President's February Report

The year of the Rabbit 2023, means another year less to reach that much vaunted target of 'net' zero emissions. In October 2022, the City of Ballarat endorsed a Plan to drive implementation of its community-wide Zero Emissions Ballarat (ZEB) 2030 target. With only 7 years left to get GHG emissions reductions on the right trajectory to avoid runaway climate change, we need the support of all BREAZE members & friends in 2023, to drive the BREAZE agenda to cut emissions in our region:

If you're willing to get involved in helping to drive the ZEB 2030 Plan, please let us know. 

BREAZE Inc. at Buninyong Smart Living Expo - Sunday 26 February

BREAZE Inc. will have a stall at the Buninyong Smart Living Expo on February 26 at Buninyong Royal Park - 10am-3:30pm. Please drop by for a chat and find out more about what you can do to help drive the ZEB target.

Membership Drive

As you may know, BREAZE membership plays a key role in covering the operating costs of BREAZE Inc. – public liability insurance (that covers our various programs and the affiliated groups who contribute so much to building a sustainable community: Ballarat Repair Cafe, Buninyong Boomerang Bags and Ballarat Tool Library), plus other administrative, software and auditing costs. If you support what BREAZE does but haven't yet officially signed up you can do this:

• online - https://breaze.org.au/breaze/membership 
• or in person at the BREAZE stall at the Buninyong Expo on 26 February. 

The Dirty Dozen Campaign and the Climate Safeguard Mechanism

Despite devasting extreme weather events that have raged across the globe in the past few years, much of society appears to remain in business-as-usual mode.  As evidenced by flooding, bushfires and record temperature extremes – confirming decades of warnings from climate scientists – climate change calls for considerably greater ambition. This is not a time to be 'relaxed and comfortable' - John Howard's once stated aspirations for the nation. Please join us in being 'concerned and engaged' – in driving changes for a safe environment. We need to make the Dirty Dozen big polluters pay.

We hope this is an issue you are interested in supporting – the push for a tougher Climate Safeguard Mechanism – an important policy lever which is currently under review. What 'net' means and how legal 'offsets' are defined are also part of this issue. To find out more: 

• Check out what you can do via the CANA website
• Read the Report and sign the petitionon the Climate Council site 

Signing petitions and writing to MPs might not seem very radical but if thousands of ordinary citizens like us do show our concern, it will eventually become hard to ignore us. 

BREAZE Social Solar

In 2023 BREAZE Inc. will be project managing the Woodbine Solar Project, installing 58 kW of rooftop solar across five properties owned by Woodbine Inc., a disability services provider in Warracknabeal. This project is jointly funded by BREAZE Inc., Woodbine Inc. and a grant from the Victorian government's New Energy Jobs Fund Round 6, now administered by the newly named Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) - DELWP is no more!

Free events coming up this month

• February 16: Ballarat Green Drinks- 6:30-8:00pm, Bunch of Grapes Hotel - Solar Citizens e-Ute Roadshow and talk on Fuel Efficiency standards and clean transport options - book via Trybooking: https://www.trybooking.com/CEXYC
• February 22: Smart Living Ballarat- 12:30-1:30 pm Barkly Square - Democratising Community Energywith Renewable Newstead's Don Culvenor - It will also be live streamed at fb.com/breaze.org.au. 
• February 26: Buninyong Smart Living Expo- 10:00am-3:30pm Royal Park Buninyong - https://smartlivingexpo.com.au

The BREAZE Inc. Board meets every third Monday of the month from 5:30-7:00pm - sometimes via Zoom and sometimes face-to-face. If you are a member and would like to attend, please email me at //mary@breaze.org.au/">

All the best,

Mary