A public meeting in Cooma on Friday night will hear how we can achieve cleaner electricity by the end of the decade.

 

The meeting, organised by Climate Action Monaro, will host Ms Gill King of the group Beyond Zero Emissions. She will describe how a combination of solar thermal, wind and hydropower can provide virtually all electricity for Australia by 2020.

 

President of Climate Action Monaro, Ms Jenny Goldie, says that it is important that Monaro residents are made aware of current technologies that can deliver electricity with a very low carbon imprint.

 

"If we are to maintain our current lifestyles with normal appliances like refrigerators, televisions and washing machines, we have to provide electricity in a way that does not add to greenhouse gas emissions that warm the planet," says Ms Goldie.

 

"An increase in two degrees Centigrade is now inevitable. What we must do is try and stop the warming going to four or five degrees that would wipe out agriculture on the Monaro and remove the snow cover from the Snowy Mountains."

 

Ms Goldie says other measures will be necessary to reduce overall emissions, not least a transport fuel to replace petrol and diesel.

 

"But that will be the subject of another public meeting," she says.

 

Soho Street, Cooma (opposite the public school)  

7pm, Friday 25 May 2012