BUILDING THE BUSINESS CO-ALITION

May 18th. Produced by Vivien Langford  and Andy Britt

Guests at the Climate Emergency Summit at Melbourne Town Hall

Paddy Manning

Ian Dunlop

Paul Gilding

Heidi Lee

Simon Holmes a Court

This lively panel discussion, recorded before the pandemic showed us how great shifts can happen suddenly, is even more relevant now. Right now the Climate community is zooming and publishing and trying to influence the stimulus spending towards a livable biosphere. The practical solutions from tonight's panel  shine a light on the path forward. 

Ian Dunlop, with his depth of  experience in the fossil fuel industry, speaks of the " predatory delay and moral bankruptcy " of some business leaders,who had the best access to information and knew the risks of rising emissions. He says we must keep talking about the risks as CEOs have not accepted the urgency of emissions reduction.

Paul Gilding says " If a country has a good plan, the business community will support it"

Heidi Lee finds that " It's not enough to say No. We must find something to say YES to. She gives practical examples of BZE's work with four trade unions and the people of Collie W.A (Hear our broadcast of November 18th 2019). She is more sympathetic to the costs and difficulties faced by industry in transition and she received rousing applause. Her can do message was much appreciated by the well informed audience whose questions showed how the public is way ahead of the politics

Simon Holmes a Court reported on the demand internationally for our Green Hydrogen. He asked "are there any transition plans apart from BZEs that see NO role for gas? " And this is highly relevant, as we ease up from the pandemic and the gas lobby is positioning us to depend on it far into the future even for making hydrogen.

Paddy Manning was able to  guide the panel to deeply explore the realities we face. His new book "Body Count" show how aware he is of "the hopeless failure to convey the risks of accelerating emissions leads to confusion" Climate change now has its own body count in Australia which is highly exposed and must get better prepared. He said in a previous interview " After 30 years of debate it's not so much climate change that's killing us, It's ignorance and confusion"

Thanks to the Sustainable Living Festival