Declaring a Climate and Environment Emergency
September 11, 2019
Zali Steggall seconded a motion from her crossbench colleague, Adam Bandt, who called for the Parliament to declare an Environment and Climate Emergency.
Such a declaration is consistent with other jurisdictions who have made similar declarations including the UK Parliament and more locally, the Councils of North Sydney and Northern Beaches.
The text of the motion Zali seconded is as follows:
MR BANDT: To move—That this House:
(1) declares an environment and climate emergency;
(2) recognises that:
(a) the recent report of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Special Report: Global Warming of 1.5 °C, indicates that we are facing a climate emergency, and as a result, meaningful action on climate change is urgent, at home and internationally;
(b) this IPCC report has found that the world is not on track to limit global warming to less than 1.5 degrees Celsius;
(c) at a national level, England, France, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and Canada have all declared a climate emergency; and
(d) extreme weather events will devastate large parts of Australia and radically impact food production, water availability, public health, infrastructure, the community and the financial system;
(3) notes that the Government has acknowledged urgent action is required to address climate change; and
(4) calls on the Government to take urgent action consistent with the internationally accepted science
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