Mayo MP Rebekah Sharkie is putting her money where her mouth is to take action on climate change.

The Fleurieu MP yesterday announced a new plan to help community organisations on the Fleurieu install renewable energy technology.

The $100 000 Mayo Community Renewables Fund will be funded by Ms Sharkie and climate action group Climate200.

Community groups have until 5pm on March 23 to submit an expression of interest to receive a portion of the funding.

The eligibility guidelines are available online and Ms Sharkie will be running a grant workshop on March 15 to assist with the completion of EOIs.

Climate200 is a climate change action group which includes former Democrats leader Senator Meg Lees, former Liberal Party leader John Hewson and former Labor heavyweight Barry Jones.

As South Australian SES volunteers head out to the catastrophic floods in New South Wales and Queensland, the Fleurieu MP says she is taking action “in the absence of real action” on the part of the Federal Government to tackle climate change.

Ms Sharkie announced the fund late yesterday on social media saying:

Dear Mayo,

Today we face a crisis of our own making.

Man-made climate change is a problem that originated in our past, has become catastrophically worse in our present, and is now an existential threat in our very near future.

As revealed in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on Monday, the breakdown of our climate is happening rapidly, and we’re quickly running out of chances to fix it. 

Human actions in heating the planet are causing dangerous and widespread disruption, and without urgent and immediate intervention, there will be widespread devastation across the natural world.

Locally, Australia is suffering greater impact of climate change than any other advanced economy. Our reefs are dying, floods worsening, heatwaves pose real threats to lives and livelihoods. 

Since my time in Parliament, we have been devoid of leadership in addressing climate change.

It is not, and should never have been, a political issue. It does not solely belong in the domain of the Greens, Liberal and Labor. It is a threat that does not discriminate based on political persuasion.

The price of inaction will be paid by all of us, today and in generations to come.

In the absence of real action in addressing climate change by the Federal Government, it has become clear that the leadership to address this crisis must begin from the bottom up.

It starts with us. It starts with you. It starts with me.

Today, I am announcing an unprecedented grant program – the Mayo Community Renewables Fund – which will help organisation across Mayo accelerate their transition to renewable energy by funding new renewable infrastructure or by expanding existing renewable energy sources.

This $100 000 grant will be funded by my own savings, as well as a donation from Climate200.

Applications will be judged by an independent panel of community leaders and funds will be held in escrow for the duration of the independent panel assessment and formal application period.

Through the Mayo Community Renewables Fund, grants will be up to 100 percent of eligible project cost, with a minimum grant of $2 500, and a maximum grant amount of $10 000.

The Mayo Community Renewable Fund will be open for EOIs from March 2 until 5pm on March 23.

In addition to the program, I will also be running a grant workshop on March 15 to help interested community organisations in applying.

Collectively, we all have a part to play in combating climate change. And in the absence of meaningful action, it is incumbent on us within our communities to lead however we can.

Our future depends on it.

Rebekha Sharkie

For more information you can email Ms Sharkie at [email protected] or phone her office on 8398 5566.