There is a lot of talk about renewable energy targets, but which Australian states and territories are walking the talk and making 100% renewables by 2030 targets?
Outdoor air pollution from burning fossil fuels causes a range of illnesses including heart attacks, strokes, diabetes mellitus, asthma, lung cancers and other lung diseases, and can particularly harm pregnant people, children and people with pre-existing conditions [1,2,3]. Burning fossil fuels is also the leading cause of climate change, which is the biggest health threat of the 21st century [4].
Transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy will yield enormous health benefits for communities across Australia. Many government ministers are now aware that renewable energy also stacks up for economic and environmental reasons. But which states and territories have actually made a target to reach 100% renewable electricity by 2030?
Take Action
With state elections on the horizon for big polluting states of Victoria and NSW, now is the perfect opportunity for those state governments and opposition parties to also make a 100% renewable energy by 2030 commitment. If you work or study in health, please add your name to our open letters asking for just that:
Sign our Clean Energy for Health for VIC letter
Sign our Clean Energy for Health for NSW letter
You can also use our email tool to email the federal government to make a 100% renewables target as well. You don't have to work or study in health to use the tool!
References:
[1] Lockwood, A.H., Welker-Hood, K., Rauch, M. and Gottlieb, B. (2009). Coal’s assault on human health: a report from Physicians for Social Responsibility, https://www.psr.org/blog/resource/coals-assault-on-human-health/
[2] Amster, E. and Lew Levy, C. (2019). Impact of coal-fired power plant emissions on children’s health: a systematic review of the epidemiological literature. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16, 2008, https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/11/2008/htm
[3] McDuffie et al. (2021). Source sector and fuel contributions to ambient PM2.5 and attributable mortality across multiple spatial scales. Nature Communications 12, 3594 (2021), https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-23853-y
[4] https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-health