The critically-important COP26 climate summit is just two months away and pressure is mounting on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to increase Australia's 2030 climate target.
Senior officials from the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and the European Union have pressed the Federal government to do more. Now it's time for the community to raise its voice and ensure the PM feels pressure on the home front.
Here’s a quick update on our efforts over the last month and upcoming actions...
NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION FOR AUSTRALIA'S 2030 CLIMATE TARGET ANNOUNCED:
Friends of the Earth has called a national Day of Action on Friday 1 October—one month before COP26—to call on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to take a strong 2030 climate target to the summit.
The United States and United Kingdom have increased their 2030 targets. With scientists issuing a "code-red warning" to humanity, it's time for Australia to put its shoulder to the wheel on climate.
We want to create a massive buzz on social media on the day and take action to influence the government's decision making. Will you contribute a photo to help us kick off the big day?
If your organisation or grassroots group would like to support the Day of Action, please click here. The more groups that get involved, the greater our impact.
With your help we can make the call for climate ambition impossible for the government to ignore. Let's get to work!
COMMUNITY SURVEY LAUNCHED AT PACKED-OUT INFO NIGHT:
Act on Climate launched a community survey drive at a packed online event in August.
This September, Act on Climate and Lighter Footprints will survey community members in the inner eastern and south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne. We want to understand what level of ambition they'd like to see the Federal government take to COP26.
The findings of the survey will be presented to key decision makers such as Liberal government Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, Katie Allen MP, and Gladys Liu MP, and more. The results will demonstrate community views on a stronger 2030 climate target and influence the debate at a critical time in the decision-making process.
We're now calling for supporters to help us flyer houses in the inner eastern and southeastern suburbs and hit the phones to our contacts to participate.
Click here to sign up as a Community Survey Champion to help us collect as many responses as possible.
HUNDREDS EMAIL THE ALP FOR CLIMATE AMBITION: 
In August, Shadow Minister for Climate Change Chris Bowen delivered a speech criticising the Morrison government's weak climate targets. Bowen signalled that the Australian Labor Party is planning a more ambitious medium-term target.
Our rapid response online action saw almost 600 people email the Australian Labor Party to welcome their stance and call for them to build pressure on the Morrison government by matching the US and UK's 2030 climate targets.
The action will strengthen the hand of climate champions in the ALP and help push back on the likes of Joel Fitzgibbon.
If you haven't already, click here to email Shadow Minister Chris Bowen.
COMMUNITY CAMPAIGNS ARE CHANGING THE GAME: 
The impact of hard-fought community campaigns for a Victorian Renewable Energy Target and interim Emissions Reduction Targets becomes clearer every day.
In August, we saw new records for renewable energy generation in Victoria and a record minimum for brown-coal power generation. These outcomes are a direct result of the VRET. And it's a trend that will continue as state climate and energy policies continue to be implemented.
Recent announcements from the Andrews government demonstrate the impact of community campaigns for Victorian climate leadership.
The Andrews government cited the state's 2030 Emissions Reduction Target to push back on Federal Minister Angus Taylor's plan to use public money to prolong the use of coal-burning power plants. In more positive news, the Labor government opened the second Victorian Renewable Energy Target auction to repower the state's schools, hospitals, and metro trains network with clean power.
Click here to read our comments to Renew Economy about the announcement.
ACT ON CLIMATE SHAPE STATE CLIMATE POLICY: 
In addition to all the public-facing work we do, the Act on Climate collective has been busy engaging with state government policy processes.
In recent weeks we made a massive 19-page submission to the Victorian government's first Adaptation Action Plans as well as a sharp submission on the Cape to Cape Coastal Resilience Plan.
This behind-the-scenes work is a bit thankless, but it's an important way to shape government policy. A massive thank you to collective members Liz Sutherland, Tim Read, Angus Woodward, and Anna Langford for taking the lead on our submissions. Well done!
Our submissions will be shared in coming weeks.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
The Climate Justice event calendar is taking shape over the next two months. We'd love to see you at the following:
- Sept 2 - Why is Flying a Climate Emergency Issue, Darebin Climate Action Now
- Sept 5 - Baykeeper Citizen Science: Coastal Erosion & Dune Profiling, Port Philip EcoCentre
- Sept 15 - Better Buses campaign launch, Friends of the Earth
- Oct 1 - Day of Action for Australia's 2030 Climate Target, Friends of the Earth
- Oct 15 - National Climate Strike, School Strike for Climate
- Oct 20 - Going it alone! What States can do for Climate Action, Lighter Footprints
And remember, you're always welcome to join us for our weekly Act on Climate meetings. In 2021 we're holding online meetings via Zoom. Please register here for the Zoom link.
That's all from us for now. See you on the campaign trail...