According to the Australian Academy of Science, by 2030 climate change could cost Australia $6.8 billion annually due to impacts on agriculture, tourism, health, and infrastructure. Despite having only 0.3 per cent of the world’s population, Australia accounts for 1.3 percent of global emissions.
As a nation, we’re aware of these statistics, yet we haven’t truly started to think about what’s coming. We need to recognise our obligation to our country, and to the world, to start taking action.
There are three crucial steps we need to take to prepare for our future: a change in the way we view the fossil fuel industry, a move towards better options, and increased political engagement in young people.
There is an overwhelming consensus that fossil fuels are not the future: they are finite, wreaking havoc on our climate, and no longer cheaper than other forms of energy. Microgrids are an alternative. They are decentralised energy systems utilising renewable energy sources – typically solar – to create localised power generation. They allow people to use their own energy, giving them opportunity to sell or share excess between households.
According to an Australian Clean Energy Council report, microgrids could save $5 billion a year nationally by reducing transmission and distribution losses, thus supporting local economies and minimising dependence on centralised infrastructure.
In January 2025, more than 300,000 homes and businesses in NSW were affected by severe storms and power outages. Microgrids could have reduced this number, as their decentralised structure allows the energy system to operate independently from the affected central system.
And of course microgrids are powered by renewable energy, making them a clean and sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. According to the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, Australia has enough solar potential to meet 100 times its current electricity needs. By adopting microgrids, we can harness this potential to power homes and businesses and generate surplus energy within communities.
Though transitioning to microgrids may seem complex and costly, much of the infrastructure exists through the current centralised grid system. Instead of replacing the grid entirely, the existing energy transmission system can be adapted to connect microgrids, enabling communities to share energy developed by their own solar panels.
This is a tried and tested solution. The Global Himalayan Expedition has provided solar energy to 131 villages in India, improving the lives of 60,000 people previously lacking energy access. In Nigeria, 145 homes in the Kigbe community now benefit from solar microgrids, reducing dependence on candles and kerosene lamps. At The Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Pennsylvania, microgrid installation has reduced energy consumption by 20 per cent and carbon emissions by 10 per cent.
There is one more crucial question: how can we improve our political institutions to tackle crises like Australia’s fossil fuel dependence before they become entrenched in our economy and society? To avoid perpetuating the short-term view of policy-making, we need to emphasise the consideration of whether today’s policies will benefit future generations. We can achieve this by increasing young people’s investment in political decisions.
Professor Azadeh Dastyari, Director of Research and Policy at the Whitlam Institute, puts the problem brilliantly in her 2025 study: “The disconnect between our admiration for youth and our failure to genuinely engage with their needs and desires creates a dangerous blind spot, leaving young people feeling undervalued and unheard in shaping the future they are expected to inherit.”
We propose a two-pronged solution. First, give young people the mental tools to analyse proposed policies and current affairs for how they are affected by them in the short and long term, then to decide if the policies are a good idea or if the government should respond to current affairs in a certain way. Second, facilitate regular engagement with decision-makers. Encourage people to seek them out and provide unintimidating pathways for direct input. It must be normalised to approach your representative unprompted to clarify how you want to be represented nationally.
To future-proof our economy, tackle climate concerns and more broadly have a robust political system that doesn’t bounce from addressing acute crisis to crisis, Australia needs our help. Not only are we the ones who have to live in the world you shape, we are the ones who will carry our society and our economy into the future. For this, we need to have our thoughts heard now.
