Under Pressure, a report from Parents for Climate and Climate Council shows that oil and gas are making a material contribution to overall inflation. The price of oil and gas has risen much more than other goods, putting pressure on family budgets and pushing up inflation overall.
The report includes a survey of over 1,000 households across Australia and YouGov polling which shows:
- More than half of Australian families have reduced the amount or quality of food they’re buying and one third said their children had been impacted by a lower variety and quality of food.
- Insurance stress is causing 71% of parents to worry about higher premiums due to more intense and frequent unnatural disasters driven by climate pollution.
- Two in three families have cut back on heating and cooling their homes.
- The vast majority (71%) of parents are worried about both the rising cost of living and climate change.
Overwhelmingly, parents want access to popular solutions to our cost of living and climate crises, like solar panels, household batteries and energy efficient appliances. But many can’t afford the upfront costs or live in rentals, and need help from governments to access upgrades that cut bills and climate pollution at the same time.
Key findings
1. The climate crisis is driving up the costs of insurance for all Australians as extreme weather events become more common and intense, risks to life and property worsen and premiums rise in response.
-
Pollution from coal, oil and gas is overheating our planet and driving worsening unnatural disasters. As the risk of property loss and damage increases, so do the premiums being charged by insurance companies.
-
Collectively, Australians are paying $30 billion more today on insurance than they were only 10 years ago.
-
Many households at higher risk of extreme weather are being priced out of insurance altogether, as it becomes more difficult or too expensive for people to source insurance.
2. Australians are paying much more today to power their homes with gas, or refuel their cars. Higher costs for oil and gas are also fuelling inflation, which increases the price of many other everyday items.
- Petrol and diesel costs have increased significantly. Filling up a 70-litre tank of petrol costs about $30 more now than it did at the start of 2020.
-
With transport costs embedded in many items we commonly buy, this is a key driver of inflation, and affects the price of everyday items like groceries.
-
Heating homes with gas has become increasingly expensive, with the gas bill for a four- bedroom home in Victoria jumping up by as much as $750 per year since 2020.
-
Many businesses, from restaurants to office buildings, are also paying more for heating, cooling or cooking that’s powered by polluting gas. These costs are ultimately passed onto their customers, and are another driver of inflation.
-
The recent peak in inflation was the highest in more than 30 years, and has seen the cost of everyday items increase by 22 percent on average since 2020. Our analysis shows the price of petrol, diesel and gas have all risen two to three times higher than that - making a bad situation even worse.
3. Rising inflation, and relying on expensive oil and gas, is crunching household budgets with many families reporting they are under significant stress.
-
Rising inflation is biting family budgets hard, with three in 10 parents polled struggling to afford food, power bills or insurance either frequently or all of the time.
-
As a result of rising costs, 85 percent of parents polled said they were having to cut back on essential items, and 77 percent said this was impacting significantly on their own wellbeing and that of their families.
-
As raising a family has become much more expensive in Australia, those who filled in a qualitative survey on the impact this was having commonly described feeling “under pressure”, “stressed” and “anxious”.
4. To cope, most Australian families are sacrificing many things including less sport and recreation for their kids and cutting back on the amount or quality of food.
-
As energy prices rise, two in three families polled have been forced to cut back on heating and cooling their homes, and some have had to stop using heating (15 percent) or cooling (12 percent) altogether.
-
As the price of groceries has skyrocketed, 53 percent of families have been left with no choice but to cut back on the quality and quantity of food they buy, including skipping meals.
-
One third of parents say their children have been impacted by a lower variety and quality of food.
-
Parents report making other sacrifices that impact their children, such as cutting back on sport and recreation, or missing out on school excursions.
5. Most Australian familes are concerned about both the rising costs of living and the climate crisis, and parents worry costs will only worsen if we don’t cut climate pollution further and faster.
-
Polling reveals that both rising costs of living and the climate crisis are pressing concerns for a clear majority (71 percent) of Australian families.
-
72 percent of parents polled said they were concerned worsening extreme weather, driven by climate pollution, could impact on farming and lead to higher grocery prices.
-
71 percent of parents polled said they were concerned about higher insurance costs, as more intense and frequent unnatural disasters are fuelled by coal, oil and gas.
-
75 percent of parents polled said they were concerned about higher power bills due to more volatility in the price of polluting coal and gas.
6. Cleaner, cheaper solutions to the cost of living and climate crises are understood and popular with parents. To ease pressure on people’s wallets and the planet, they need to be more accessible.
-
Parents know they are paying too much to heat and cool their homes, and that better options are available, but upfront costs or being unable to make changes to rental properties were named as key barriers.
-
Our analysis shows motorists who have to fill the tank in a petrol car are forking out $2,000 more each year on fuel than those able to drive an electric vehicle.
-
88 percent of parents either have rooftop solar or would consider getting it, and 70 percent either have a household battery or would consider getting one.
-
The vast majority (84 percent) of families polled either have installed, or would consider installing energy efficient electric appliances, and 76 percent have installed or would consider installing double-glazed windows and insulation to reduce energy costs.
Solutions are readily available
We’re asking our politicians to ensure that everyone can access these clean energy technologies, particularly renters and those on lower incomes.
Take Action: Make your voice heard
Help us get this report in front of every politician in the country and create the change we want to see!
Australia is already a world leader in rooftop solar. Now is time to include those who are being left behind with rising oil and gas costs. We need support for a rapid uptake of rooftop solar, electric vehicles, household batteries and the removal of expensive gas appliances from family homes. It's a critical moment to affect key state and federal decisions. Will you show your MP the report findings?
Together we can convince our leaders to create real, long-term relief from cost of living pressures, whilst also reducing emissions. But we need to act to have impact.
Follow the guides below for Australian representatives
With the federal election on the horizon, now is the time to ask our federal government to step up and help families survive the cost of living crisis.
Read the report, or take action below.
Take Action
Your Member of Parliament was elected to represent your community: Help put this report in front of your federal MP.
Step 1
Find your federal Member of Parliament's contact details. You can find your MP's details here!
Step 2
Get this report on their radar. You can do this by:
- Tagging them in our posts:
-
FacebookLinkedInTwitter
-
- calling them,
- emailing them,
- visiting them,
or all of the above!
Step 3
Let us know how you go. Take 1 minute to tell us about your experience. This will help us follow up and track progress with your MP.
Remember: Always keep it friendly
Parents for Climate seeks to build long-term and constructive relationships with our leaders, not by shouting from the rooftops. And remember, most MP's are parents as well!
Here’s a draft email you could use:
Dear (your MP's name) MP,
As a constituent of yours, I'm writing to introduce a report produced by Parents for Climate and Climate Council, 'Under Pressure: The climate crunch fuelling inflation and hurting Aussie families.
Parents for Climate surveyed over 1,000 households and discovered a cost of living crisis, with families hit by increasing prices for food, electricity, gas, housing and petrol. They found parents making sacrifices in the quality of food they purchase, reducing travel to friends or grandparents, and reducing their energy use, including limiting heater usage across winter. Lower income families were harder hit, and parents across the country are experiencing increased anxiety, stress and time pressure.
Clean energy in the home and the grid coupled with energy efficiency measures provide long-term solutions. The removal of gas from the home and addition of clean energy technology like rooftop solar, household batteries and electric vehicles can save families thousands of dollars a year. The report found that the vast majority of families – both renters and homeowners – want greater government investment and support in the form of rebates to make energy efficient solutions like solar and electric vehicles more accessible. I ask that you support a rapid rollout of these clean energy technologies, with an emphasis on ensuring renters and lower income families benefit as well.
I ask that you introduce this report and its findings at your next party meeting, and discuss how you can support household clean energy technologies as ready solution to reducing emissions while providing long-term tangible benefit for families experiencing the cost of living crisis.
You can read the report in full here.
I look forward to hearing your response
Kind regards,
(your name)
(your street and suburb)