By Lisa Macdonald
Hundreds of people rallied in Australia's cities on May 15 to mark World Climate Day, a non-government day of action to heighten awareness about global climate change.
On the same day, several environment and development groups announced the formation of a greenhouse alliance. The alliance, the first such network in Australia, includes AID/WATCH, the Australian Conservation Foundation, Friends of the Earth, Environment Victoria, Greenpeace, the National Union of Students, the Nature Conservation Council of NSW, the Queensland Conservation Council, the Total Environment Centre and World Wide Fund for Nature.
The alliance aims to increase the focus on governments' energy, transport and development policies, and to improve community awareness of the issues. By improving coordination and information exchange, it will also "facilitate a strong, united voice to combat the coal and car industries which have had considerable success in pushing the Australian government to water down its obligations under the UN Convention on Climate Change", said Judy Messer, spokesperson for the NSW NCC.
"Australian governments and industry are dragging their feet in implementing reductions in greenhouse gases. The next two years will be crucial for the global and domestic response to climate change", said Peter Kinrade from the ACF.
Lee Rhiannon from AID/WATCH commented that the "alliance is a most welcome development. The coal industry is attempting to expand the markets for Australian coal and coal technology in the Asia region with the support of development agencies such as the World Bank and AusAID."
Rhiannon said that AID/WATCH will work closely with environment groups to expose this misuse of aid money and "ensure that our dirty industries clean up their act both here and overseas".