Australian Conservation Foundation

Erik Peterson is a political analyst based in the United States and has more than 35 years experience working on elections in both the US and Australia. He shared some interesting insights in the wake of the US Presidential election result at a recent ACF webinar. Key takeaway? We all need to be getting out and chatting with our neighbours face-to-face about issues impacting climate and nature. Meaningful and honest conversations go a long way when there’s so much toxicity in the media and on social media platforms. We’re already turning our attention to the next Australian Federal election. You can join the pledge to vote for climate and nature here: https://acf.to/4exajVF

Here's to every farmer working towards a food system that nourishes both people and the planet. 🌾 This year's National Agriculture Day theme is 'Grow you good thing' - encouraging us to consider where our food comes from. Learn how you can help make Australia a world leader in sustainable food production. https://acf.to/3QGs6QZ

The push for nuclear energy in Australia only delays and distracts from proven solutions like wind and solar power. Joining the conversation at #COP29 is ACF’s nuclear-free analyst, Dave Sweeney. Dave is accompanied by fellow nuclear-free advocates, First Nations people and academics who share a clear message: nuclear energy is neither a credible nor effective solution to the climate emergency. Don’t be misled by nuclear energy's false promise; our future lies in renewable, not radioactive, sources.

Australia’s leading environment organisations – The Wilderness Society , Greenpeace Australia Pacific, and ACF – were out in force outside the Coles Group annual general meeting in Melbourne today demanding the supermarket giant commit publicly to eliminating deforestation from its supply chains. Down down, nature is down. Coles needs to catch up with Woolworths and ALDI. Our big supermarkets rely heavily on nature - the onus is on them to better protect it. Image credit: Greenpeace / Toby Davidson Kelly O'Shanassy David Ritter Amelia Young

Today, as Coles board members face shareholder questions about unfair discount schemes and price gouging at its AGM in Melbourne, we have a presence out front calling on the supermarket giant to stop bulldozing the bush. Coles needs to step up to the plate and finally eliminate deforestation from its supply chains. https://acf.to/4hCyu7T

Feeding a family for under $10 may be a thing of the past, and so shall our native forests if Coles Group doesn’t take deforestation off the shelves. Coles is now the only major supermarket that hasn’t committed to end deforestation. When Australians shop for their family meals, they shouldn’t have to worry if those products are linked to bulldozed koala habitats. But right now, they do. Help change that. Send Coles a pre-filled email urging them to catch up to Woolworths Supermarkets and ALDI Stores Australia in stamping out deforestation from their supply chains.

The quest to stop deforestation has begun! ACF Investigates is back, ready to take on the forces of destruction. We’re laser-focused on tracking every act of deforestation in Australia’s bushland—and we’re kicking off this mission today! Your task: from the comfort of your phone or desktop, help us uncover hidden bulldozing activity and collect crucial data on our disappearing wild places. Together, we can bring these destructive forces into the spotlight and fight to protect what’s precious. Join ACF Investigates today and help us stop the bulldozers in their tracks. Let’s save our bushland! https://acf.to/3CwbLKm

The US election results are in, but our commitment to climate justice is stronger than ever! Let’s turn this moment into momentum—here's how you can play a vital role: 1) Join our national webinar next Tuesday-together, we’ll turn knowledge into action! https://acf.to/3O29LMF 2) Support our movement with a donation—every step counts toward a thriving planet! https://acf.to/4fBFCzA 3) Prioritise climate and nature in the upcoming Australian Federal election!

The US election result does not spell the end for our climate and nature. Let's reframe the result as the start of building a stronger community for climate action, one that is bigger than ever before. We are already mobilising ahead of Australia's next federal election and we need your help. A small donation will go a long way to help us build our strongest campaign yet for climate and nature. https://acf.to/4hwJRhs

So yesterday was depressing. It scares me that people would elect a convicted felon, a misogynist and a racist (and all the other ists) as their leader. There are shifts happening that we need to understand and respond to, to make sure this never happens in Australia. I'm keen to hear your considered thoughts on this. As an advocate for climate and nature, I've learnt there will be dark moments like this - we can't gloss over or dismiss them. I've also learnt that things are never as bad as we think they will be, in these dark moments.   A Trump Presidency and Republican controlled Congress (if that happens) will be bad - for climate, women's rights, equality, refugees, disadvantaged people - but the American people, progressive businesses and civil society have power, and they will redouble their efforts for a better world.    Global climate finance just got harder, and this result will embolden fossil fuel companies, but we can't forget that climate action and nature protection is hard wired into the US legal and economic system, and US businesses are not going to stand back and allow their competitive advantage on renewables and clean tech to be lost. Most of the Inflation Reduction Act funding went to republican states, so there will be a call to keep those opportunities and jobs. It's the same story globally, and here in Australia. The clean and green transition can be slowed, but it is unstoppable. Thats why advocates don't just rely on the government of the day. We build people power, change the story and the public narrative, move the money from dirty to clean and create better laws, all to hard wire change into the system so a reckless bloke can't undo them at the click of his fingers.    Our work hasn't changed, the climate and nature crises are still here, and so are the solutions. We keep going, we never give up, we scale things up and we shake things up. Keen to hear from people about how we do that. To brighten your day............. Australian Conservation Foundation #USelection