PowerSwitch! Campaign Highlights
In 2005 PowerSwitch! called on the government of New South Wales in Australia to vote for clean power instead of another coal-fired power station in their new energy plan.
The proposed power plant has never been built.In Victoria, WWF and other NGOs were involved in a long battle against the proposed extension of the Hazelwood power plant. WWF calculated that it was the dirtiest power plant in the world, supporting a coalition of local groups opposed to the extension plans.
Team Panda, a PowerSwitch! activist group of students from South Florida, decided to meet the decision-makers directly and to lobby them face to face.
At a visit to Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. they presented their findings on the impact of climate change on coral reefs to Congress. The Team met with staff from 29 Members of Congress, asking them to cosponsor the so called Climate Stewardship Act to limit US climate pollution. To increase the pressure, WWF US sent a "Help Pass Global Warming Legislation" alert to US activists.
PowerSwitch! was not only about fighting those responsible for climate change, but also about pushing the solutions.
In many countries WWF published “PowerSwitch! Scenarios”, outlining ways towards a clean energy future.In March 2005, WWF was involved in raising the first megawatt-scale wind turbine in South-East Asia at Bangui Bay, the Philippines. The picture shows Wendy, the first of fifteen turbines that were set up. The wind farm has a total capacity of 25MW and is a breakthrough for clean and efficient power generation technologies in Asia-Pacific, a region heavily dependent on climate polluting fossil fuels.
Some are leading the way towards the clean solutions, away from dirty coal.
WWF climate heroes are grassroots campaigners from different parts of the world, battling against the ignorance. Some decision-makers, a minority still, within the power sector have also understood the urgency of the problem. They are PowerSwitch! Pioneers, progressive companies in Germany, the US and Sweden with clear targets to produce clean energy. These people and companies show that making a difference is possible.
