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12 July, 8am: A Greenpeace activist paints "Go Solar" on the side of the Swanbank B smokestack, near Ipswich, Queensland.
Enlarge imageAt 8am this morning, two of our activists abseiled over the side of the 140-metre high Swanbank B coal-fired smokestack and started painting the words "Go Solar" down its length in massive letters.
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Why are we doing this?
We are getting the message out that Australia urgently needs to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Greenpeace energy campaigner, Julien Vincent, is on the smokestack. He says that cutting emissions "will only be achieved if renewable power such as solar and geothermal replace dirty coal-fired power plants, like this one."
Julien says it's a tragedy that Queensland has the best solar resources in the world but isn't taking advantage of it. “With the right policies in place, Queensland could be a developer and exporter of a zero-emission technology to other countries."
Read Julien's 100-metre high blog post
Queensland's premier agrees we need action
Queensland Premier, Anna Bligh, yesterday told a forum in Brisbane that Queensland has "a lot to do and a lot to lose" with climate change.
She has visited a solar thermal plant in the US and knows what baseload solar thermal power can deliver. It is time that she let the renewable energy industry deliver for the people of Queensland.
In Germany, the renewable energy industry employs a quarter of a million people.
Staying put
The activists will stay on top of 37-year-old Swanbank B to call for a revolution in how Australia makes energy. Swanbank B causes more than two million tonnes of carbon emissions a year. That's the same pollution as 300,000 cars a year.
We want a commitment from Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to closing Swanbank by the next election. If every home in Queensland switched to solar hot water, Swanbank B could be switched off.
"Jobs in coal can be replaced by jobs in renewable energy. There is no way to replace the Great Barrier Reef."
Julien Vincent, Greenpeace energy campaigner
The world's best solar resource
Australia is way behind many other countries in developing renewable energy. For example, Spain over the next 18 months will roll out enough solar thermal power to replace Swanbank B power station four times over. Australia could become a powerhouse for renewable energy manufacturing and technological development, creating thousands of new jobs and investment opportunities.
Read the Energy [R]evolution Scenario: Australia report
Garnaut Review analysed
The Government’s climate change advisor, Professor Ross Garnaut, says that if we do not successfully combat climate change, the Great Barrier Reef will die and we will lose 50,000 jobs and $5 billion in tourism dollars each year.
Read our analysis of the Garnaut Review
UPDATE 5:45pm: The four activists brave near-freezing temperatures, pull on their thermals and bunker down for the night, perched on the 140-metre high power station chimney. Temperatures are expected to drop to two degrees Celsius overnight. Read tonight's last blog post
UPDATE 3.15pm: Julien, Greenpeace energy campaigner, is standing on a smokestack gantry, 100 metres above the ground, looking out over a scarred, unnecessary landscape. Read his blog post
UPDATE 11am: Four activists are now on the top of the smokestack. On the way up, they hung a banner on the gantry, reading "Renewables not coal" (see Flickr image). Activists on the roof have been arrested and charged. Sign the Energy [R]evolution petition to Prime Minister Rudd
UPDATE 9.34am: Two of our activists have reached the top of the stack, with two more close behind. As coal is one of the dirtiest energy producing technologies, the activists have been testing air quality to ensure they can stay up there without suffering adverse effects. Nine other activists were arrested earlier and taken to the local police station. Sign the Energy [R]evolution petition to Prime Minister Rudd
Find out more - get onboard the Esperanza in Brisbane this weekend
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