Pia shows she is cross on climate

A big red cross is hanging on a tree outside Pia Sweeting’s house — and if it catches your attention and makes you wonder why it is there, Ms Sweeting has achieved her first goal.

She is part of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby group in Albany, a movement to bring the community together for a common cause.

To get attention, they are hanging something red outside their house.

They hope it will prove how many people in Albany care about making a change.

Ms Sweeting said the lobby group wanted local politicians to take note of how many people had joined their movement.

Ultimately, they wanted to see the creation of a carbon fee.

“Our aim is to convince government that it is a good idea to have a carbon fee and dividend,” she said.

“Each citizen would be given a dividend of that fee each year to cover the cost of the transition from coal-fired power to renewable energy. In Albany, we decided that we needed to somehow get more people involved without asking too much of people because some can feel a bit helpless about what they can do.

“We are trying to reiterate to people that it is individuals that make a difference.” The local action group is urging people who support their cause to hang something red outside their home.

Ms Sweeting said a carbon fee had been introduced in Canada, along with other places around the globe.

“We are not reinventing the wheel, we are doing something that has already been done,” she said. “If there is something visible and they can see all these red things, then they get the idea that there are actually a lot of people that care about this issue — we are not just a few people here and there.”