'Turnbull has betrayed his own words' - David Spratt

In 2010, Malcolm Turnbull said: "Our efforts to deal with climate change have been betrayed by a lack of leadership, a political cowardice, the like of which I have never seen...". Nothing has changed. Turnbull has betrayed his own words.

Australians understand an emergency: a situation of threat or escalating threat with severe consequences for life and property that requires urgent preventive intervention.

Our climate is getting hotter and more extreme, with sea level rises already in the system set to inundate our coastlines. A hotter climate will undermine global food and water security, and challenge how and where we live and work unless we take big steps right now.

We are out of time for slow, gradualist policy. The emergency action call is increasingly being taken up by leading scientists and responsible leaders around the world as extreme events escalate. “This is an emergency and for emergency situations we need emergency action," said UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon almost a decade ago.

More than 20 prominent Australians supported a statement published in The Age on 23 June (pictured above) saying it was time to declare a climate emergency.

Read the story by David Spratt on Climate Code Red - “Emergency action is only sane response to escalating climate impacts.”