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Queensland’s Cool Communities

creating cool solutions to global warming

Australia has the highest rate of greenhouse gas emissions per head in the world. With climate change being one of the most serious environmental threats to the planet, it is important that we take responsibility for reducing these emissions. Queensland, with 18 per cent of the nation’s population, produces 25 per cent of its greenhouse gases (QLD Government, 2001). Whilst government and industry have their role to play, householders can also make a big difference.

Cool Communities is a new project aimed to work with households across Australia to develop greenhouse actions. There are 7 million households in Australia, each producing, on average, 15 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions every year. In theory, simple changes to our everyday activities can save up to 3 tonnes of greenhouse pollution per household each year. The aim is to create an awareness of greenhouse issues, engage householders and undertake greenhouse actions.

After a comprehensive selection process, with over 20 communities applying in Queensland, we are proud to announce that the Maleny Credit Union and the Catholic and Justice Peace Commission have been selected as Queensland’s Cool Communities. For the next one and a half years the Queensland Conservation Council will be working with these communities to find effective ways to cut household greenhouse emissions. Nationally the project selected 24 communities across all the states and territories to participate in Cool Communities activities.

Some of the potential activities the Queensland Cool Communities will undertake will be:

• low interest loans for energy efficient housing or energy efficient products;
• campaigns to promote public transport;
• bulk-purchasing of energy efficient appliances;
• community energy workshops; and
• resource kits for communities.

Changing the way we use energy requires changes in our behaviour. This can only be achieved if people choose to change themselves. As the average household makes about 15 tonnes of greenhouse emissions every year, changing households will change our world. Programs that aim for energy efficiency often focus only on homes and appliances, the Cool Communities project sees people as part of the energy picture and that householders relate to energy in a variety of ways. The following are only some barriers householders have in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions:

• In the home energy has become mostly invisible.

When we switch on lights, or use electricity it is often hard to imagine that most of Queenslands electricity comes from coal-fired power stations. In fact 97 per cent of our electricity is generated from coal. It is important that householders are aware that the energy it takes to switch on a light comes from, in most cases, a non-renewable energy source and in the process creates greenhouse gases.

• Energy has often been overlooked as a service.

The whole purpose of our use of energy is that it provides us with services. Energy can be supplied for services such as heating and cooling, lighting and transport. Our current approach to energy services is however very different; energy suppliers focus on being able to sell as much of their product as possible and there is often a lack of attention to energy efficiency. Being able to make choices has benefits for social and environmental issues as well as economically (REC, 1999).

• Householders don’t see energy costs.

Billing and accounting of energy use is delayed, aggregated and has technical information that most consumers do not understand. Whilst the consumer knows how much their energy bill is they often do not know how many kWh of electricity or MJ of gas they use.

• Income influences energy use.

Low income households often have the greatest need for improved energy efficiency, but the least ability to make capital investments. Higher income households tend to consume much more energy than lower income households (Shipworth, 2000).

The Cool Communities project will identify ways to overcome these and other barriers that householders face and develop greenhouse actions.

The Cool Communities project will promote and develop greenhouse actions, which ordinary Queenslanders can do, through behavioural and/or technological change. Most of the abatement actions, which will reduce greenhouse gases, will also result in financial savings for households and have other environmental benefits.

The principle of greenhouse action will involve householders undertaking one or more of the following:

1. Reducing the amount they do an activity (e.g. travelling less, buying less consumer goods or not using as many electric lights ).
2. Changing the way they do an activity such as walking instead of driving to the shops, recycling waste products or switching their TV of at the set instead of using the remote.
3. Changing the technology or fuel they use for an activity such as buying a more fuel-efficient car, composting food scraps or installing low-consumption compact fluorescent lights.

As the Cool Communities Facilitator, I look forward to the challenges and experiences this project will bring. Working with communities gives me the opportunity to learn more about the way communities understand the greenhouse problem and some of the barriers they face, but also to discover the creative ways communities develop greenhouse actions that will benefit the community and the society as a whole. With the experience and knowledge gained from this project we can build a culture of greenhouse actions in Australia that will help move the greenhouse debate from one of uncertainty into one of action.

Breakdown of a typical Queensland home’s energy use:

Water Heating……38 %

Refrigeration …….18 %

Cooking…………. 11 %

Lighting…………. 11 %

Heating & Cooling 5 %

Other…………….17 %

The Cool Communities project is a joint initiative of the Queensland Conservation Council and the Australian Greenhouse Office.

Queensland Government; (2001) Queensland Greenhouse Policy Framework: A Climate of Change, Environmental Protection Agency.

Renewable Energy Centre; (1999) Introduction to Renewable Energy Technologies: Resource Book, Brisbane Institute of Tafe.

Shipworth, M; (2000) Motivating Home Energy Action: A Handbook of what works, Australian Greenhouse Office.