TOTAL RAISED = $6,951

Hannah Morrice $1,255

Hannah is fresh out of uni this year, and busting to get out into the world and contribute to change. People describe her as fun, outgoing, honest and caring. She wants to visit Everest so that she can come back and show leaders that this natural ecosystem is worth protecting. Go Hannah! Donate to Hannah here.

Jess Berryman $455

Jess is an Environmental Officer working in the private sector. She has been involved with the AYCC for a number of years starting up a campus group at Griffith University after attending Power Shift in 2011 in Brisbane. Donate to Jess here.

Kate Mulvaney

Kate is on her gap year and ready to travel the world. She is a passionate and enthusiastic young environmentalist from Canberra and really looking forward to becoming more involved with the AYCC and fundraising for this project. Donate to Kate here.

Morgan Hubbard $1,100

Morgan is a dedicated AYCC Canberra volunteer. She says that the AYCC isn’t about just telling you about the problem but about generating the opportunities for change. You’re a rockstar Morgan! Great work. Donate to Morgan here.

Alexei Trundle $1,605

Alexei was at the climate negotiations in 2009 in Copenhagen when the negotiations let the world down. Since attending the negotiations he has travelled Asia researching climate change and is really excited to use his work with the climate team in Nepal on the expedition. Thanks Alexei for your incredible work so far! Donate to Alexei here.

Alex Bartle-Smith $385

As a passionate conservationist Alex has travelled across the world to places such as Belize, Costa Rica and Thailand. He is excited about the adventure and raising money for the AYCC so more work can be done about climate change. Donate to Alex here.

Daniella Queenan $100

Daniella has some huge questions for the world, what will the world look like in 50 years? What kind of world will I bring my children into? She’s passionate about taking action in climate change and looking forward to raising funds to help build the movement here in Australia and in Nepal. Donate to Daniella here.

Chris Allan $776

Chris Allan is an AYCC from Victoria. Passionate about making a difference, adventure and challenging himself he’s joining the AYCC Everest Team. Go Chris! Donate to Chris here.

Briana and Dan Preimesberger $1000

This father and daughter duo are unstoppable. Hailing all the way from Western Australia, Briana first got involved with the AYCC during our Start the Switch Schools Summit held in Perth and is really excited to be joining this trip with her Dad. Go team! Donate to Briana and Dan here.

Philippa Rowland $100

Philippa Rowland is an incredible woman, and someone who we are very excited is joining this expedition. Philippa has been a key force in our ongoing Port Augusta Campaign to build Australia’s first solar thermal plant and for her 50th birthday is joining the Everest team. We’re so glad to have you on board. Donate to Philippa here.

Jane Coombs $100

Jane kicked off her fundraising efforts with a personal donation. Go Jane! Jane will be bringing a flag to Everest base camp with the names of all those who support her. Donate to Jane here.

TEAM RAISED = $8,297

Vaughan Bishop $1085

Vaughan is a renewable energy engineer who is passionate about sustainability. He’s currently involved in our Grassroots Team at Brisbane AYCC helping other young people get involved in climate action in their community. Great work Vaughan! Donate to Vaughan here.

Max Smith $1980

Max is determined to make a difference and be part of a movement driving the solutions on climate change. A long time member of the AYCC, Max had been to Qatar with our International team to the UN climate talks and volunteered on many of our key projects. Amazing work Max! Donate to Max here.

Emma Wellington $1020

Emma has a strong interest in global health, and that’s what brought her to care about the issue of climate change and environmental degradation. She’s graduating from Uni this year and looking forward to the Everest adventure as a good way to celebrate finishing her studies. Go Emma. Donate to Emma here.

Isabella Morand $1,000

Isabella finishes her degree in International Relations in July and is ready for her next adventure. Passionate and sustainability and environmental justice this is the perfect adventure for her. Good luck Isabella! Donate to Isabella here.

Imogen Atkins $1060

Imogen is an incredible AYCC volunteer who has been actively involved for a few years with the Brisbane AYCC team. At just 20 years old Imogen has been involved in so much, working on multiple projects, campaigns and events. A very dedicated volunteer full of passion for action on climate change. You’re amazing Imogen! Donate to Imogen here.

Patrick Gibb $1120

Patrick has been a volunteer with AYCC for 2 years now. He’s passionate about sustainability and hiking and saw this expedition as the perfect way to combine those two things. Go Patrick! Donate to Patrick here.

Monique Kinny $1000

Monique recently graduate from her four year degree in Public and Environmental Health from Griffith University and throughout her degree says this is where she learnt about the impacts of climate change. After joining to AYCC in 2011 Monique co-convenes our Gold Coast AYCC group with fellow expedition team member Mindy Davies. Go Monique! Donate to Monique here.

Bethany McQueen $1020

Bethany is also a member of the AYCC Gold Coast group and is passionate about the role that education can play in inspiring young people to take action on climate change. She’s excited to get to Nepal and work with the young people there to build a stronger movement. You’ll see great things from this one. Donate to Bethany here.

Mindy Davies $541

Mindy is to co-convenor of the AYCC Gold Coast group with team member Monique Kinny. Together these two are an unstoppable force. Mindy grew up on a beautiful property in Northern NSW, and was here that she started to learn about how important caring for our ecosystem is. She loves working with people and looking forward to working with the Nepal community to build climate action. Donate to Mindy here.

Holly Escott $100

Holly has been involved with the AYCC for a while after hearing about our work through her University. She is excited to be adventuring to Everest and working with the Nepal team to learn more about what they can do and to assist in their project. Donate to Holly here.

Lachlan Fraser $1076

Lachlan is also from the AYCC Gold Coast team and has been involved with the AYCC for the past year.He enjoys sports and adventures and is really looking forward to the challenge of Everest. Good luck Lachlan. Donate to Lachlan here.

Malika Kirchner $1955

Malika is a volunteer with AYCC here in Victoria and has been involved for about a year now. She’s really excited about the challenge and adventure that goes with this expedition and is looking forward to working with and supporting the Nepal team with the great work they are doing in Nepal. Donate to Malika here.

Kate Donnelly $1025

Kate is a volunteer with our team up in Brisbane. She is passionate about the role that education and community empowerment can play in solving this climate change problem. She’s looking forward to working on the project on the ground with HCI and learning more about the impacts currently facing the region. Good work Kate. Donate to Kate here.

On Tuesday we heard that the controversial plans to build the new Terminal 4 (T4) at the Newcastle Coal Port have been delayed by an entire year. Yesterday, Woodside Petroleum announced that it would not pursue the development of the world’s biggest gas hub at James Price Point, WA. Late yesterday President Obama released his 2014 Fiscal Year Budget, which slashes fossil fuels subsidies and diverts those savings into renewable energy. Finally this morning it is being reported in The Australian that Australia’s CO2 emissions are now at a ten year low.

Newcastle in New South Wales is already home to the biggest black coal port in the world. If the proposed T4 had of been approved, it would allow an additional 120 million tonnes of coal to be loaded and exported from Newcastle Harbour every year and would open the floodgates for the development of 15 new open-cut mega mines. An additional 107 coal trains would run every day, and an additional 20 coal ships would visit Newcastle every week. This all adds up to an extra 293 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere each year, this would have a devastating impact on our climate.

The community in the Hunter region ran a strong community campaign, the effect that this campaign had was evident when Port Waratah Coal Services, Hennie Du Plooy announced the delay ‘‘There is no doubt the anti-coal lobby is making good on its commitment to specifically target T4 with the aim of stopping it, to stop further expansion of the Hunter Valley coal industry.”1

Yesterday we heard that gas and oil giant Woodside Petroleum are no longer considering building a gas hub at James Price Point. The proposed onshore processing plant would have been the biggest in the world, and was intended to service the gas and oil fields in the Browse Basin off the Kimberley Coast. The Browse site holds about 13.3 trillion cubic feet of gas. An estimated 15 million tonnes of greenhouse gases would be emitted every year – the equivalent of 3 million extra cars.

Again, there was a strong community campaign run, uniting local community groups (including Environs Kimberley and the Broome Community No Gas Campaign), the local indigenous community and national organisations (including The Wilderness Society and Sea Shepherd Australia).

These wins are happening on an international front too. Yesterday President Obama announced his 2014 budget, the big winner in this budget was the climate and renewable energy. The Budget will include $23 billion to go towards renewable energy projects and energy efficiency and it eliminates $4 billion of fossil fuel subsidies that add to the threat of climate change.

President Obama said “As we continue to pursue clean energy technologies that will support future economic growth, we should not devote scarce resources to subsidising the use of fossil fuels produced by some of the largest, most profitable companies in the world,” reads the budget proposal. “That is why the Budget proposes to eliminate unnecessary fossil fuel subsidies that impede investment in clean energy sources and undermine efforts to address the threat of climate change.”2

The final win of the week came today, it is being reported that Australia’s CO2 emissions have fallen to a ten year low, “Renewables are basically cancelling out coal,” RepuTex executive director Hugh Grossman told AAP on Thursday…….Coal generation has been trending steadily downwards since the introduction of the carbon pricing mechanism last July, which has seen wholesale electricity prices nearly double.With weaker demand and record-high renewable energy output, coal is feeling the pinch.”3

These four wins have come at a crucial time for the climate movement in what is going to be our biggest year yet. We now have momentum on our side.

T4 and James Price Point set a really strong precedent for our own Change the Game campaign, we can see a clear example of  what a strong united grassroots movement can achieve. We are at such an important moment in history, decisions about coal expansion on the reef are being made in June, we need to show Federal Environment Minister, Tony Burke that young people are willing to stand and protect our climate and The Great Barrier Reef.

Thank you, to every single person who worked on these important issues. Let’s all stand up and Change the Game this year.

-Jarryd Martin.

P.s On May the 11th we will be holding Change the Game national day’s of action in every state, details for how you can get involved are coming soon.

1 http://reneweconomy.com.au/2013/plans-for-fourth-loader-in-worlds-largest-coal-port-unravelling-72672

2 http://dailycaller.com/2013/04/10/obama-budget-trades-fossil-fuels-subsidies-for-more-green-energy-money/#ixzz2QEjcxydM

3 http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/aust-co2-emissions-hit-10-year-low/story-fn3dxiwe-1226618378940

The AYCC is proud to announce it’s partnership with the Australian Solar Council, the nation’s largest solar organisation.

They do fantastic work promoting scientific, social and economic development through the environmentally sound use of solar energy. We strongly support their work transitioning Australia to a solar-powered future.

The Solar Council has kindly offered free memberships to active AYCC local action groups.
Please fill out this form if you are a convener of an action group.

Membership includes:
- Four issues of their journal, Solar Progress, online and in hard copy
- Six electronic newsletters from The International Solar Energy Society
- Discounts on conference fees and online shopping
- Regular solar news updates from The Solar Council
- And it’s free for AYCC action groups!

To get your group’s free Solar Council membership please fill out this form.

If you aren’t in a local AYCC action group, don’t worry. There’s likely one nearby in surrounding suburbs, or even at your university or school. Contact us to find your closest group. If there isn’t a nearby group we can help you set one up.

These groups are where all the action happens, they host climate info nights, give presentations, hold stalls, do media stunts, meet their politicians and more! If you’re passionate about taking action on climate change, joining or starting up a climate action group is the best way to do it. Email amy.gordon@aycc.org.au to get more involved with our local groups.

If you have any questions please contact Michael Poland at michael@aycc.org.au or check out the Australian Solar Council’s website.

Thank you for supporting solar!

But this is no travel blog. I write this as a reminder of what could be lost if we are to turn our back on an issue that could see the destruction of the Reef and locking in dangerous climate change.

My journey across Queensland started just south of the border, in regional NSW, where I convened a small but energetic AYCC community group. When I read about the risk the expansion of the coal industry posed to our Reef and our climate, I decided I had to do something. So I moved to Brisbane to join the Queensland branch of the AYCC. Two months later I was on a road trip with three others to explore ‘Queensland Coal’.

Our first stop on our roadtrip was Gladstone, six hours north of Brisbane. If you search for Gladstone on Google, you’ll be sold an ideal holiday destination, or a place where industry and community prosper. In reality, the once pristine coastal waters are now sullied, fisherman have lost their livelihood and the school students complain they can no longer swim in the harbour. One fisherman spoke of days where he finds dying turtles washed up on the shore and fish with blisters on their scales. And Cheryl and Jan from Gladstone Conservation Council who although overwhelmed with the expansion of coal and gas in their home, were determined to keep on fighting for a safer and healthier community.

Next stop, Yeppoon – another two hours north. Our drive boasted sights of mountain ranges, rivers, small towns and coal trains heading to Gladstone Port. We stayed with community campaigner Ginny Gerlach who has lived in Yeppoon for over 20 years. Having lived most of her life on the water as a sailer, Ginny refers to herself as a “bluey” (as opposed to a “greenie”). Last year Ginny learned that just south of the white sandy beaches of the Great Keppel Islands, three coal ports are being proposed in the Fitzroy Delta, one of the last remaining untouched deltas on the Australian coastline. Ginny was confused and angry about this proposal in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. So she began a full-time campaign against the coal port proposals in her home.

We travelled north to a town near Mackay called Hay Point, where two coal terminals currently exist. The Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal is huge in size, and influence. In Mackay, a “mining town”, rent is through the roof and ‘Hector’ the Coal Lump hands out balloons to the children at community festivals. Despite the feeling that coal is everything in Mackay, community opposition is growing. Families are concerned that Mackay has one of the highest rates of asthma. At a community health forum, one woman shared her emotional story of finding coal dust, in a thick black sludge at the bottom of her water tank. It’s water she and her children had been washing in and drinking from. I felt a huge weight in my stomach as we left, knowing we had to do something about it.

Heading back to Brisbane my mind was filled with questions. Why was this being allowed to happen? How could our government consider approving the expansion of an already mammoth industry in one of Australia’s most beautiful regions? Why is the community opposition and health risk not enough for the decision makers to say ‘no’? And why was an issue that is clearly a national problem, not being talked about everywhere? Cheryl, Jan, Ginny and everyone we met knew that their voices, whilst powerful were not loud enough to reach the key decision makers. To build momentum and protect the Great Barrier Reef from coal exports, we need a national movement.

The movement of young people is growing – we are demanding that decision makers play by a new set of rules. Rules that protect communities and our future. With over 700 people pledging their time in Queensland, we know that we can amplify the voices of communities along the Coast. We refuse to sit back and let 11,000 ships pass through The Great Barrier Reef Marine park carrying hundreds of millions of tonnes of coal to be burnt off-shore – what will you do?

We can change the game – by telling these stories, and ours – in doing so, we will change the course of history. Become a Game Changer today. Pledge as many hours as you can to this campaign and begin sharing the stories of those who need their voices heard in on the frontline.

Gemma Plesman- Queensland state coordinator

For a young person facing an uncertain climate future, it’s heartening to know that so many Australians want their superannuation moved out of fossil fuels (“Coal Investments a turnoff”, Peter Hannam, 11^th March 2013). The moral argument for acting on climate change aside, it’s clear that the financial case for investing in fossil fuels is fast evaporating.

A recent Bloomburg study found that unsubsidised renewables are already cheaper than newly-built coal and gas. And, according to Australian Government modeling, by 2030, renewables will be among the most cost competitive of any energy sources available. It’s no wonder then that Australian coal generation is currently at its lowest level yet while wind generation is at its highest.

That major economies like China see the writing on the wall and have set a cap on coal emissions should be a signal to the rest of us – financial security and a safe future for our kids means shifting our money out of fossil fuels and into renewables.

As the world’s largest pool of wealth, superannuation is the most logical place to start this shift. 55% of the world’s super is invested in high-carbon assets whilst less than 2% is invested in clean energy. If clean energy investments were increased to 5%, $3 trillion could be leveraged – that’s 1/3 of what’s needed to fix climate change. Few of us know this and few of us realise that, as owners of that money, we can exert huge influence over how it’s invested.

With this in mind, the Australian Youth Climate Coalition, supported by the Asset Owners Disclosure Project, has launched a campaign to do just that. Through an innovative online platform, media exposure and meetings, our members will pressure their super funds to invest more in the clean energy economy.

With our working lives ahead of us and families still to raise, we are motivated by a strong desire to see the world’s largest money pot put to work in building a more sustainable future.

Charlotte Wood- Superannuation Campaigner.

Last year we asked a lot of ourselves when we made the choice to join the Port Augusta community’s call to Repower their town and South Australia by replacing the with solar thermal.

The Port Augusta community stood up and called for change, holding a community vote that sent shockwaves through South Australia, and the nation. We saw 100 people walk over 300kms to Adelaide ending with thousands rallying, pushing Port Augusta into the national spotlight and increasing the pressure on politicians.

Stop press: Before I keep typing – to everyone who has been part of it, you have done and continue to do an amazing job!

These actions led to the state government establishing a committee to look into building solar thermal and every federal cabinet minister being aware of the issue.

Over the summer break we have been working hard on planning and fundraising for the next phase of the campaign and I wanted to fill you in on what we have planned.

In an election year we have a huge opportunity to make solar thermal with storage a reality in Port Augusta – we know that the government will be looking for opportunities to announce clean energy projects from the 1st of July and clearly Port Augusta fits the bill. But we are not there yet.

We need to campaign on two fronts – to raise the ambition of Alinta Energy who own the existing coal plants and ensure they apply for funding for solar thermal with storage and make sure the government is ready to fund it.

As I write Alinta is weighing up their options: will they propose a full solution; stand alone solar thermal with storage or will they look to extend the life of the coal plants by propping them up on a twisted form of life support with a solar/coal hybrid.

The Port Augusta community and young Australians who want a safe climate future deserve better than a hybrid.

In the face of these hurdles we plan to win.

We know that South Australia will be a key battleground state this election so we will be out doorknocking and talking to people in marginal seats asking them to speak up for solar this election, we will be working with our allies in Port Augusta and beyond to ensure that it is clear that the community wants investment in solar thermal with storage and we will be mobilising the public to ensure this issue remains on the national agenda before the election.

This campaign has been an incredible journey so far, for those walkers quite literally! But we need to keep working to make this a reality – if you want to be a part of winning this campaign send an email to sa@aycc.org.au and let us know, we’d love to hear from you!

Daniel Spencer- Port Augusta Campaigner.

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.

View Larger Map

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)

With so many opportunities to get involved, from managing your own project to helping out on a campaign, it would be really helpful if you can give us some more information.

Once you’ve filled it out, one of our friendly volunteers will be in touch!