This week is big. You may not have heard it in the media, but the Government are holding meetings almost every day this week (including a critical 2-day negotiation this weekend) to decide how to divide the funds raised from a carbon price.
The whole point of a price on carbon is to make polluting expensive, and clean energy cheap. But big polluter lobbyists are there in the corridors of Parliament too - crying poor. And the news from advertising press is that the coal lobby are putting together a huge $5 million advertising campaign to get their polluting way.1
We may not have $5 million dollars to throw down the smokestack, but if enough of us chip in $40 to raise $100,000 - just 2% of what they're spending - we can work with expert media buyers to saturate Canberra news programming with this ad for the whole week.
The big polluters don't need to pocket windfall profits from a carbon price - some of their profits are almost as large as the entire revenue itself! But still they lobby against our clean future.
The Government needs to invest at least $2 billion each year of the pollution price revenue on renewable energy and innovation to build a clean energy future. We know this can be done. The Australia Institute's reseach paper, commissioned thanks to GetUp members' donations and released today, shows just how easily that money can be found by cutting subsidies to the worst polluters.
This ad needs to start playing this week if we're going to strengthen the renewable industry's arm in these negotiations. With $100,000 we can buy out all the remaining Canberra TV spots for the fortnight. That's a good start - another $60,000 and we can buy out the last minute spots in several target rural electorates. Chip in so we can give the media buyers the go ahead.
Click here to watch the ad you'll be funding, to help secure the funding clean energy needs from a price on carbon:
http://www.getup.org.au/fund-solutions-not-pollution
If you've ever been in a politician's office you'll see TVs tuned to the news. The nightly ritual is to gather around evening bulletins. Imagine, after a day of deliberating this issue, they see our ad showing in their offices! The polluter lobbyists know it; it's exactly why they'll be trying to do the same thing.
But there are only so many ad spots to go round. Our team of media buyers are searching for availabilities - but we urgently need to give them a budget to work with so they can secure the spots, starting with Canberra new programs. That's up to you:
http://www.getup.org.au/fund-solutions-not-pollution
There's still a long road ahead, and we'll have to keep up the fight in the media, in our politicians' offices and in the community each day.
We've stood shoulder to shoulder to call for climate action, we've fought the climate skeptics on the airwaves and we've told our politicians in calls, emails and faxes just how important action on this issue is. Now let's take our message to the airwaves when we're needed most -- right when we know they'll be watching.
Thanks for being part of the solution,
The GetUp team
PS - This is a week of big decisions for our climate. As they're being debated in the halls of Parliament, we've made this ad to counter the polluter lobby's push to stop our clean energy future in its tracks. With your help, we can get it heard where it counts.
1"Exclusive: Australian Coal Association to fight carbon tax", David Blight, AdNews, 20 May 2011
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