Here is the Act on Climate crew's update on what we're up to, what's coming up, and ways you can get involved!

As 2023 wraps up as the hottest year on record and some settle into holiday mode, we’re continuing our preparations for a dangerously hot summer.

The responses to climate impacts we’re seeing here and now are being driven by local communities helping each other through disaster. This solidarity and mutual aid is critical and heartwarming, but it’s not enough.

Recently during COP28 negotiations we joined Move Beyond Coal activists at the office of Josh Burns MP to turn up the heat on Labor. We are calling for no more new fossil fuel projects and Funding for Climate Resilience.

Every step we take to help communities adapt to now unavoidable climate impacts secures a safer future and builds resilience, protecting people and country.

RSVP for an upcoming collective meeting if you're keen to be a part of our campaign or learn some organising skills - no experience required, just passion for climate justice.

The COP28 Climate Conference has just wrapped, and climate-impacted communities around the world watched in horror as a record number of fossil fuel industry lobbyists walked the halls and watered down attempts at strong commitments to tackle the climate crisis.

As Asah Rehgman writes "We are the ones who actually know this is a life-and-death fight. We are the realistic ones, and so we are the only hope for the future."

Friends of the Earth International has concluded that the COP28 outcome was undermined by dangerous distractions and lack of finance. “We need billions of dollars, we’ve been given peanuts, and even more debt to boot,” warned Bareesh Chowdhury of FoE Bangladesh.

To prepare for locked-in climate impacts, we need ongoing funding for community-led adaptation work. 

Will you call on the Victorian government to support communities in building resilience to climate impacts?

When it comes to tackling the climate crisis, every inch of a degree of warming that we can prevent by rapidly reducing emissions still matters. But climate impacts like bushfires, floods, drought and extreme weather are already inflicting blows on communities around the country. We know we need to prepare for a certain amount of warming that is locked in.

The majority of funding to address climate impacts is currently put into disaster relief, but we can’t only be on a reactive footing to climate impacts. Communities want funding in advance of climate disasters to build resilience and lessen the damage of impacts when they hit.

We call on the Victorian government to establish a permanent Victorian Community Climate Adaptation Fund (VCCAF). The fund would distribute money annually to community groups that apply to undertake localised adaptation and resilience projects. This approach would help the government meet its obligations to the Victorian Climate Change Act (2017) and ensure Victorian communities can enhance their capacity to adapt to impacts.

When the Victorian government has provided one-off grant programs for communities to carry out adaptation work in the past, they have been dramatically oversubscribed. It is clear that there is strong demand for support of local solutions that empower communities.

The government can build on its previous successful grant scheme models by establishing a permanent VCCAF. The nature of the fund would take into account the highly localised nature of climate impacts, and accordingly take a bottom-up approach of dispersing money to local groups that know the unique needs of their communities well.

Add your name to show your support for a permanent Victorian Community Climate Adaptation Fund.

In late July, the Act on Climate collective hit the road down the southwest coast of Victoria to chat with communities about their concerns when it comes to climate change impacts, and their hopes and visions for the area. Here's a report back on how it went...

Act on Climate went on a West Coast Roadtrip from 17 July to 24 July, hosting events in towns along the coast, specifically Torquay, Apollo Bay, Warrnambool and Portland, to meet with local groups active in the area and interested community members from all walks of life. The aim was to explore the climate impacts these coastal towns are already experiencing and the solutions locals would like to see.

On July 18, we visited Apollo Bay for a Coastal Impacts Community Meetup. We gathered at Marrar Woorn Neighbourhood House in Apollo Bay to talk about local climate impact concerns over tea, crumble and cake. Read a summary of the late afternoon's get-together below...

Here is the Act on Climate crew's update on what we're up to, what's coming up, and ways you can get involved!

We're excited to announce that our collective is planning on visiting climate affected frontline communities with an Act on Climate roadtrip this July.

Climate impacts are already being experienced by communities across Victoria and we want to support people in their calls for solutions.

RSVP for an upcoming collective meeting or our Organising Training Series with Friends of the Earth's Sustainable Cities collective if you're keen to be a part of our new campaign or learn some organising skills - no experience required, just passion for climate justice.

Here is the Act on Climate crew's update on what we're up to, what's coming up, and ways you can get involved!

It's an exciting time in the collective right now as we enter a new period of organising. We're switching gears and returning to frontline climate impacts work with communities as well as making time for community care and collective capacity building.

RSVP for an upcoming collective meeting or our Organising Training Series with Friends of the Earth's Sustainable Cities collective if you're keen to be a part of our new campaign or learn some organising skills - no experience required, just passion for climate justice.

The Albanese government has announced that a final deal has been reached between Labor and the Greens on the Safeguard Mechanism. What was in the final deal?

Here is the Act on Climate crew's update on what we're up to, what's coming up, and ways you can get involved!

This past month, the community has been dialling up the heat on the Dirty Dozen Polluters, and putting the question to the Albanese government: will it Safeguard Our Climate or Protect Polluter Profits?

RSVP for an upcoming collective meeting if you're keen to get in on the action - no experience required, just passion for climate justice.

Here is the Act on Climate crew's update on what we're up to, what's coming up, and ways you can get involved!

In this first month of the year, we've hit the ground running alongside climate groups across the country to make the case for the Albanese government to Safeguard Our Climate, Not Polluter Profits.

RSVP for an upcoming collective meeting if you're keen to get in on the action - no experience required, just passion for climate justice.