Download Central to any process of change is community engagement and

Central to any process of change is community engagement and some of the challenges and
proposed solutions to transitioning to clean energy was central to the panel discussion chaired by
Professor Kate Auty.
A number of key issues was raised by the panel of experts. Ben Burge, (CEO, Powershop, Meridien
Energy Australia), criticized the vested interest of big power companies in maintaining the status quo
of politics and preventing grass roots change. ‘Big power companies lie and hold us back from
waking up to the problem,’ Ben Burge argues. In order for there to be a real conversation on the
issue of climate change and cleaner energy people need to be aware of the risks of climate change
and the actions they can take to make a difference.
Stefano de Pieri, (Winemaker and Restauranteur, Mildura), argued that cities need to make a greater
effort to reach out and communicate with regional areas. Regional communities are the ‘hardest hit
by climate change’ and the politics of Australia are simply holding back change. According to Stefano
de Pieri, the road to Paris is ‘littered with potholes and bandits.’
Paul Murfitt, (Moreland City Council and founder of Moreland Energy Foundation and Positive
Charge) argued there needs to be a dialogue between cities and communities. Initiatives to help
reduce greenhouse gas begin at the community level and communities should be ‘doing their fair
share in the global context.’
Cathy Alexander, (research fellow at the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute) and Katerina Gaita
(CEO of Climate for Change) both stressed the importance of values, norms and making climate
change relevant to the people. Cathy emphasised the need to ‘bridge the gap’ between the science
that is produced at universities and everyday knowledge and relevance for the public. In order for
there to be change, people need to feel that the challenges and solutions are relevant and
accessible.
Helga Birgden, (Partner, Global Business Leader, Responsible Investment, Mercer), stressed the need
in investigating climate change risk for investors. Helga raised the concern of how to reduce risks
and maintain a sense of return for businesses in a sustainable way.
The solution, according to the panel experts, was to make climate change knowledge accessible,
relevant and personal. In order for the community to get involved in transitioning to climate action
people need to feel that the challenges of climate change matter to them. The central concern and
solution according to the panellists was how to create a space that is safe and open to conversation
at a local community level.
According to Katerina Gaita, in order to ensure community action and a transition to cleaner energy
at a local level we ‘need to change the way people think about climate change through
conversations and through building trust.’ Katerina provided a model for action similar to the
concept of a ‘Tupperware party’ where the aim is to gather friends and family to have an honest and
relevant conversation about how climate change has a personal effect on everyday lives. ‘The aim is
to make climate change knowledge and change accessible, relevant and personal and it is through
this process that you build trust, engage in new values and emotions and create new ways of looking
at the world and climate change action.’
Rather than trying to educate and distribute the science behind climate change, we need to make it
about ‘shared core values’, argued Cathy Alexander. Katerina Gaita agreed with Rob Gell that one
should ‘never intellectualize further than you can carry people’s emotions.’ People need to feel like
they’re in control of their lives and in order for people to have confidence to participate in change
they need to have ‘the tools to have effective discussions.’ Changing values, having an honest
conversation and opening the debate to the public are central tenants of any successful approach
toward engaging with community level action.