Newcastle and the Hunter Valley is part of a worldwide transition being led by workers and communities, away from dependence on the polluting industries of the past and towards the clean, low carbon economies of the future. HCEC is working towards a vision of just transition, which includes a sustainable, productive and resilient regional economy. That means living wages for all workers, clean production and zero waste. It means that we invest in industries that improve our ecological and social well-being, and divest from those that cost the earth in energy consumption, water use, transport, exploitation, displacement and the legacy of contamination.
NEWCASTLE CITY COUNCIL DIVESTS FROM FOSSIL FUELS
The City of Newcastle Council voted last night to focus investments away from environmentally and socially destructive entities, including Australia’s Big Four Banks. With a total investment portfolio of $270 million, the groundbreaking move makes Newcastle the fourth, and largest Council in New South Wales, and the seventh in the country to divest.
ECONOMIC ROUNDTABLE TO DISCUSS POST-CARBON FUTURE FOR THE HUNTER
The Hunter Community Environment Centre, in collaboration with 350.org Australia, is hosting a roundtable forum to bring together local and regional leaders from industry, government, finance, the community sector, the union movement and the wider public in a meaningful discussion about transitioning to a low carbon economy in Newcastle and the Hunter, and the practical steps required to achieve it.
STOPPING T4 WILL SOLVE AND AVOID CREATING MANY PROBLEMS
Jonathon Deans’ article ‘Stopping T4 will just start more problems’ makes a series of flawed and misleading statements to support his claim that a fourth coal loader should be built in Newcastle. We would like to respond to some of Deans’ misleading claims.