Tasmanian Climate Collective

06/09/2026

Ecological grief is an emotional response to losing places, species or ecosystems that are important to us. People working in conservation or environmental professions can be at risk of ecological grief, but there are things you can do to find support.

Developing knowledge, skills and values about ecological grief can help you respond to it.

Check out these useful resources: 👇
https://cbcs.centre.uq.edu.au/ecological-grief-resources

05/09/2026

The Tas Conservation Trust is holding workshops & an art competition for young Tasmanians between the ages of 15-25.

'Help us to imagine, visualise and communicate what a climate-safe future for Lutruwita/Tasmania looks like.'

Learn more here: 👇
https://www.tasconservation.org.au/youth-poster-competition

19/08/2026

The government had a real chance to respond to the Independent Review of the Climate Change Act by cutting climate pollution and preparing us for impacts we're already locked into.

Instead, it's a missed opportunity.

Here's where the response falls short:
- It doesn't match the urgency. Climate impacts are accelerating, but the response doesn't reflect that.
- It leaves major adaptation gaps with no plans for:
* Health care
* Local communities
* Ecosystems
* Emergency management
* Tourism
* Homes, buildings and infrastructure
* Aquaculture
- It compromises Tasmania's Net Zero status without addressing that risk .
- It relies on short-term forest offsets instead of committing to real, long-term pollution cuts.
- It prioritises process over action with more paperwork, not enough change on the ground.

There are some positives. We're glad the government reinstated a Climate Change Minister, as parliament requested. There are also two glimmers of hope:
- It may consider a new statutory body, though only after an unspecified "period of time."
- It plans to strengthen the Climate Change Reference Group.

What needs to happen now?

We're calling on the government to legislate the independent statutory body now.

We're calling on parliament to demand sensible management of climate risks — and a genuine commitment to stop making the problem worse.

Thank you to the hundreds of Tasmanians who engaged with the Review. Your voices deserve a better response.

What you can do -

Call or email parliamentarians asking for stronger climate policies — yep, it's that simple.

Climate Change Minister, Guy Barnett
Shadow Climate Change Minister, Janie Finlay
Your local MPs

Find their contact details here: 👇
https://www.parliament.tas.gov.au/house-of-assembly/currentmembers

They won't know what we want unless we tell them.

We'll put a script in the comments

18/08/2026

This is great news!

Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen has announced a major expansion of the Federal government’s solar incentive.

From October, solar rooftop incentives will expand to cover solar systems up to 10 times larger. That means Aussie farms and factories will be able to access support to install panels and then receive huge reductions in electricity bills as they generate clean power from sunshine.

Each business or community group will be reducing climate pollution with every watt of energy they generate from the sun.

See the full speech here: 👇
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m22fgKEKWtY

18/08/2026

‼️ This Thursday 👇

Do you study at UTAS and;

a) regularly catch the bus OR
b) want to, but face barriers OR
c) can fill out one or more spaces on the bingo card?

Come along to this interactive forum and hear from Vishnu Prahalad and Prof Verity Cleland on how public transport can be reformed to be equitable, accessible and climate-friendly!

This interactive forum will include special talks from Dr. Vishnu Prahalad and Prof. Verity Cleland, a workshop activity and information on how you can get involved in climate and transport advocacy + enjoy a free slice of pizza!

Date: 20th August
Time: 5:30-7pm
Venue: Studio Theatre, UTAS Sandy Bay campus

Free entry + FREE PIZZA, link in the bio to RSVP

16/08/2026

Members of the TCC and TCT met with Helen Burnett this week to discuss Helen's motion that was supported by Tas parliament.

The motion required the Tasmanian Government to provide a formal response 'no later than 13 August 2026’ outlining how they plan to implement and respond to the recommendations from the Independent Review of the Climate Change Act.

We want the Tasmanian government to implement the 7 recommendations of this review to help us reduce climate pollution and to help us adapt to the climate impacts already baked in.

14/08/2026

David Hamilton writes "Many Australians are concerned about climate change but do not know how petrol, diesel and gas drive it, because climate language has become too technical, opaque and disconnected from daily life."

This 'not knowing' becomes a barrier to supporting climate action.

"Everyone wanting to see our children and grandchildren experience the safest climate possible needs to change their language so that it is simple and direct, and uses local terminology. This is particularly true of leaders. We all need to help dispel the fog of not knowing, but leaders have the greatest responsibility. I would love to see climate campaigners taking leaders to task when their language is not simple and direct."

Read more here: 👇
https://johnmenadue.com/post/2026/08/climate-action-starts-with-clearer-language/

13/08/2026

Grateful for your leadership Tasmanian Conservation Trust and Helen Burnet MP - Independent Member for Clark, calling on the government to take stronger action to address climate change 💚

Yesterday the Minister for Climate Change, after having his hand forced by a motion, finally tabled the government response to the Climate Act review (which has been on their desks since Dec 2025 - 9 months!?!).

The Mercury published an article on our response to the governments non-commitment to all 7 recommendations of the review today.

They have not committed to any legislative change, despite the 5 of the 7 recommendations from the review recommending it.

They have left the door open for a statutory body (Recommendation 1) but with no timeline on it, there is no mention of an adaptation plan (recommendation 3) and zero acknowledgement of the finding that Lutruwita/Tasmania is at risk of losing our constantly spruken Net-Zero emissions status before 2030.

The government are committing to inaction on climate and committing to not taking leadership, despite the review finding we are in desperate need of more.

We gathered outside parliament with Helen Burnet Independent Member for Clark , & Tasmanian Climate Collective just after the response was tabled to hear more about it and present our open letter calling for honest implementation of the 7 recommendations to better prepare Tasmanians for climate-induced impacts such as bushfires, floods and marine heatwaves and reduce climate-pollution.

12/08/2026

The complexity facing Tasmania in terms of adapting to a changing climate is off the scale.

We are facing escalating bushfires, floods, droughts, sea level rise and marine heatwaves, and they're just the hazards we know about.

The need for a carefully planned, fully funded, well-coordinated plan couldn't be greater.

Is our Govt up to the task? Could they be doing more? Who is taking responsibility?

TCC's Sharee McCammon and TCT's Ruby Annand Jones discussed this with Leon Compton on ABC Radio last week.

Listen here: 👇 Starts at 51:15
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/hobart-mornings/mornings/106986658

10/08/2026

Had a wonderful conversation today with those working hard toward reaching climate change action across Tasmania. So many great people in this space all working together for real solutions.