Clean State WA
$10,000 | July 2020
What do Clean State do?
Clean State WA’s mission is to block the Woodside Burrup Hub, which is the single most polluting fossil fuel project anywhere in Australia, and by doing so, create pathways for clean energy solutions in Western Australia. The Groundswell Grant they received helped with the launch of the ‘Clean Jobs Plan’ – an ambitious program of action on climate change and job creation in WA.
Why is this work important?
The oil and gas industry is one of the biggest blockers to greater ambition on climate action in WA, which remains the laggard among all Australian states when it comes to climate change. We seek to unite West Australians on climate action and manifest sustainable solutions within the economy, government legislation and community life, robbing the oil and gas giants of their social licensing and dismantling the misplaced public trust they rely upon to do their damage.
The Clean State project is a bold initiative to re-frame climate action as a positive economic and jobs opportunity for the state, developing new climate activists from communities often left out of the conversation. We’ve developed a Clean State Jobs Package as an alternative to even more investment in oil and gas development for post-Covid relief. Our plan would see over 200 000 jobs created in the immediate and longer-term transition from fossil fuels. We’re jumping on this momentous moment in our history, where the choices made to bolster economic recovery will greatly impact the level of climate damage experienced by future generations of living beings, demonstrating how deeply the narrative that economic stability is tied to oil and gas is false. The stronger, fairer economy is the green economy.
In short, we’re achieving our ambitious mission by changing the political landscape in WA; bolstering massive, unignorable citizen support for sweeping change and a transition away from fossil fuel dependence.
How is Groundswell supporting this work?
Groundswell awarded Clean State WA with a small $10,000 climate action grant in July 2020 to support their essential and strategic work shifting jobs, money and politics to clean jobs in renewables in the state of Western Australia where the fossil fuel industry is so especially prominent.
Western Australia’s major political forces will seek to centre the upcoming state election around a specific issue. The economically devastating impacts of Covid-19 will almost certainly make this the economy and its post-pandemic recovery. Our story-building and reporting on clean jobs is perfectly positioned to inspire and unite West Australians against the climate-destroying, outdated and less economically sound narrative put forth by the gas lobby. Building a movement and corresponding narrative, demands and policy propositions takes time, and we’ve got a head start.
Additionally, the crash in oil prices has left the industry vulnerable, creating plenty of opportunities for closure and transition much sooner than previously anticipated. Additionally, Western Australia’s state budget has been pushed back, now to be released in October 2020. Not only is this a vital stepping stone on our way to the election, around which we’ll launch the Clean State Jobs Package, it’s also an opportunity for us to test our messaging at scale.