The climate emergency is the biggest existential threat facing humanity. The continued rise in global temperatures has already caused more extreme weather events, rising sea levels and significant damage to entire ecosystems.
The catastrophic floods that have devastated the eastern coast of Australia, particularly around Lismore, are a direct result of聽climate change. The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report reiterated that rising atmospheric temperatures would lead to more intense storms.
Yet governments here, and around the world, resist allocating the significant funds needed to make the structural changes to prevent the climate emergency from worsening. 聽after the floods rightfully feel abandoned聽and angry聽at Prime Minister Scott Morrison鈥檚 .
How often will we be told that disasters like these are 鈥渙ne-in-1000-year events鈥, as New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet claimed?
Morrison downplayed the 2019鈥20 bushfires, from the NSW fire chief Greg Mullins, and taking off on a holiday to Hawaii.
Young people are sick of this blas茅 attitude from people who claim to be leaders. A 2017 video of Morrison praising coal as something to 鈥渘ot be afraid of鈥 has 聽on TikTok, with young people dubbing audio over the top of the flood and bushfire footage.
Although Morrison and the Coalition government have been disastrous for the climate, Labor has also failed to take it seriously. Queensland Labor Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has granted approval for聽18 new coal mines and struck a聽deal聽with the serial climate criminal corporation, Adani. Labor supports the Kurri Kurri gas-fired power station, with federal leader Anthony Albanese saying that, if elected, he will pump more money into it.
Labor鈥檚 climate policy is a 43% reduction on 2005 emissions by 2030; this shows the main opposition party is not listening to the scientists.
A by the University of Bath last year聽found that climate change is causing severe mental health concerns among people aged 16鈥25 years. It found that nearly 60% were 鈥渆xtremely worried鈥 about climate change and that the concerns were exacerbated by governments鈥 lack of action.
Both the major parties are refusing to act on climate fast enough to avoid disaster, refusing to rapidly phase out fossil fuels or invest significantly in renewable energy. These steps are the bare minimum.
We cannot wait for yet another disaster; we need proactive, people-driven solutions. We need to reduce emissions across every sector of the economy, invest聽in public transport and public housing, put energy systems聽back into public hands and with communities given a real say on how they are run.
Land rights for Traditional Owners are critical for any new relationship to the land. It is also vital to ensure fossil fuel workers are guaranteed new sustainable and well-paid jobs. We must adopt First Nations-led land and water management systems and deploy regenerative and sustainable agricultural practices.
Australia, one of the largest exporters of fossil fuels, is international progress by stalling climate agreements and refusing to meet targets. Australia is 聽with lots of sun, wind and ocean that can provide sustainable and ongoing energy sources.
Polluting industries are still heavily subsidised by governments: the Australia Institute estimates that fossil fuel industries were subsidised聽$10.3 billion in 2020鈥21. This is public money and it must be used to help pay for the transition.
Seizing the assets of and taxing Australia鈥檚 billionaire oligarchs on the 聽made during the pandemic is another good way to fund the changes we need. It is also vital to tax the super profits of聽big corporations.
Our so-called leaders are aware of such solutions, yet they refuse to act. Without a powerful people-driven movement supported by unions, students and workers, they will continue to block and obfuscate any chance at change.
Young people are leading the modern climate movement. Greta Thunberg and others鈥 school strikes for climate have drawn millions of people into protests for the first time.
Fridays for Future (FFF), the organisers of many of the student strikes, have drawn together the climate and anti-war movements, calling huge anti-war demonstrations in Europe against Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine.
These young climate activists understand the link between war and climate destruction, including the enormous greenhouse gas emissions of the United States military, and the geopolitical ramifications of a reliance on fossil fuels and nuclear energy.
Nuclear power plants in Ukraine are threatened by Russia鈥檚 invasion and any significant damage to these sites could have disastrous consequences. It is worth noting that these plants are fuelled in part by uranium from Australia.
We know the most vulnerable, those least responsible for the climate emergency, will be the first affected. According to the , at least 1.7 billion people already face serious food and water shortages.
FFF has called an international day of action on March 25 and 聽students around the world are preparing to take to the streets around the main slogan #PeopleNotProfit.
The strikes are calling for the replacement of the 鈥渇lawed socio-economic model鈥. The says: 鈥淭he catastrophic climate scenario that we are living in is the result of centuries of exploitation and oppression through colonialism, extractivism and capitalism, an essentially flawed socio-economic model which urgently needs to be replaced.
"A system where rich nations are responsible for 92% of global emissions, and the richest 1% of the world population are responsible for double the pollution produced by the poorest 50%鈥 needs to be junked."
We agree.
Make sure you get to a School Strike 4 Climate Australia protests near you. Visit schoolstrike4climate.com/upcoming-actions to find your nearest strike.
[Isaac Nellist is a member of the .]