2019-08-23
Right now, we are facing an existential climate crisis that threatens human civilisation – and our government must start paying attention.
By the Australian Greens
For too long, Scott Morrison’s government has been ignoring the impacts of climate change, while all around us the threats gets worse. The time to act is now.
What are the Greens campaigning for?
We are calling on the Australian Parliament to declare a climate emergency this year. Declaring a climate emergency means that our Parliament recognises that Australia is in a climate crisis. It puts action on climate change at the centre of all government policy and planning decisions, and it begins the whole of government and whole of society mobilisation effort required to protect Australia’s people and ecology.
This would put an end to the business as usual approach of the Labor and Liberal parties, who still put their coal, oil and gas donors ahead of people and our environment. We’re urging all members and senators of the Australian Parliament to declare a climate emergency, so we can take the urgent action required to avoid catastrophic climate change.
What are we doing?
Throughout August and September, we’ll collect petition signatures online and in person around the country, calling on Parliament to support the declaration. Our campaign will doorknock across the nation, so MPs know that their communities want them to support the declaration. By strategically applying pressure, we can build the momentum we need to win.
This is a global movement
965 jurisdictions in 18 countries have already declared a climate emergency, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Portugal, Ireland and Argentina, and cities such as New York and Paris. More than 160 million people live within areas where a climate emergency has been declared. This includes councils covering more than 70 percent of the populations in the United Kingdom and New Zealand, the nations of Portugal, Canada and Ireland.
The cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Darwin and Hobart, and regional councils in Australia including Wollongong, Ballarat, Lismore, Noosa and the Blue Mountains, have declared a climate emergency.
How you can be part of the campaign
1. Sign the petition
We need to get as many signatures as possible on the petition before it’s presented to Parliament in October. Click here to sign.
2. Share the petition
If you have already signed it, thank you! Can you share it with your friends?
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3. Talk to your friends, family and neighbours
The more public support there is for declaring a climate emergency, the better chance it has of passing Parliament. The best way you can help us do this is to have conversations with your friends, families and local communities about the need for action and asking them to sign the petition.
You can download a hardcopy version of the petition that you can ask people to sign. Download it here.
Not sure what to say? Download this handy guide on how to talk about the climate emergency.
4. Organise a stall
Download the petition, grab the messaging guide, and head out into your local community and help get as many signatures as we can on the petition before October.
Hero image: Julian Meehan via Flickr.