Back in July, Friends of the Earth called on our supporters to meet with local Labor MPs to make the case for science-based Emissions Reduction Targets for Victoria.
The Morrison government's refusal to tackle the climate crisis has seen the country's emissions increase five years in a row. The refusal to act leaves communities exposed to intensifying heatwaves, bushfires, sea-level rise, and extreme weather.
The Andrews government has an opportunity to put Australia back on track by setting Emissions Reduction Targets that help keep global warming below 1.5°C.
Libby Capogreco, a member of the Grandmothers for Climate Action, met with her local MP Anthony Carbines to make the case for ambition:
"I met with my local state MP Anthony Carbines to urge the Victorian government to commit to ambitious emissions reductions targets (in line with the latest IPCC scientific data) for 2025 and 2030 when setting the new targets in March next year," said Capogreco. "The figures I recommended were 65 percent by 2025 and 80 percent by 2030."
Libby noted Victoria's progress on climate, renewable energy, and forest protection and urged the government to build on the momentum:
"I congratulated the Andrews government on the initiatives they have taken thus far in mitigating global warming and urged them to continue to lead the way for the rest of Australia (and the world) in transitioning away from fossil fuels to renewables in a just way."
The School Strike 4 Climate Action movement has captured the attention of people across the country, so it's no surprise that it was a topic of discussion in the MP meeting.
"We also had a discussion about the climate related anxiety of the children (those marching and those not) and the need for governments to act in order to restore hope for these children that they too can have a future to look forward to.
"We both agreed that whilst mitigating climate warming is a very complex issue, the complexity is not a reason to not be tackling it head on, and with vigour, now."
We are facing a climate crisis. Record-breaking land and ocean temperatures, irreversible bleaching and collapse of the Great Barrier Reef, unprecedented bushfires in Tasmania’s world heritage areas, and rapid melting of polar ice caps and glaciers demonstrate that the planet is already too hot.
If you'd like to follow Libby's lead and meet your local member of parliament, please get in touch. We're happy to help.
TAKE ACTION:
- Email Premier Andrews to call for climate ambition.
- Support the campaign by making a donation.
- Get involved by attending a weekly Act on Climate meeting.