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All Australians are major contributors to greenhouse gases in their households. Action is urgently required in Australian households to reduce greenhouse gases.

22 Communities across Australia are devising new, exciting and more efficient ways of reducing greenhouse gases. Cool Communities is a world first, and aims to save hundreds of tonnes of greenhouse gases per household every year.

Cool Communities is an initiative of the Queensland Conservation Council and the Australian Greenhouse Office. Over the next year the Queensland Conservation Council will be working with the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission to find effective ways to cut household greenhouse emissions. The aim is to create an awareness of greenhouse issues, engage householders and undertake greenhouse actions. The success of this project relies on the level of support from the community and the expertise and energy of the community.

Across Australia, 22 communities were selected as part of the Cool Communities project.

In Queensland, two communities were selected:

• Catholic Justice and Peace Commission and
• Maleny Credit Union

Since January 2002, the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission has been working with the Cool Communities Facilitator to develop the Cool Communities Action Plan. The Action Plans will guide the community through the selected greenhouse activities.

The Action Plan was developed through a collaborative process with community input. The Catholic Justice and Peace Commission worked with a steering committee to develop the Cool Communities program of activities and abatement actions.

Cool Communities will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by helping households to change their behaviours, and/or the technologies they use. These Abatement Actions will involve households 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 off 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.

Many of the abatement actions, which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, will also result in financial savings for households and will have other environmental benefits.

The Catholic Justice and Peace Commission Archdiocese of Brisbane will focus much of its work in the Burleigh Heads area of the Gold Coast to undertake a Home Energy Program.

The Commission’s activities include:

• Community Energy Workshops – which will promote energy efficiency in the household;
• Train-the-Trainer program – to train others how to be energy efficient in the household; and
• Cool Car Pooling Program - to promote efficient car travelling to Mass.

The Catholic Justice and Peace Commission, with the collaboration of the local parish and school, will undertake the Cool Communities Home Energy Program until July 2003. For information on how to get involved please contact the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission or the Queensland Conservation Council.