The following call for a national week of protest action, beginning September 21, was issued by the July 5 Climate Emergency Rally organising committee in Melbourne, and endorsed by the August 2 Climate Justice seminar.
A meeting to discuss organising another emergency rally will take place on August 14, at 6.30pm at Ross House, 247 Flinders Lane, Melbourne. Phone Ben on 0413 580 706.
In Sydney, groups including Climate Change Balmain-Rozelle, Resistance, Friends of the Earth, North Shore Climate Action, Sutherland Climate Action Network, Sydney University Environment Collective, Ryde Gladesville Climate Change Action Group, the Socialist Alliance and the UNSW Environment Collective will also meet on August 14 at 6.30pm at the University of Technology, Sydney, to discuss organising a protest. Phone Kamala on 0417 319 662.
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Climate change is already occurring, much faster than the world's scientists have predicted. Recent data, including that the Arctic sea ice is rapidly melting, demonstrate that this is a climate emergency.
We are concerned that the Australian government's proposed "Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme" will be full of loopholes and, by the government's own admission, will allow emissions to continue rising for some years.
We believe such incremental measures are unacceptable: we need greenhouse emissions to start to fall immediately and sharply.
To begin to solve the problem we need action on many fronts including:
No new coal;
Massive public spending on renewable energy;
More public transport not new freeways; and
End logging of old growth forests.
We call for a national week of protests across Australia at the Spring Equinox, in the week beginning September 21. This week of action can highlight the summer melt of the Arctic ice and other worrying signs that demand urgent measures to decarbonise the economy from state and federal governments.
We ask climate change campaign groups, networks and all environmentally concerned organisations, across Australia to work together for a coordinated and effective week of public protest around these themes.
Call issued by the organising committee for the July 5 Climate Emergency rally in Melbourne (<http://www.climaterally.blogspot.com>).
Endorsed unanimously by participants at the final session of the August 2 Climate Justice seminar in Melbourne (<http://www.climatejusticeseminar.blogspot.com>).