A local mayor can see we face a climate emergency, why can't the PM?

Despite soaring rhetoric about Australian values and the absolute priority of securing the future of the Australian people, it is crystal clear that the federal government, the opposition and much of our corporate and media leadership have absolutely no understanding of the greatest threat facing this country, namely human-induced climate change. Having dug themselves a massive climate denial hole, and lacking the honesty to climb out, they are now intent on dragging the rest of the community down with them.

Glen Innes has experienced some of the worst conditions
 in the NSW bushfire disaster including two fatalities and
 widespread destruction of homes.

Not so the mayor of Glen Innes Severn Council. Coming to grips with the loss of lives and properties in her community in this weekend’s devastating fires, Carol Sparks had no doubt of the emergency we face. "We are so impacted by drought and the lack of rain," she said. “It's climate change, there's no doubt about it. The whole of the country is going to be affected. We need to take a serious look at our future.”

Read the opinion piece from The Sydney Morning Herald by Ian Dunlop -  “A local mayor can see we face a climate emergency, why can't the PM?”

We must mobilise for the climate emergency like we do in wartime. Where is the climate minister?

The second Morrison ministry contains no one with nominal responsibility for “climate” in any sense, despite the fact that it is the greatest threat facing the country. Angus Taylor, who spent much of his pre-parliamentary career fighting windfarms, claiming repeatedly that there is “too much wind and solar” in the system, is now minister for energy and emissions reduction. No mention of climate here, despite the fact that climate is what it is all about, or should be.

It is essential these high-end, bad possibilities, not
just middle-of-the-road probabilities, are seriously
considered when formulating climate change policy.

Sussan Ley has been made the environment minister, but more intriguing, David Littleproud is minister for water resources, drought, rural finance, natural disaster and emergency management. Let’s take another look at this: water (or lack thereof) … drought … disaster … emergency management.

Is it possible that someone is starting to join the dots – a tacit admission of an escalating climate emergency? In the National party, where competition to develop sensible climate policy is nonexistent, Littleproud has at least pushed for serious policy to address climate impacts on farmers. His title, truth be known, should be the minister for the rural climate emergency.

Read the story from The Guardian by Ian Dunlop and David Spratt -  “We must mobilise for the climate emergency like we do in wartime. Where is the climate minister? “

Climate action: the Foundation of Sustainable Development

The climate crisis is undoubtedly the single greatest threat to humanity. Despite the fierce debate in the United States surrounding the reality staring us square in the face, much of the rest of the world acknowledges the severity of this problem and the moral imperative to take urgent action. 

In its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development the United Nations included climate action as one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Together, these goals outline a path by which the world can work together to strengthen universal peace and prosperity. When the UN pledged to take action on climate as part of the SDGs, it acknowledged an important – though often overlooked – fact: no issue we collectively face as humans exists separate and apart from the others. These challenges – from alleviating poverty to educating women and girls to addressing the climate crisis – intersect and are intimately connected to one another. A planet that is in a state of chaos and disruption offers a poor canvas for advancing development goals. 

Read the Impacter story by the CEO off the Climate Reality Project, Ken Berlin - “Climate action: the Foundation of Sustainable Development.”