Energy equity essential for climate change adaptation

For John Thwaites, Chair of ClimateWorks Australia and the Monash Sustainable Development Institute, climate and equity go hand-in-hand.

John has had a long association with the Brotherhood and, since 2008, has chaired the organisation’s Climate Change and Low-income Households program.

“Everything we do to mitigate the impact of climate change has to be done with the lens where we ask ourselves, ‘how will this impact low income people?’,” he says. “We need to connect economic, social and environmental elements. Not working in silos”

“Older people, infants and people with disability, especially those who live in poor quality housing or who can’t afford air-conditioning, are particularly vulnerable to the increasing impacts of rising temperatures.”

John backs the Brotherhood’s critical role in setting up projects to promote energy efficiency and being willing to push for lasting change by being at the policy-making table on these issues and its willingness to advocate for other broader changes to cut emissions and support moves to a low-carbon economy.

“By being involved in a practical way coming up with solutions for low income people, the Brotherhood has helped governments make better policy for example with fairer electricity pricing and access to energy efficiency retrofits,” he says.

The Brotherhood has an important role in being part of the push to act more ambitiously on climate change, for the sake of everyone.

Our Energy Equity and Climate Change team in the Research and Policy Centre knows that the impacts of climate change disproportionately affect communities where poverty and disadvantage are concentrated.