Welcome to the Flame's new series featuring the issues that unite us in the energy transition. Today's article features Surfers for Climate. Tomorrow, look out for part 2, featuring new group Responsible Future.

Coco Venaglia, the campaigns manager for Surfers for Climate, said she finds the idea of common ground between offshore wind groups “really interesting”.

“We're asking for the same things,” she said of calls across the board for environmental research.

“Surfers for Climate is asking for the federal government to include an independent environmental assessment process at the start of renewable and offshore renewable energy zones being declared.

“That means that government would potentially fund something like CSIRO or local universities to do a proper environmental map of the avian and marine area and ecology, so that it's not left in the hands of proponents, which we know hasn't worked in offshore oil and gas.”

A recent nationwide Surfers for Climate survey found more than 95% of its members wanted to see faster action in the energy transition, Coco said. “85% were strongly or somewhat supportive of offshore wind. But what I've found from that is that those who are strongly and somewhat supportive, as well as those who are opposed, have the same concerns and that's around environmental impact.

“We know that there's huge gaps in offshore marine science in Australia because it hasn't been invested in yet. We want to see a better understanding of how something would impact the entire ecosystem and how we can mitigate for that.”

On Saturday, May 11, Coco ran an Illawarra Youth Climate Leadership Summit bringing together 28 young people aged 14 to 25 for a series of talks at Thirroul Surf Club.

It was a small event with a heavyweight line-up, including internationally renowned climate scientist Professor Tim Flannery, Antarctic ecologist Georgia Watson, Electrify 2515’s Kristen McDonald and electrical engineer Ty Christopher, Director of the Energy Futures Network at the University of Wollongong. Other speakers were psychologist Jo Lunn, who shared tips for combating climate anxiety, surfer Ace Buchan, bodyboarder Lilly Pollard and Take 3 for the Sea ambassador Kal Glanznig.

The Thirroul event brought together Coco’s passion for helping young people and the environment. A Wollongong local who spent a decade working in children's rights for the likes of Unicef, Coco is also one of the founders of Good for the Gong.

Now an incorporated association, Good for the Gong started as a Facebook page to host discussions during last year’s offshore renewables zone consultation.

“Good for the Gong was something that I helped co-found because, for me, at first I was also shocked by the concept of offshore wind here,” Coco said.

Coco found what she learned about the turbines’ impact was reassuring. “So, for me, it looks like an incredible opportunity to take a big step forward in making sure that we can get off things like oil and gas and coal.”

Coco believes gathering environmental data will help us make good choices. She sees the current process as a chance to put protections in place before industry begins, something the Illawarra never had a chance to do with coal mining.

“I think we all want to learn from our past mistakes and this is a real opportunity to help the government design an effective process; we haven't had such a ripe opportunity to do that before.”

On the subject of who should pay for the research, Coco said: “For me personally, I'm totally fine with my taxes paying for proper environmental research. I'm all for it.

“Wherever the money's coming from, it just needs to be independently led.

“The actual research would need to be from an independent body. So potentially local universities or an organisation like CSIRO who already receive funding from government, but who have checks and balances in place so that funding doesn't manipulate outcomes of research.”

She likes the idea of conservation groups and community representatives being involved, “making sure that you have all the voices at the table”.

“There could be a governing body … It would be good to have local representation on there and local academics as well as potentially someone from an industry body like Smart Energy Council or Clean Energy Council, and someone from the government department, so that everybody's working together to get the best outcomes.”

Surfers for Climate is also asking to see First Nations inclusion and endorsement prioritised in offshore wind, she said.

“We would like to see strong environmental research and data to lead a really protective form of offshore wind, so offshore wind done responsibly. And we would like to see really effective community benefits.”

Coco wants to emphasise that this is a staged process. “What we're talking about right now is just an announcement that this area could be a renewable energy zone. The next part of the process is where all the research happens, and then there's another three consultation periods."

For more information on Surfers for Climate, visit their website.

Read more in the 'Common Ground' series:

• Responsible Future calls for independent environmental research
• Sea Shepherd Australia says Illawarra offshore research is ‘urgent’
• Blue Energy Futures Lab scientist agrees: 'We need more research'

Download a PDF the Government's Overview of the Offshore Renewable Energy Process.