(2 brief articles from Sustainability News, South Gippsland published with permission of author)
The Southern CORE (Community Owned Renewable Energy) Fund is an initiative of the Energy Innovation Cooperative Ltd (EICo-op). The EICo-op is a non-profit, volunteer organisation working with partners through the ComMET (Communities Making Energy Together) Roundtable to assist communities with researching and deciding on fit-for-purpose energy systems, making this challenging job easier.
It is aiming to raise funds to build the Southern CORE Fund, which is a perpetual revolving fund. Community groups can then apply to the fund for part donation and part no interest loans to fund solar panels, solar hot-water or energy efficiency projects. Loans are paid back to the Fund from the energy savings to support the next project, meaning every dollar donated is invested over and over again, it’s brilliant! The more money raised, the more community support provided.
What Victorians really think about climate change.
A recent survey of Victorians has found 91 per cent believe humans contribute to climate change and one third of respondents rank it as one of the top three most important issues facing the state. The independent research involved interviews with more than 3,300 people surveyed across all of Victoria, giving it a high statistical reliability (With 95% level of confidence, the margin of error is +- 2.5%).
Amongst the findings were:
· Four in five Victorians are willing to take action on climate change and understand that a proactive approach will reduce energy bills.
· Only seven per cent of respondents said there was no such thing as climate change or that natural processes caused it.
· Approximately 50–60 per cent of all Victorians believe there has been an increase in the occurrence of environmental events in this state over the past ten years
· Four out of five Victorians (78%) support the government’s zero emissions target. Support increases to nine in ten among those aged 40 or under.