More than ten years on from the moment Matthew Nott became motivated to do what he could to reduce carbon emissions, the orthopaedic surgeon says grassroots approaches are more crucial than ever.
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There will also be some very positive changes, particularly in our region if we can become a renewable energy leader.
- Clean Energy For Eternity president Matthew Nott
The Clean Energy for Eternity group he initiated in 2006 will host a public meeting in Tathra in February, which will see the community vote on adopting a 100 per cent renewable energy target for the town by the year 2030.
“The target is something that is very achievable,” Dr Nott said during a presentation to Bega Valley Shire Council on Wednesday.
“We want a bipartisan approach. This is not about politics, it is about solutions.”
Dr Nott said local government will face future challenges around lost assets due to sea level rise, increased bushfire threats, insurance issues, reduced real estate values and increased costs of flood and drought damage. But it wasn’t all bad news.
“There will also be some very positive changes, particularly in our region if we can become a renewable energy leader,” he said.
He said a solar farm in Moree which will feed 18 metropolitan council areas is an example of what can be done at a regional level to increase the use of renewable energy and create jobs. Dr Nott said the new target should be adopted across the local government area, and the prediction of 25,000 new jobs in the sector would include 11,000 in NSW alone.
“We want most of those jobs in the Bega Valley,” he said.
Dr Nott said he has been spurred on by a combination of the tragic March bushfire which destroyed over 60 homes in the coastal town and what he sees as political inaction.
“It’s absolutely outrageous the government has no strategy for emissions going into a federal election. We are not giving up. Tathra is ready for action” he said.
Australian National University engineering professor Andrew Blakers will attend the public meeting on February 19, alongside former Liberal Party leader and member of the university’s Climate Change Institute John Hewson.