leaving our future incredibly bleak. Economically, the renewable energy industry is incredibly lucrative. Decarbonising our energy economy before 2050 will enable Australia to take a healthy percentage of the $800 billion global renewables rush, additionally enabling us to capitalise on the employment boom that will ensue (GetUp! 2018). Current economic costs associated with the coal industry are hurting tax payer’s pockets as well as the future profitability of Australia’s tourism industry. If we do not transition our energy sources from fossil fuels to renewable sources, the inevitable degradation of ecosystems will cost our economy hundreds of millions of dollars each year. 

We take Australia’s commitment to the Paris Climate agreement very seriously and believe that aside from being the only plausible option for the planet, the economic benefits of clean energy are undeniable. Australia is fortunate enough to be blessed with an abundance of renewable energy amenities (Australian Government Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics 2012). We propose a move away from outdated energy sources and an investment in our futures via the lucrative renewable energy sector. Transitioning to 100% renewable energy will deliver fuel-cost savings that cancel out any building costs for renewable energy systems (Getup! 2018). We propose a transition to a fully renewables based economy by 2030, and are firm in our belief that the planned and strategized closure of coal stations will enable our economy to thrive. As soon as 2020 our proposed targets are forecasted to create 152,000 jobs and to free up $40.4 billion of investment money (GetUp! 2018). Ultimately renewables are more affordable than outdated forms of energy. Ending subsidies to fossil fuel conglomerates will allow $6.4 billion to be poured back into the economy (GetUp! 2018) and funnelled into reducing CO2 emissions. 

In a poll released by the Climate Council last year, findings revealed 77% of people surveyed believed it important to have a Clean Energy Target, yet the Liberal party announced it would be phasing out the Renewable Energy Target by 2020. Polling shows that 82% of Australians want government spending on renewables to stay the same or increase (SMH, 2018), but federal funding for climate action in the 2018 budget was missing entirely (Budget 2018-19). Instead, the $6.4 billion yearly subsidies to fossil fuel companies go ahead as usual (GetUp, Solar Citizens, 2016). So, in spite of the beliefs of the majority, the government ignores and even endangers the transformation of the energy sector.

Secondly, we advocate democracy and progressivism in connection with a deeper moral argument. The environment and economy are systems that the powerful manage and influence. The aim must be sustainability; in this way, system-enabled privileges enjoyed by one generation are protected for their futurity, ensuring intergenerational equality. 

Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions are the highest per capita of any OECD country and are among the highest in the world (The Climate Institute, 2015). Inarguably, the continuation of our rate of emissions and apathetic approach to climate governance sentences younger generations to either a huge, expensive, implausible cleanup, environmental destruction, or both (Hansen et al., 2017). 

We believe it is time to re-responsibilise the issue to those in power and demand accountability and action. 

are a threat to human society. Our organisation defines itself as a “movement of

movements”, a people-power movement (over a million members) that seeks to bring active participation back to democracy in Australia (Get Up! 2018). In this, we believe that only a people-powered energy revolution like our movement can envisage a move to a 100%

renewable energy-powered future for Australia. Our platform creates opportunities for the

public opinion to: engage in a virtual public sphere and be heard; challenge established

power relations; facilitate collective action; and raise awareness on the climate issue.

Published in 2016, The Homegrown Power Plan aims to challenge Australia political,

economic and social reliance on coal by repowering the country with renewable energy.

Reducing our reliance on coal and invest in renewable energy is an opportunity for

addressing ecological principles and lifestyle, as both a social and health imperative. Quitting

coal will have major social and health benefits for the population such as a better air quality or fewer coal-related illnesses (University of Sydney 2012). In this, Get Up! is devoted to expose the overall health and social costs of coal dependency by overshadowing its

economic benefits, one being that industries of renewable energy are cheaper and employ

more than the coal industry (Homegrown Power Plan 2016).

There is no doubt that the call to quit a coal-powered future in Australia requires political,

economic and social acceptance. On the challenge of reducing CO2 emissions,

urgency is not felt by many in the public opinion. Nonetheless, Get Up! is profoundly

committed to change attitudes towards Australia’s dependence on coal by coming up with

ways to make the important urgent. Changes in consumption patterns have already been

identified as contributing to CO2 emissions reduction in the country, which The Homegrown

Power Plan intends to maximise by providing access to affordable clean energy to all

Australian (2016).

A report by the World Resources Industry identified Australia as one country vulnerable to water stress where the potential for cheap renewable energy, solar and wind as opposed to fossil fuels, could reduce water consumption country-wide as these technologies use minimal - or zero - water."
Time to move, take climate change seriously and follow the requisites of a people-powered future !!!

https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/solar-and-wind-could-ease-australia-s-water-shortage-20180513-p4zf1t.html

“We’ve got eight huge generators in Queensland,” he said. “We are the powerhouse of the nation. We put a gigawatt of power across our interconnector to prop up New South Wales during the heatwave.
 What we need is clean energy. Locking in high-carbon emissions for a generation and a half is one of the most irresponsible policy propositions I’ve heard.”  

Bailey said any sensible analysis of trends in the energy market would conclude that the price of renewable technologies was dropping, and battery technology was coming on at pace.

He said the chief scientist, Alan Finkel, had told a Senate estimates hearing that it would be much more expensive to build a coal-fired power station than invest in large-scale renewables 

A) Australia’s status as an industrialised, wealthy country, which necessitates taking responsibility for massively contributing to and profiting from a global economy reliant on fossil fuels provided by our primary industry. Taking responsibility for the domestic and global emissions created thereafter which are getting exponentially worse. Taking responsibility for engaging our full capacity to mitigate the detriments to climate and health by leading the way in providing a universally accessible and sustainable alternative energy source in renewables.

B) Upholding our international legal responsibilities to proposals we signed in the Paris Climate Agreement, as well as enforcing the Australian Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, Native Title and land rights of indigenous Australians whose land is targeted for extractive industry. 

C) Re-prioritising the voice of the majority population in an unbalanced and corrupt socio-political arena so as to place environmental justice and democratic integrity over the corporate interests and short-term profit making of a minority of actors.

We advocate for responsibilising the issue of climate to those in positions of power in the Australian political economy and promote progressive governance in accordance with this responsibility. Australia has an abundance of renewable energy resources (Australian Government Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics 2012) and technologies, the facility of which are not being fully realised due to a complex nexus of government, industry and media. Evidence shows these actors exchange capital in an alliance loop operating on a supra-social level, fundamentally undermining democracy and justice. To relinquish the self-evident politico-corporate stranglehold and left-right impasse, majority voice in the community which unequivocally supports clean energy and environmental sustainability must be re-prioritized. Evidence shows Australians overwhelmingly support the aims of our proposals and are, in fact, already spearheading the transition to renewables despite the lack of government or market incentive to do so. 

Transitioning away from coal will only benefit society and the economy. As soon as 2020, targets proposed in our Homegrown Power Plan are forecasted to create 152,000 jobs, and free up $40.4 billion of investment money, which, combined with the redirection of government subsidies to fossil fuel conglomerates, will allow a further $6.4 billion to grow this industry. Transitioning to 100% renewable energy by 2030 will deliver fuel-cost savings that cancel out any costs incurred in the interim (Getup! 2018). 

GetUp maintains that powerful Australian political and economic actors have committed serious infractions across all relevant international agreements and national laws. Corporate ambitions have infringed endlessly upon communities to severe financial and environmental detriment, causing high energy prices, increased carbon emissions, ravaged natural areas and disempowered constituencies. 

Specifically, we highlight the situation in Queensland, wherein the continued licensing of mining companies poses a significant threat to the Carmichael and Belyando rivers, and the Great Artesian Basin; these are the sole water source for towns and farms across almost a quarter of Australia. Even post-mining, the prior promise of environmental rehabilitation is thrown out, as in the case of the Ebenezer mine, where the empty mine site was granted instead to become a garbage dump. Herein we identify an extremely concerning gap between governance and the needs and wishes of the community at large. 

Moreover, precedent set by native title which stringently protects right of Indigenous peoples to own and manage their traditional lands and waters (The Aurora Project 2018) classifies the Wangan and Jagalingou of Queensland’s Galilee Basin as having ultimate authority to reject the proposed capitalisation of and degradation to their country. Yet this right is continually ignored. 

Inarguably, the continuation of our rate of emissions and apathetic approach to climate governance sentences younger generations to either a huge, expensive, implausible cleanup, environmental destruction, or both (Hansen et al., 2017). So for the moral, legal, social, economic and political arguments posited, we advocate thorough, responsible, progressive and democratic governance as captured by our following proposals: