Welcome to the June edition of the DCAN Dispatch.

DCAN joins snap actions against new gas approvals

DCAN and other grass roots climate groups recently took part in snap rallies outside 15 Victorian Labor MP offices to protest the Federal Labor Government's approval of a project in Queensland that will involve the construction of 151 coal seam gas wells. We are deeply alarmed at the Government’s decision to approve yet another climate wrecking project in the middle of a climate crisis. How can we believe the Government is serious about climate action when it continues to approve new projects which will run for the next 55 years? We expect the Government to keep our communities safe and deliver strong action on the climate crisis, not make it worse by approving new coal and gas projects. If you would like to join us in future snap actions, please let us know here.

The human consequences of Victoria's energy supply system

Shelter is a fundamental human need, and affordable energy is necessary to meet that need. The soaring cost of energy is frightening for so many people who live in old, draughty and poorly insulated houses. That is the story of Victoria's housing stock because, until very recently, relevant building codes were absent or inadequate.

Since price rises began, energy authorities have been investigating the social justice dimensions of energy poverty. As energy is now enmeshed in markets, where it is a commodity rather than a service designed to meet needs, the proposed solutions tend to be limited.

• Victoria's Essential Services Commission (ESC) outlines the problem in its Issues Paper on the Energy Retail Code of Practice (see pp.31-35).
• There is a focus on hardship (see pp.2-5) in the Game Changer report of the Australian Energy Regulator (AER). It draws on detailed information from a previous report on Consumer Vulnerability - the archetypes of consumers in hardship are interesting.
• There are also important reports by social justice organisations like the Brotherhood of St Laurence (e.g. its 2023 submission to the national Electricity and Energy Sector Plan).

My Efficient Electric Home Handbook

My Efficient Electric Home Handbook is an essential resource for homeowners and renters. It provides tips and strategies on how to convert your home into an efficient, healthy and comfortable space suitable for our all-electric future. Author of the handbook, Tim Forcey, is a highly regarded energy efficiency expert and has helped over 1,000 households improve their energy efficiency and reduce their emissions. Tim explains best-practice heating and cooling, hot water heat pumps, induction cooktops, draught-proofing, insulation, solar energy and much more. Tim is the founder of the My Efficient Electric Home facebook group which has over 120,000 members and is now sharing his knowledge with all of us through his new book which is available from Darebin library and all good bookshops.

Power up to all-electric information session

The recently reestablished State Electricity Commission (SEC) is running a series of free information sessions to help households go electric. Hear from experts and others who have made the switch to an all-electric home. Learn how to get it right from day one. Online Wednesday, July 24 · 6 - 7pm. Go here for more information and to register.

Living Democracy

Many people feel that our political system is broken, locking us into ecological and societal collapse while giving destructive industries a free pass to destroy all we hold dear.

However, worldwide there are plenty of movements building real democracies. There's the assembly-based model of Rojava, the Kurdish area inside Syria, and the struggles of the Barcelona Commons to implement a better system within the constraints of conventional politics. Tim Hollo’s book Living Democracy: an ecological manifesto for the end of the world as we know it is a treasure trove of information on deliberative and participatory democracy with lots of inspiring anecdotes. You can listen to it here.

There is a growing movement calling for citizens' assemblies. These are groups of randomly selected people deliberating on issues with the help of experts and skilled facilitators. They have been held to resolve some thorny issues. There is a campaign in the UK to replace the House of Lords with a People's House. Find out more: The Extinction Rebellion Guide to Citizens’ Assemblies and Brett Hennig - the end of politicians TED talk

Meanwhile, we are taking rear-guard action to protect the imperfect democracy we already have. In Victoria, Labor and the Coalition got together to impose the move from multi-member wards to single-member wards in council elections, against the advice of election experts, in the hope that this would make it harder for Greens and independents to win. 'Reforms' at the state government level have meant we now have no independents in the Victorian parliament and similar measures are being considered at the federal level. Here's an explanation from Juice Media: Democracy and a thoughtful discussion of the proposed changes at the federal level by Follow the Money: Democracy (Handle with Care).

Could China's greenhouse emissions have peaked?

Good news stories on climate are lamentably rare but, over the last few months, climate scientists and analysts have noticed that China’s emissions of greenhouse gases appears to have peaked even though the Chinese economy continues to grow. Reporter Nick O’Malley notes that this is likely to mean that global emissions have peaked too, and that the link between economic growth and greenhouse gas production, which has persisted from the start of the industrial revolution, may have been broken.

Under the Paris Agreement, China undertook to reach its emissions peak in 2030, but it appears to have reached this target at least six years early. If it can maintain this trajectory, analysts believe that its goal of net zero by 2060 is credible and achievable, which would give the world a chance of stabilising the climate somewhere near the Paris targets.

Analysts, such as the leading climate scientist Bill Hare of Climate Analytics, think it likely that we have peaked in emissions from fossil fuels and that this is a truly historic moment, but they want to confirm this with emissions data over the next few months. If the trend continues it will show we have reached a turning point – too late and too little but hopefully sufficient to spur even faster global action.

Using Social Media to influence policy

Can you use social media to influence the next decision a politician makes or the outcome of the next election? Here is a revised and refined method called 'Social Jamming’. It is an activity designed to amplify your message by sharing it on as many social media platforms as possible, as many times as possible.

Social Jamming involves going to the politicians' social feed and putting the message you want to get across in a comment on one of their recent posts. They, or their advisors, will see your comment and you have got into their head. Other people will see it as well.

• Keep your message clear, sharp and snappy. It shouldn’t be more than a sentence or two. Hashtags work well, such as: #ClimateAction #ClimateCrisis #NoMoreGas #auspol
• Your message should be positive. Remember, we want the Government’s support to enact new laws, so the best social jamming is firm, but stays kind and respectful - e.g. 'For a safe climate future, we need strong #ClimateAction'; 'Australia needs strong climate laws to #protectnature'.
• Be as relevant to the post as possible. Jamming works best when you comment on relevant posts and accounts, e.g. comment '#NatureLawsNow' on Tanya Plibersek’s posts about threatened wildlife.

Climate Choir Melbourne

Do you enjoy singing? Do you want to remind the public of the need for climate action in a friendly, non-confrontational manner? Climate Choir Melbourne (CCM) could be the activity for you. Come and join several other members of DCAN who sing with CCM.

CCM is a group of singers who are deeply concerned about climate change. We want the government, organisations, and individuals to take emergency action to combat the impending environmental disaster, and singing is our way of campaigning for this cause. We hold no political allegiance. We sing at events organised by other groups and also hold our own pop-up choir events. Events can be on any day of the week and any time - depending on the circumstances. No member is expected to be at all CCM events - sing at the ones you can manage. Our rehearsals are normally on Sunday afternoons every two months in Abbotsford (again, not compulsory, but they help!).

Our Musical Director, Jeannie Marsh, has been performing and teaching music in Melbourne for decades, and has run a number of other community choirs.

Check us out on FaceBook, or on our website, or contact Robert.

That's all for this month - thanks for reading! If you have any feedback on this newsletter, please let us know.