Climate change messenger

Adelaide Review
Friday 16/3/2007 Page: 34

Andrew Dickson only became a convert a few years ago, yet was chosen by Al Gore to be part of his hand-picked Australian team who are spreading The Climate Project word. The wind farm developer is one of nine South Australians, out of 84 messengers nationwide, who did three days of training with Al Gore in Sydney in November last year. Like the others, Dickson must give at least 10 presentations this year to organisations such as Lions Clubs, church groups and school groups or whoever else will listen.

Dickson is the development manager of the $250million Snowtown Wind Farm which has just started construction and, according to Dickson, will probably be the last project that will be built in Australia under the current federal government renewable energy target program, until new incentives or new government regulation is introduced. Construction by Indian company Suzlon Energy starts next month on the 42 turbines.

The wind farm was one of the catalysts which inspired Dickson's transformation into a climate change messenger from a person who, only a few years ago, admits he was unaware of envioronmental issues. Today, he speaks eloquently on the topic and is eager to learn more. "The more I learn about renewable energy and about climate change, the more I'm convinced that people need to change, society needs to change," he says.

"I'm no different to anyone else, you know. I just live a western consumerist lifestyle but I did it ignorant of the damage that lifestyle causes. Now I'm aware of it, I'm trying to change my own life and I'm trying to share the message with other people." However, it was the Al Gore documentary movie An Inconvenient Truth that made a critical impact on Dickson. "I'm very interested in sustainability and the environment in general - that's why I answered the call to become a climate change messenger. I saw the movie, I was very touched by it. I have an impulse to try and change my life. How can I do that? So I went there to learn more about it," he says.

As part of his own lifestyle change Dickson now cycles to work whenever possible and has switched to compact flouros for lighting in his home wherever it can be done, and has switched to green power. These simple changes are part of the climate change messenger's dictum.

Dickson sees the best case scenario for the planet as a stabilisation of increases in global temperatures to about two degrees above the historical average. The worst case will be rapidly increasing temperatures, rising sea levels, loss of biodiversity, health impacts and extreme weather events.

So from the point of view of a renewable energy developer what needs to be done? Dickson says building standards have to be changed to provide homes that are more energy and water efficient. "The market itself will not necessarily change unless it's forced to. There is a role for government to do that." Climate messengers are a project by former American vice president Al Gore whose goal is to force America's hand on the issue of signing the Kyoto Protocol by changing Australia's stand on the agreement. Australia and America both have refused to sign the protocol which sets binding greenhouse gas emissions targets for countries that sign and ratify the agreement. Gore is training around 1000 people in the USA to be climate change messengers.