Talk about a time of contrasts!
Maybe you have been watching the latest international COP meeting wrestle with climate challenges in Dubai. Don’t apologise if you haven’t, because we all have mixed feelings about how effective those giant talk fests might be. Remember it was Greta Thunberg who famously declared they were just “blah blah blah”!
Nevertheless, there are some great opportunities for other nations and coalitions who are usually sidelined by the big economic super powers of the world.
It’s great news to hear of a loss and damages fund being set up by rich nations to help fund relief recovery and resilience in the rest of the world which has suffered from the worst effects of climate change brought on by the profligate use of fossil fuels in the Global North.
It’s not nearly enough cash yet …but I am personally willing to cheer any step in the right direction, as long as it’s only seen as a starting point.
Despite the extravagant promises and gestures by world leaders, including Australia, the true test of commitment will be in the actions they take back home. And we really need some meaningful action as the United Nations warns that Earth will warm up to 2.9°C even with current climate pledges by 2100.
And we just can’t afford to go there.
We also saw the global average temperature rise above 2 degrees centigrade (hotter than pre-industrialisation) for the first time – not good, even if only briefly.
I find these numbers impossible to mentally picture.
However we, as nations and individuals, are occupied with other short-term crises, challenges and opportunities. So the burden of raising the alarm falls to young people and those affected right now – including our fellow Australians in the Torres Strait. (You can read Uncle Paul and Uncle Pabai’s latest legal case to hold our government to account - and sign up to show your support.)
But on the flipside – there is hope - in the form of mass civil disobedience. Which brings us to the cops.
Part of the largest ever climate protest happened in Newcastle, New South Wales, a week or so ago. About 3000 people took part in Rising Tide, closing the Newcastle coal port for over 30 hours. Over 100 were arrested, which drew the attention of every major news network in Australia, and many round the world, including BBC World Service, Germany, South Korea and Japan. About 1000 media stories and many tens of thousands of social media hits and even an opinion piece in the Sydney Morning Herald, the Age, and the Brisbane Times by the 97 year old arrestee Alan Stuart helped make this very popular news.
This festival included a celebration of community, camping, collaboration, live music, kids’ fun and ultimately a very significant demonstration of people power.
Taking part was enormously energising, full of hope and joyful. A fun-filled, uplifting and rewarding experience. As one participant said to me, this is the kind of community we could all live in – a model for what society could and should be like.
Rising Tide was tangible proof that we could take charge in a society usually run by governments, vested interests, and powerful corporations, supported by laws that entrench the status quo. It showed that we could set the agenda and we could tell our story. People are listening to this!
It demonstrated that there is a place for families, small children, students, people of colour, First Nations custodians, people from every state of the country and other countries in the world, to unite our voices in opposition to the destructive fossil fuel industry and demand change for now and for future generations. Next year the organisers are planning for a 10 day festival and 10,000 people. Stay tuned!
And in the meantime, if you want to find out a little more about the place of civil disobedience in bringing about social change, the Commons Library has great articles like this one.
So let’s finish the year with some rapid fire ways to have our voices heard. 💥💥💥
What can you do today?
🚀 Let’s have a fast and furious 5 minute binge! 🚀
Energy giant EnergyAustralia has been marketing electricity and gas from fossil fuels as ‘carbon neutral’, claiming they can ‘offset’ that pollution. But so-called ‘offsets’ are a type of marketing spin that enables companies to continue polluting, without making genuine cuts to their pollution. Parents for Climate Action is taking EnergyAustralia to court, to argue that they have engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct.
Action: Sign their open letter and see how to support their case.
The Climate Council has joined Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action in calling on the Albanese Government to pause all polluting fossil fuel project approvals until our national environment law is strong, and effectively addresses climate change.
Action: Sign your name and call for stronger protection from the Albanese Government.
Whitehaven’s Winchester South coal mine has been given the green light of approval from Queensland despite admitting that approving this coal mine would infringe upon the human rights of children and the cultural rights of First Nations peoples.
Action: Message Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek to reject this project.
The Albanese Government's approval or support of sixteen new coal and gas export projects would generate seven times more climate pollution than the government’s policies will save. The government says it’s not responsible for the emissions when Australian coal and gas is burnt overseas, but the fact remains that Albanese government decisions are fuelling global warming. It’s the difference between climate accounting and climate accountability.
Action: Write and send your email now asking for a new climate target of Net Zero by 2035.
🐇 If you have 15 minutes:
Well you won’t have fifteen minutes because you burned through all those five minute ones! Yee haa! 🤠😂
💃🏽 If you have 30 minutes or more:
Join QLD Conservation Council and Moreton Climate Action Now for a free Climate Ready and Energy Smart Neighbourhoods event in Strathpine (northern suburb of Brisbane) this Sunday 10 December at 10am. Tackle the rising cost of living, extreme weather events (like bushfires and heatwaves) and impacts of climate change at the same time.
Action: RSVP to secure your spot as spaces are limited.
In Townsville, the locals know what a super heated summer means for their reef: warming oceans, increased coral bleaching, and an ongoing extinction crisis. They are gathering on Sunday December 10 at 4pm to demand the Labor Government take action, and stop approving new fossil fuel projects.
Action: Join everyone on The Strand for this Townsville action to protect the reef and Turn Up the Heat on Labor.
Phew - well done!
I met some wonderful people in Newcastle in the space of a few days. One was Alexa Stuart, organiser and media spokesperson. She described ‘hope as a strategy rather than an emotion’. That’s got me thinking!
That’s all for today, folks 👋🏽 Thanks for taking action.
See you in two weeks - our last action packed newsletter for 2023!
Malcolm
plus Robyn, Ron and Jan - The Climate Club Qld team
We live, work and play on the lands of the Yuggara and Turrbal people in and around Meanjin - Brisbane. We pay respect to their Elders, past and present, and acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded - always was, always will be Aboriginal land.
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