Recent attention on climate change has been focused on the Conference of the Parties or COP26, earlier this month in Glasgow, which brought together national governments, including Australia's.
That's fair enough. Climate change is a global-scale issue, and it demands global-scale responses.
It's through meetings such as that at Glasgow that national governments make agreements for substantial cuts in emissions by 2030, and zero net emissions by 2050.
But climate change also impacts regionally, and so climate change requires regional responses too. This is true everywhere, including in a region like the Hunter, because there's no role for thermal coal in a zero emissions world.
That means a big transformation for the Hunter's economy. And that transformation is under way already. For example, in recent months alone the State and Federal government have backed green hydrogen development in the Hunter.
All of this change raises big questions for the Hunter. What does our region's future hold, and who will get a say in what it looks like?
Might we, in Hunter communities, imagine our own vision for the future of our region?
What does our region's future hold, and who will get a say in what it looks like? Might we, in Hunter communities, imagine our own vision for the future of our region?
Climate change is sometimes called a 'wicked' problem. As the name suggests, wicked problems are challenging to resolve, and that's for several reasons.
First, there generally isn't agreement about what the problem is exactly. Climate change fits that description: ask a climate scientist, and they'll say the problem with climate change is too much CO2 in the atmosphere.
Ask an economist, and they'll say our economy is too reliant on fossil fuels. Ask a public policy expert, and they'll say policy settings, such as subsidies, are holding back the transition we need.
Ask a philosopher, and they'll say we need to rethink our relationship with the planet. (They're all right of course, but that doesn't make solving the problem any easier!)
Second, wicked problems are high stakes problems. Again, climate change fits that description - our economy is at stake, as is life as we know it.
Third, wicked problems are urgent. Again, climate change fits that description - we've precious little time left to make the transition from fossil fuel dependency.
Last, in the same way there generally isn't agreement about what the problem is exactly, there generally isn't agreement about exactly what to do about it. Again, climate change fits the bill.
There's no getting around the fact that coal needs to stay in the ground. But in the Hunter, what will the economy that replaces coal look like? Here in the Hunter we face a wicked problem indeed.
This is where the work of the Hunter Jobs Alliance has been so valuable. The Hunter Jobs Alliance is a local community and unions alliance that works with governments and industry to deliver a sustainable, safe and prosperous future for the Hunter.
The Hunter Jobs Alliance notes that for a sustainable regional future we'll need three things. The first is a public process to involve the public and other stakeholders in planning for and adjusting to changes in thermal coal markets.
The second is public investment in new industries and support for workers and communities.
The third is tangible and immediate actions to begin investment, create jobs and build confidence in the region's future.
Over recent months the Hunter Jobs Alliance has been holding public forums - yes, even during COVID, online - asking our local communities about their vision for the Hunter Valley.
Hunter Jobs Alliance in conjunction with partner Hunter Renewal has run workshops with communities in Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Muswellbrook, Singleton and Cessnock.
This work gathering community input is absolutely essential if our region is to have any real say in what our future looks like.
The Hunter Jobs Alliance has carefully pulled together community perspectives from the workshops and this week in Singleton launches its new report Future-proofing the Hunter: Voices from the Community.
This is the first time this work has been done, and it's not a moment too soon.
The Hunter Jobs Alliance has tallied up more than 150 different policy proposals over the recent years, from state and federal governments, and others.
After all, it's high time that our community also has a voice.
