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A Just Transition: from fossil fuel economies to a renewable energy future.

Coal is Australia's biggest contribution to climate change. Many Hunter Valley communities and ecologies are at breaking point due to the impacts of the coal industry and, at the same time, recoverable coal reserves in NSW are running out. So what does the future hold for local economies that have been tied up with coal?

This forum, held at Climate Camp Australia 2008, looked at plans and opportunities to fund and implement a just, timely and orderly transition away from coal and towards renewable energy. Plenary speakers, Geoff Evans (Greenpeace Australia Pacific), Daniel Wallace (Newcastle organiser, AMWU), Anna Rose (national co-ordinator, Australian Youth Climate Coalition), Graham Brown (retired mineworker) and Peter Barrack (former Secretary Newcastle Trades Hall Council), discussed the opportunites offered by a renewable energy future - with more economic, social and environmental benefits than coal has never provided. This session was part of day two of Climate Camp Australia 2008 in Newcastle, which runs until July 15.

The Camp for Climate Action is an inspiring six days of workshops and grassroots direct action aimed at stopping the expansion of the world's biggest coal port in Newcastle. The camp is a collaboration between environment groups, community organisations, student groups, and individuals. Groups already involved include Friends of the Earth Australia, Rising Tide, the Australian Student Environment Network and individuals from local climate action groups. The camp includes workshops, opportunities to learn, develop skills and share stories.

It aims to be an inspiring example of a sustainable and participatory community and will culminate in a mass, non-violent direct action focused on the root causes of climate change. In the spirit of the great global history of civil disobedience (Gandhi's salt march, the American civil rights movement, the shutdown of the Jabiluka uranium mine), the Camp for Climate Action is a chance for ordinary people to assert our right to a future free from dangerous climate change. By being a part of it (in Newcastle - the coalface of climate change) - you can be part of creating a living future for our children.

For more information visit http://www.climatecamp.org.au

Climate change is the biggest threat to our future, and coal is the biggest cause of climate change, so why is the Australian coal industry still expanding? We need to take real action to ensure fossil fuels are kept in the ground. We are running out of time. One thing is certain, we can't wait for Governments or the fossil fuel industry to solve the climate crisis. We must ourselves now start to create the change we want.

Acknowedgements to the Camp for Climate Action website and program for material used and reworked here.