Taking action on climate is hard. Here are five questions to help Australia seize this moment

In late 2019, before the bushfires hit crisis level, concern about climate change in Australia was at record levels. Since then at least 27 people have lost their lives, millions of animals have died and the navy has been called in to evacuate beaches. The devastating impacts of climate change are tragically becoming real for many. And many, from bushfire survivors to business leaders to firefighters, are calling for action.

‘This is not the first time that public support for climate action has been sky high.’

As a result, we are in a moment where the opportunity to implement effective and long-lasting policy to lower Australia’s climate pollution could finally be within reach. Indeed, the independent MP Zali Steggall has announced her intention to introduce a climate bill into federal parliament in March. Meanwhile the New South Wales energy minister, Matt Kean, has asked the state’s chief scientist to identify opportunities for NSW to lead on climate action. Even the NSW Young Liberals have put forward a plan to act on climate.

To grasp this opportunity we must learn critical lessons from the past.

Read the story from The Guardian by Nicky Ison - “Taking action on climate is hard. Here are five questions to help Australia seize this moment.” 

No Planet B': Millions take to streets in global climate strike

Millions of students and other activists abandoned school and work on Friday to join mass protests calling for action against climate change before a UN summit.

Pacific Islanders attend a protest march as part of
the world’s largest climate strike in Sydney, Australia. 

From New York to Guatemala City, Sydney to Kabul, and Cape Town to London, protesters in hundreds of cities around the world took the streets, demanding their governments take urgent steps to tackle the climate crisis and prevent an environmental catastrophe.

"The preliminary numbers say there are at least 3 million people in today's #ClimateStrike And that is before counting North and South America," tweet Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teen, who was in New York to lead the climate strike ahead of the UN Climate Action Summit, which is slated to bring together world leaders to discuss climate change mitigation strategies, including the move from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.

The demonstrations started in the Pacific Islands before quickly getting started across Australia, Asia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and North and South America. 

Read the Aljazeera story - “‘No Planet B': Millions take to streets in global climate strike.”