ARTICLES
Action to Limit the Outcomes of Human-induced Climate Change
From the Editor
Sydney Town Hall, green in celebration!
Bill McKibben, an American climate-change activist, recently visited Australia to support several groups, all attempting to promote serious action to reduce the worst outcomes of humanenhanced climate change. He spent eight days travelling across Australia with an Australian team, hosting events, engagements and meetings. Thousands of people attended to hear the message to accelerate climate action. He described some of the international progress to advance the pro-climate cause, including one example where New York City took on five fossil fuel companies via legal action. He reported that across the world more than US $ 6 trillion has now been divested from fossil fuels.
Mr McKibben described a grand symbolic gesture by New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, lighting up the Empire State Building in green after the city made its pension fund divestment and legal action commitment. This prompted Sydney Deputy Lord Mayor Jess Miller and her team to turn Sydney Town Hall green on the night of his talk.
From 12th to 14th September, 2018 the Global Climate Action Summit will be held in San Francisco. Seeking to broaden and depoliticise the climate conversation, the Summit will bring together state and local leaders, businesses, scientists, students, and not-for-profit organisations – everyone who recognises the gravity of climate change and is working to resolve it.
The Global Climate Action Summit will make a call for the world to step up their ambitions under the Paris Accord – especially the councils and states breaking through national governments such as Australia’ s where action on climate change is ambivalent, to say the least. Although the Federal Government claims to be working to fulfil its commitment, it is attempting to force AGL either to maintain its ageing Liddel Power Station to continue using coal beyond 2022( since the Company intends to convert it to the use of renewables) or to sell it to a competitor that would continue coal-powered electricity production. Moreover, $ 2.5Bn set aside by the previous Federal Government to promote renewable energy has largely been used to support fossil fuels. Meanwhile, a large number of Australians have made their own decision to oppose the exacerbated change in climate by paying to have solar panels installed. In fact, now there are substantially more solar panels in Australia than people, so apart from doing their part to reduce the worst aspects of the inevitable disaster, these people also gain handsomely by paying far less for their electricity.
Action is planned in Australia via a summit here just prior to the San Francisco event, with similar aims to unite people. These action groups intend to work with the fossil fuel divestment partners and support community-led movements to get those that have not yet made commitments to do so. At this Summit the company, project, community and organisational leaders working to expand Australia’ s low carbon economy despite government inaction will be applauded. Indigenous and Pacific Island communities will be given aid to promote exciting new solutions, whilst legal options for communities impacted by climate change will be investigated, following the lead of Bill McKibben’ s Accelerate Climate Action call.
It is hoped that this action forces policy-makers to recognise that a majority of Australians actually do give a damn. In most countries where the people are made aware of the risks, challenges, and the increasing number of positive steps available other than burning fossil fuels in oxygen, generating CO 2 and other gases endangering our fragile planet, those in power are working hard to decrease the inevitable consequences of what the deniers and those vandalising our world have provoked. There are many here also who are already working to find solutions, in business, academia, the union movement and of course in local communities. All are ready to act as advocates for climate action.
The following article, republished from‘ The Conversation’, explains why the present subsidies paid to fossil-fuel companies to provide electric power to Australians waste taxpayers’ money, as well as being almost 180 ° out of step with most advanced world governments. Moreover, now that statistics indicate that around 70 % of Australians accept the reality of Human-induced Climate-change( the majority in every major political Party), in this respect our Federal Government’ s intransigence acts contrary to public opinion.
43 SCIENCE EDUCATIONAL NEWS VOL 67 NO 2