Finding farming futures
FOLLOWING the deferment of a decision on the National Energy Guarantee (NEG) at the COAG Energy Council meeting on August 10, Farmers for Climate Action (FCA) endorsed the decision of COAG members to ask for more time to consider the NEG and calls on all sides of politics to come to the table to achieve a robust and durable climate and energy policy.
FCA chief executive officer Verity Morgan-Schmidt said the NEG had the potential to be an important step in breaking the ideological deadlock surrounding climate and energy policy, but needed stronger emissions targets and transparency measures.
“Farmers need energy certainty, and they need action on climate change. The details of the NEG have been surrounded by confusion and it’s important that we now get all the facts on the table,” Ms Morgan-Schmidt said.
“The NEG is going to be with us for a long time and have a significant impact on farmers – be it through its impact on clean energy, electricity prices, or pushing emissions reductions obligations onto other sectors: including agriculture.
“We can’t afford a half-baked policy that fails to address the key challenges of reliability, affordability and climate. Let’s make sure it serves our needs and helps protect our future of our industries.”
FCA also expressed a concern that the federal government needs to better recognise the connection between energy policy and climate, regarding what FCA see as a short-sighted approach to tackling the issues behind the drought.
“It doesn’t take a lot to see that the drought that so many of our farmers are currently dealing with is part of a much larger story,” she said.
“We have over 3,000 farmers behind us saying they’ve had enough. They want real leadership in regards to the way climate change is managed.
“Many farmers are already doing their part on-farm, but there’s only so much they can do, and while emissions continue to rise and temperatures increase, the problem will only get worse.”
Longreach grazier Angus Emmott is an FCA board member.
“We know climate change is happening. We know dry periods are going to get longer and harsher, and that we’ll have more violent flooding events,” Mr Emmott said.
“We need to be looking for mitigation strategies, and moving into renewable energy. We need to be reducing our use of fossil fuels as quickly as possible.
“The evidence is so clear: politicians who are ignoring this evidence are playing with our future. If we are to continue producing food and fibre, we need action,” he said.