Over the past 12 months, Australians have experienced the switch to becoming a clean energy powered nation in real time, while simultaneously adapting to and dealing with worsening impacts of the climate crisis.

Thanks to your support, this year Climate Council has led the national conversation about climate pollution and our warming world, participated with fantastic partners in the major climate policy fights, and celebrated hard-fought wins on renewables and electric vehicles (EVs). Did you know Australia is now powered 40% by renewable energy? A major achievement in a highly contested environment!

As Australia’s own community-funded and independent climate organisation, our focus this year has been on shaping and winning national debates about how Australia responds to climate change, as well as developing and socialising our roadmap for how to cut climate pollution by 75% this decade. 

Together, we have exerted pressure on decision-makers and new political players to amplify climate ambition and action. By producing expert reports, undertaking targeted advocacy, and running powerful media and digital campaigns, we have ensured that climate solutions remain at the forefront of both government and business agendas. This has played a pivotal role in driving tangible policy changes.

This year, our dedicated Councillors and staff authored 15 influential reports on gas exports, clean transport, our warming oceans, the need to reform our national environment law to account for climate pollution, and many more. The Climate Council and Climate Media Centre (CMC) provided journalists with accurate information about climate solutions and climate impacts to improve their coverage, and more than 90 climate spokespeople trained and quoted in over 27,000 pieces of media. Our highly engaging online content was interacted with over 500,000 times across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and more. This phenomenal reach demonstrates the expertise and dedication of our communications team to get climate stories and compelling, evidence-based information in front of enormous numbers of people and shape Australia’s conversation about climate change.

While Australia’s nation-shaping clean energy revolution takes place, we cannot ignore the forces seeking to obstruct progress. We are in the ‘misinformation era’, where trusted and respected voices, like those of our experts, are more important than ever. Every day, Australians are confronted with two visions for Australia’s future when it comes to our energy sources: one based on renewable energy like solar and wind, backed by storage, and the other a scheme that can only lead to more coal and gas pollution as we wait for nuclear power stations that may never arrive.

Above all, we are grateful to Climate Council’s community, whose passion and generosity powers all the work we do. None of it is possible without you. As we chart the path towards the upcoming federal election, it’s thanks to your support that Climate Council is actively shaping how quickly we can scale up climate action in Australia and help secure a safer future for our children. 

Thank you.