4 activists from the Greenpeace charity climbed to the top of a 140metre smokestack at a coal fired power plant in Queensland, Australia. In sub zero temperatures the 4 climbers occupied the smokestack for 33 hours overnight, whilst writing ‘Go Solar’ on the chimney – a clear message to the Australian Parliament.

Of the 13 activists’ who tried to occupy the Swanbank B coal-fired plant in the early hours of Friday 11th July, 9 were arrested upon the start of their ascent. 4 of the other climbers managed to slip through the police net and were only arrested upon their descent the following day.

Swanbank B power plant is responsible for more than 2million tonnes of carbon emissions a year, the equivalent amount of pollution caused by 300,000 cars.  .

With Australia way behind many of the world’s countries in developing renewable energy, it is time for the Australian government to stand up and be counted. In the next 18 months, the Spanish government will have commissioned enough solar power to replace FOUR power stations of similar size to Swanbank.

Professor Ross Garnaut, the Australian Government’s climate change advisor, claims that if Australians do not successfully combat climate change, the Great Barrier Reef will die. This will not only cost the economy $5 billion in tourism dollars each year alone, but also 50,000 livelihoods. Jobs in coal can be replaced by jobs in renewable energy; there is absolutely no way to replace the Great Barrier Reef.

After his two-hour descent from the Swanbank chimney, Greenpeace energy campaigner Julien Vincent said -

‘We did this to get the message out that Australia urgently needs to cut greenhouse gas emissions. They must start replacing old and dirty coal fired power stations, with true clean renewable energy like solar. It is tragic that Queensland, with the best solar resources in the world, is not a leader in the booming global renewable energy industry.’

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Action Aid’s Child Poverty Day is to be held on Friday October 17th this year, and it’s an excellent way to raise awareness and money throughout businesses across the country.

Holding a Big School Dinner event is easy and fun to arrange. By you and your colleagues bringing in a packed lunch then everyone can donate the money they would normally spend to Action Aid. You could even organise a traditional school dinner with colleagues and friends to raise money, though lumpy gravy is not a necessity!

Every day we spend millions of pounds on readymade sandwiches and fast food for lunch. If everyone donated just one day of dinner money if could transform the lives of people in much poorer communities. Even if you manage to raise a small share of the £162m spent on lunch every day in the UK, it could make an incredible difference.

Action Aid’s fundraising efforts help poorer communities to build school kitchens, support educational projects and help to provide children with nutritious meals. They also put pressure on local and national governments to ensure that more children have better access to healthcare and free education.

To get hold of a free fundraising pack call Action Aid on 01460 23 8047 or register online here.

> > click here to make a donation to Action Aid

> > click here to find out more about the work of action Aid