Citizens Climate Campaign - Archive Take Action Now - Who Does the Prime Minister Listen to?

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Citizens Climate Campaign

Who Does the
Prime Minister
Listen to?

Archive
Take Action Now Greenpeace - Bear - Howard

Image courtesy of Greenpeace

On Friday 28 September Prime Minister John Howard said he believed the continuing drought was an example of 'climate shift', not climate change.

On Tuesday 2 October the CSIRO released its report Climate Change in Australia, at the Greenhouse 2007 Conference in Sydney, providing the most comprehensive assessment of Australia's climate to date. It is based on the work of more than 50 scientists from the CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology.

The report says that:

By 2030, up to 20% more months of drought are expected.
By 2070 this could rise to 40% in Eastern Australia and 80% in the south west if fossil fuels continue to be burnt.
The bushfire risk will double by 2050.
Sydney will be up to 5 degrees warmer by 2070.
There will be up to 30% less rainfall.

Britain's Chief Scientist Sir David King, speaking at the conference, said there was no choice but to adopt globally binding greenhouse gas emissions targets. It made no sense for any individual, business or country to claim its contribution to climate change was so small it would not have to take any action, he said.

Australian of the Year, Dr Tim Flannery, said -

"We need urgent action. Science will drive the agenda on how to address climate change from now on, and this has to be done via the United Nations and the Kyoto framework during the upcoming climate talks in Bali.

I respectfully and publicly ask our Prime Minister to ratify the Kyoto Protocol so we have a seat at the table in those negotiations".

The prepared email to Malcolm Turnbull, Minister for the Environment with a cc. to Kevin Rudd, Leader of the Opposition is shown below.

All information in this email was researched from the Sydney Morning Herald, 28.9.07 and 2.10.07.

Regards from the Citizens Climate Campaign Committee

The Hon. Malcolm Turnbull,
Minister for the Environment and Water Resources
cc: Kevin Rudd, Leader of the Opposition

Dear Mr Turnbull,

I join with Australian of the Year, Dr Tim Flannery, in requesting that the Australian Government ratify the Kyoto Protocol, so Australia can have a seat at the table at the upcoming climate talks in Bali.

I also request that the Australian Government urgently adopt globally binding greenhouse gas emissions targets as recommended by Britain's Chief Scientist Sir David King.

The alarming predictions about climate change by the CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology in their recent report, Climate Change in Australia, show clearly the desperate need for national policy and urgent action.

How bad must the impacts of climate change get before this government starts to listen to Australia's leading scientists rather than the fossil fuel and mining industries?

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