25 signatures reached
To: The Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison
Australia: Climate Action Now!
We desperately need immediate climate action, but instead the major political parties are committed to accelerating the climate crisis for the sake of profit. We demand that the following actions are taken to protect the future of human life on earth:
- No “Gas-Led Recovery”, we must transition to clean renewable energy such as wind and solar to reduce emissions and meet energy requirements.
- No new fossil fuels, the construction of fossil fuel generators must be immediately banned.
- Immediately end the pursuit of coal-mining, with a just transition for all workers in the industry
- Net zero emissions by 2025, far away emission targets for 2050 mean nothing, we need an immediate commitment to reducing emissions.
Why is this important?
The latest IPCC report is grave. The conservative targets set by the Paris Climate Agreement were set to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. We are now currently on track to reach that level of warming in 2040. At that point, almost 1 billion people will face life-threatening heat waves at least once every 5 years. That's in addition to more floods, more droughts, worse heat, and rising sea levels.
1.5 degrees however is now a best case scenario. The report estimates that if we reach a 'high emissions future scenario' - which is consistent with what we're currently on track for - global warming above pre-industrial levels would rise to 5.7 degrees Celsius by 2100. That level of warming would be catastrophic.
We need urgent action to address the climate crisis right now. The IPCC report argues that without "immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions", curbing emissions to even 2 degrees Celsius will be "beyond reach". Nowhere in the world is the level of immediate and large scale reductions required to meet these targets seen. Especially not in Australia.
Australia ranks sixth highest in the world for greenhouse gas emissions per capita. When you consider greenhouse gasses emitted by Australian exported coal that figure expands significantly. Despite Australian emissions disproportionately escalating the climate crisis our government has displayed a commitment to expanding the fossil fuel industry. The government’s “Gas-Led Recovery” will see gas-fired power plants built to meet Australia’s growing energy requirements. The burning of gas will emit more greenhouse gasses, in particular methane which is even more dangerous than co2.