Wahroonga Friends Bulletin - 18 March 2026
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Wahroonga Friends Bulletin - 18 March 2026
Fossil Fuels are Finished. Renewables are the Future.
A new energy shock shows how fossil fuels make us vulnerable. A fossil‑free future is the safer path, writes Daniel Högsta, WWF's Global Fossil Fuels Transition Lead.
The latest energy crisis shows, once again, how exposed the world remains to fossil fuels. Prices jumped within days, supply routes tightened, and families felt the impact almost immediately. And this shock did not begin in a trading room – it began with war.
The war in the Middle East is, first and foremost, a human tragedy. But it also exposes a familiar pattern: the world pays for fossil fuels repeatedly – at the pump, through economic instability, and through a climate crisis that grows more severe with each passing year.
As the UK Climate Change Committee noted this week, reaching net zero would cost less than a single fossil‑fuel price spike. Yet, when fossil fuel supply is disrupted, the shock spreads everywhere. So, we must ask the hard question: why do we stay tied to a system that is this fragile?
A Fragile System
The global energy system remains dangerously vulnerable. The Strait of Hormuz – one of the most important oil routes on the planet – is now blocked, threatening the largest supply drop in history. Already, 95 countries saw petrol prices spike within the first weeks of the conflict. Higher energy costs then push up food, transport, and goods everywhere.
The ‘Exit Ramp’
Yet this crisis also highlights something else – an ‘exit ramp.’ As UN Secretary‑General António Guterres wrote in a LinkedIn post last week, the fastest route to energy security and stability is not more drilling – it is speeing up renewable energy. For decades, dependence on fossil fuels meant dependence on volatility. But today, “renewable energy has never been cheaper, more accessible, or more scalable. The resources of the clean energy era cannot be blockaded or weaponized. There are no price spikes for sunlight and no embargoes on the wind.” Crucially, their cost does not spike when a conflict begins.
In moments of crisis, governments often scramble to secure more coal, oil, or gas. It may feel like the quickest fix, but expanding fossil fuel supply only deepens the very risks we are trying to escape. Gas markets are sensitive to geopolitical disruption, heavily dependent on a small group of exporters, and exposed to conflict along shipping routes. One damaged facility can send prices soaring worldwide, and budgets and households absorb the shock.
What Security Means Now
The old model of energy security, built on oil reserves and military protection, no longer fits today’s world. Modern security means stable prices, cleaner air, and domestic energy that is resilient to global shocks.
If governments use “security” as an excuse to build more fossil infrastructure, the world locks in decades of emissions and worsening climate impacts.
If they define it differently – as stability, affordability, and clean power – renewables become the obvious choice.
The Climate Crisis Makes the Case
There is another reason the fossil fuel era is becoming untenable. The climate crisis is already eroding economic stability, public health, and global security. Emissions from the burning of coal, oil and gas is by far the largest driver of global warming, while extraction and infrastructure damage ecosystems and push nature to breaking point.
WWF’s position is clear: keeping the 1.5°C limit within reach requires a full global phase-out of fossil fuels – backed by clear timelines and policies – not shifting production from one polluting supplier to another.
And the issue goes beyond climate. Reducing fossil fuel extraction eases the relentless pressure on nature. Every new well, mine or pipeline fragments ecosystems and pushes species closer to the brink. Cutting fossil fuels does not just cut emissions – it gives nature and wildlife the space to recover.
Cutting fossil fuels cuts destruction. Read more here Fossil fuels are finished. Renewables are the future.
See - Climate Action Now: Quakers Raise Their Voicesfor a Fossil-Free Future
Victoria Regional Meeting Friends singing to raise awareness of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty campaign by ARRCC.
See it here Climate Action Now: Quakers Raise Their Voices for a Fossil-Free Future
1.30 pm - 2.30 pm Thursday 19 March ARRCC Faith-based Fossil Fuel Treaty Campaign
Online at Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89050197683Would you join us? Would you mind volunteering for one of the following roles?Acknowledgement of country
- Sacred Space
- Taking notes
Agenda:
- Up-dates on organising Tuesday’s singing event
- How else can we publicise the event?
- Who could bring some sandwiches, cake, milk?
- Up-dates on the overall campaign
These are the rolling minutes for Sydney ARRCC meetings. If you can volunteer, please let Tejopala know on tejo...@arrcc.org.au or 0498 475 056
12.30 pm – 2.30 pm
Tuesday 24 March
Sing for a Fossil Free Future
@ Burwood Uniting Church, 134 Burwood Rd, Burwood
Come along & sing with us on video for a Fossil Free Future.
Wear blue and green – the video will help encourage mass sign-on to a multi-faith letter calling for a Fossil Fuel Treaty. Light refreshments will be served.
For words to the 3 chosen songs, contact Gawaine gawa...@gmail.com or 0425 237 141 See: https://www.arrcc.org.au/fossil_fuel_treaty
If you plan to come, please let us know via the Facebook event: Sydney - sing with us on video for a Fossil Free Future
And why not share the event on your own Facebook page. Please practice the songs before you come. On the day, we'll have the words projected on a screen. This is the set of seven songs and the names of the 3 songs we've chosen: Were You There,All Things Bright And Beautiful,Climate Is Rapidly Changing
We'd love you to support this and bring a friend!
UK Time Thursday 9 April from 19:00-21:00The Big Quaker Quiz On Thursday 9 April from 19:00-21:00, we are holding the first Woodbrooke Big Quaker Quiz! Join Quizmaster Josh Selfe and test your Quaker knowledge against other Friends in this light hearted evening of fun. Featuring puzzles, pictures and Quaker general knowledge, this quiz will test your lateral thinking skills as much as your information retention skills. Assemble your own team of Friends or come alone and meet new people in one of our home-made teams. Find out more and book here The Big Quaker Quiz - Woodbrooke
Save the Date - Yarrahapinni 24 - 27 September
The NSWRM Retreat date has been confirmed: Thursday September 24th to Sunday September 27th. It will be at our usual venue at Yarrahapinni. The program will start late afternoon Thursday and end after lunch Sunday. As in previous years, the program is being organised by Hunter Valley Meeting with participation of Friends across the state. We will be joined by travelling Friend Emily Provance who is likely to make a contribution as well. It's still 6 months away so it's all very early days, but we wanted to let people know so they could save the date. Sheila Keane
March QBC - Palestine and Israel: Understanding Encounters
The March QBC (Quaker Book Club) selection is Palestine and Israel: Understanding Encounters by Max Carter.
If you have never witnessed the Holy Land, this volume will bring you one step closer to humanizing the people behind the news headlines. It is a riveting account of the various developments since the Second Intifada and the struggle for peace in the Holy Land, including the "competing narratives" that stall progress toward justice and peace in Palestine. This book challenges everyone to seek a third way in their approach to the Palestinian-Israeli struggle and contributes significantly to the narration of the Ramallah Friends School history. Read the Friends Journal review, here. Obtain a copy here Palestine and Israel e - Wahroonga Send news of f/Friends and newsletter items to quiver...@yahoo.com.au Agenda items for Business Meeting should be emailed at wmnwah...@quakersaustralia.info or handed to a co-clerk. Visit us at "Our Home" First days (Sunday), 9.30 am Meeting for Worship - Wahroonga Friends Meeting, your local peace church. Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) 59 Boundary Road Wahroonga NSW 2076 Email:wmnwah...@quakersaustralia.info Web: Wahroonga Local Meeting | Australia Yearly Meeting A Zoom meeting occurs 9.30 am Sundays Meeting link Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting 918 558 7747 Passcode: 554662 Phone: 02 8015 6011 Please contact Paul Carter if you have any problems.
Fossil Fuels are Finished. Renewables are the Future.
A new energy shock shows how fossil fuels make us vulnerable. A fossil‑free future is the safer path, writes Daniel Högsta, WWF's Global Fossil Fuels Transition Lead.
The latest energy crisis shows, once again, how exposed the world remains to fossil fuels. Prices jumped within days, supply routes tightened, and families felt the impact almost immediately. And this shock did not begin in a trading room – it began with war.
The war in the Middle East is, first and foremost, a human tragedy. But it also exposes a familiar pattern: the world pays for fossil fuels repeatedly – at the pump, through economic instability, and through a climate crisis that grows more severe with each passing year.
As the UK Climate Change Committee noted this week, reaching net zero would cost less than a single fossil‑fuel price spike. Yet, when fossil fuel supply is disrupted, the shock spreads everywhere. So, we must ask the hard question: why do we stay tied to a system that is this fragile?
A Fragile System
The global energy system remains dangerously vulnerable. The Strait of Hormuz – one of the most important oil routes on the planet – is now blocked, threatening the largest supply drop in history. Already, 95 countries saw petrol prices spike within the first weeks of the conflict. Higher energy costs then push up food, transport, and goods everywhere.
The ‘Exit Ramp’
Yet this crisis also highlights something else – an ‘exit ramp.’ As UN Secretary‑General António Guterres wrote in a LinkedIn post last week, the fastest route to energy security and stability is not more drilling – it is speeing up renewable energy. For decades, dependence on fossil fuels meant dependence on volatility. But today, “renewable energy has never been cheaper, more accessible, or more scalable. The resources of the clean energy era cannot be blockaded or weaponized. There are no price spikes for sunlight and no embargoes on the wind.” Crucially, their cost does not spike when a conflict begins.
In moments of crisis, governments often scramble to secure more coal, oil, or gas. It may feel like the quickest fix, but expanding fossil fuel supply only deepens the very risks we are trying to escape. Gas markets are sensitive to geopolitical disruption, heavily dependent on a small group of exporters, and exposed to conflict along shipping routes. One damaged facility can send prices soaring worldwide, and budgets and households absorb the shock.
What Security Means Now
The old model of energy security, built on oil reserves and military protection, no longer fits today’s world. Modern security means stable prices, cleaner air, and domestic energy that is resilient to global shocks.
If governments use “security” as an excuse to build more fossil infrastructure, the world locks in decades of emissions and worsening climate impacts.
If they define it differently – as stability, affordability, and clean power – renewables become the obvious choice.
The Climate Crisis Makes the Case
There is another reason the fossil fuel era is becoming untenable. The climate crisis is already eroding economic stability, public health, and global security. Emissions from the burning of coal, oil and gas is by far the largest driver of global warming, while extraction and infrastructure damage ecosystems and push nature to breaking point.
WWF’s position is clear: keeping the 1.5°C limit within reach requires a full global phase-out of fossil fuels – backed by clear timelines and policies – not shifting production from one polluting supplier to another.
And the issue goes beyond climate. Reducing fossil fuel extraction eases the relentless pressure on nature. Every new well, mine or pipeline fragments ecosystems and pushes species closer to the brink. Cutting fossil fuels does not just cut emissions – it gives nature and wildlife the space to recover.
Cutting fossil fuels cuts destruction. Read more here Fossil fuels are finished. Renewables are the future.
See - Climate Action Now: Quakers Raise Their Voicesfor a Fossil-Free Future
Victoria Regional Meeting Friends singing to raise awareness of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty campaign by ARRCC.
See it here Climate Action Now: Quakers Raise Their Voices for a Fossil-Free Future
1.30 pm - 2.30 pm Thursday 19 March ARRCC Faith-based Fossil Fuel Treaty Campaign
Online at Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89050197683Would you join us? Would you mind volunteering for one of the following roles?Acknowledgement of country
- Sacred Space
- Taking notes
Agenda:
- Up-dates on organising Tuesday’s singing event
- How else can we publicise the event?
- Who could bring some sandwiches, cake, milk?
- Up-dates on the overall campaign
These are the rolling minutes for Sydney ARRCC meetings. If you can volunteer, please let Tejopala know on tejo...@arrcc.org.au or 0498 475 056
12.30 pm – 2.30 pm
Tuesday 24 March
Sing for a Fossil Free Future
@ Burwood Uniting Church, 134 Burwood Rd, Burwood
Come along & sing with us on video for a Fossil Free Future.
Wear blue and green – the video will help encourage mass sign-on to a multi-faith letter calling for a Fossil Fuel Treaty. Light refreshments will be served.
For words to the 3 chosen songs, contact Gawaine gawa...@gmail.com or 0425 237 141 See: https://www.arrcc.org.au/fossil_fuel_treaty
If you plan to come, please let us know via the Facebook event: Sydney - sing with us on video for a Fossil Free Future
And why not share the event on your own Facebook page. Please practice the songs before you come. On the day, we'll have the words projected on a screen. This is the set of seven songs and the names of the 3 songs we've chosen: Were You There,All Things Bright And Beautiful,Climate Is Rapidly Changing
We'd love you to support this and bring a friend!
UK Time Thursday 9 April from 19:00-21:00The Big Quaker Quiz On Thursday 9 April from 19:00-21:00, we are holding the first Woodbrooke Big Quaker Quiz! Join Quizmaster Josh Selfe and test your Quaker knowledge against other Friends in this light hearted evening of fun. Featuring puzzles, pictures and Quaker general knowledge, this quiz will test your lateral thinking skills as much as your information retention skills. Assemble your own team of Friends or come alone and meet new people in one of our home-made teams. Find out more and book here The Big Quaker Quiz - Woodbrooke
Save the Date - Yarrahapinni 24 - 27 September
The NSWRM Retreat date has been confirmed: Thursday September 24th to Sunday September 27th. It will be at our usual venue at Yarrahapinni. The program will start late afternoon Thursday and end after lunch Sunday. As in previous years, the program is being organised by Hunter Valley Meeting with participation of Friends across the state. We will be joined by travelling Friend Emily Provance who is likely to make a contribution as well. It's still 6 months away so it's all very early days, but we wanted to let people know so they could save the date. Sheila Keane
March QBC - Palestine and Israel: Understanding Encounters
The March QBC (Quaker Book Club) selection is Palestine and Israel: Understanding Encounters by Max Carter.
If you have never witnessed the Holy Land, this volume will bring you one step closer to humanizing the people behind the news headlines. It is a riveting account of the various developments since the Second Intifada and the struggle for peace in the Holy Land, including the "competing narratives" that stall progress toward justice and peace in Palestine. This book challenges everyone to seek a third way in their approach to the Palestinian-Israeli struggle and contributes significantly to the narration of the Ramallah Friends School history. Read the Friends Journal review, here. Obtain a copy here Palestine and Israel e - Wahroonga Send news of f/Friends and newsletter items to quiver...@yahoo.com.au Agenda items for Business Meeting should be emailed at wmnwah...@quakersaustralia.info or handed to a co-clerk. Visit us at "Our Home" First days (Sunday), 9.30 am Meeting for Worship - Wahroonga Friends Meeting, your local peace church. Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) 59 Boundary Road Wahroonga NSW 2076 Email:wmnwah...@quakersaustralia.info Web: Wahroonga Local Meeting | Australia Yearly Meeting A Zoom meeting occurs 9.30 am Sundays Meeting link Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting 918 558 7747 Passcode: 554662 Phone: 02 8015 6011 Please contact Paul Carter if you have any problems.
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