Fossil fuels. Net zero. Global warming.

Three of the most hotly debated and well-used phrases of the last decade - at least in Australia.

Having grown up in the NSW Hunter region, a hot-bed of both coal-fired energy production and environmental activism, I'm acutely aware of how divisive the rhetoric around these three phrases can be.

But one things I came to realise, as I was speaking with people for this week's Voice of Real Australia Podcast, is that we are starting to move past the partisan mud-slinging.

We are moving into a period of acceptance, that there is a global shift away from coal-fired energy generation and while the changes may not impact the Hunter too severely in the next decade, they will come.

This period comes with a great many challenges, but also significant opportunity.

For regions like the Hunter, it means communities further out into the valley will be impacted by power station closures and the inevitable downturn of mining and its related sectors.

Many people will lose their jobs. Some will never work again, but others will seize this opportunity to move into a new, emerging sector.

There are people and organisations in the Hunter like Beyond Zero Emissions and the Hunter Jobs Alliance who see the potential in this future and are taking strides to ensure jobs and energy production aren't left by the wayside.

This is being supported, at least in some part, by the NSW Government and initiatives like the Renewable Energy Zone.

But having talked to a range of people on the issue, it is clear the nation requires leadership.

Coal may have a significant role to play in the Hunter's economic future for some time yet - with prices at record highs and exports increasing this seems to be the case.

But if we look at examples like Germany and talk to experts like Timon Whenert, we see that right now is the time to start preparing for that inevitable.

It is the role of government to ensure workers in this industry, who have been the backbone of our economic growth for two centuries, are supported in this shift away from coal - to ensure a just transition.

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