Fossil fuel sponsorships now out of ACT Schools!

No longer can fossil fuel companies try to win favour with the children of Canberra, the very children whose future their fossil fuels put in peril.

As so aptly put by Comms Declare: 

“Our kids will not be prepared for future challenges if their education is influenced by legacy coal, oil and gas companies, whose priority is to slow the clean energy transformation.”

This decision came following a consultation process which included discussion with the Conservation Council and a vote in the ACT’s Legislative Assembly last year. The motion passed can be read here. 

As the Conservation Council’s Executive Director, Simon Copland said last year at news of the motion passing:

“We’re seeing Australian children lose more years of good health to disease from air pollution than tobacco smoke. We are glad the ACT Legislative Assembly has recognised this impact and decided to take action on this issue.”

The sponsorship policy is now an Australian first as unfortunately in other Australian states fossil fuel companies are sponsoring science activities teaching kids about oil production with vegemite and sprinkles. 

We are hopeful that the ACT’s nation-leading decision to remove fossil fuel sponsorships from schools is indicative of a resurgence of climate ambition in the legislative assembly. 

As the ACT is currently not governed by any up to date climate policy, and Canberra is rocked by another excruciating heat wave, we are urge the ACT government to do the right thing and pen an ambitious climate policy to govern the territory for the next five years.