DCAN planning session a great success

Many thanks to the 20 people who gave up their Saturday afternoon to help plan our strategies and activities for 2025. It was a very productive afternoon where we shared stories of our achievements from last year before moving on to brainstorm the context we are working in at the local through to the international level. We then turned our attention to prioritising the key areas we will focus on for 2025.

The upcoming Federal election is high on our agenda as is our continuing work to support the implementation of Darebin's new climate emergency plan, to get off gas and move to a fully renewable and electric future as fast as possible. We also need to continue our outreach work to the community and keep up the pressure through meetings with our local councillors and MPs.

If you would like to find out more, come along to our next meeting on March 13th or drop us an email at [email protected]

Now's the time to get your fence sign!

With an election due to be called at any moment, now is the time to order your fence sign. We need a sea of 'No More Coal and Gas' signs on our fences, in our gardens, windows and shop fronts that send a powerful message to all election candidates that we won't stand for any more investments in coal and gas. We need all hands on deck to help the community move to renewable energy as fast as possible. Order your free sign from Katherine - [email protected]

Help stop fracking in the NT

Lock the Gate is running an email campaign to encourage the government to assess the water impacts of fracking in the Beetaloo Basin before allowing fracking to continue. The campaign asks the government to “pull the water trigger” under the EPBC Act. You can read more and sign the letter here. This action is time critical so please consider signing today.

Coalition’s nuclear folly

"The Coalition is selling its nuclear scheme using fraudulent statistics about today’s Australian electricity cost… It’s a warning not to trust their future costings.” This is the conclusion drawn by Andrew Gunner on his website Feedback Reigns: Act on Climate Change. Andrew provides a comprehensive and detailed analysis of the Coalition’s nuclear energy campaign and shows how ‘cherry-picked’ statistics have been used to justify, support and promote the policy.

Andrew has been working on his Act on Climate Change website since 2009 and it contains a wealth of information relating to the evidence and dangers of global warming, possible solutions and progress towards achieving them. He is well qualified to provide this content having worked for 20 years in the petrochemical industry developing and running computer models to optimise company operations.

How Climate Change Drives Up Australia’s Cost of Living

Climate change is contributing to the cost of living in multiple ways. Any government that is not ambitious with climate action and stopping new coal and gas is embedding an increase in cost of living for all Australians generally through increasing food prices, energy costs, and insurance premiums. Read this great article by John Englart from Climate Action Merribek.

Can we pull the brakes on 3°C?

Climate tipping points are approaching faster than expected—how close are we to 3°C of warming, and what actions could still help avoid this dangerous trajectory? Tune into this highly engaging webinar with climate analyst David Spratt about the risks we face and the critical responses we need to change course. David unpacks the findings of "Collision Course", Breakthrough's latest report that dives into the profound risks of a world under extreme warming—including threats to food security, health, and global stability.

Getting Off Gas - One Person’s Journey

Over the past year, Lawrie Hanson has been on a journey to get his house ‘off gas’ and become a completely electric household. He has had a number of interesting encounters and learning experiences throughout this journey and he has shared these experiences in a detailed article which you can read here. In conclusion, Lawrie says: “although the journey hasn’t been straightforward, I’m delighted with the end result and very content I no longer contribute any gas emissions.” He also thanks DCAN for organising the Energy Masterclass in February 2024 which Lawrie says ‘gave me the impetus and access to the resources to allow the journey to take place.”

Situation Vacant

As you may know, DCAN works closely with the Climate Choir Melbourne. This wonderful group regularly performs all over Melbourne.

To help the audience understand and connect with the choir’s message, we need people to hand out the choir's leaflet, with the lyrics and message. If you think you might be able to help with this, please contact the choir at [email protected]. We will of course support you in the role.

Want to know more about DCAN?

Why not come along to one of our monthly meetings? We usually meet on the second Thursday of each month at 7.00pm at the Bridge Thornbury. Please drop us an email at [email protected] to let us know if you are coming so that we can make sure to welcome you and give you an agenda ahead of the meeting.

Our next meeting will be at 7:00 pm on March 13th at the Bridge, 131 Shaftesbury Parade, Thornbury.