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Photo: Cameron Feast/OxfamAUS
Think bigger than our backyard – act on climate change
The international climate negotiations are at a crucial stage, with less then 18 months to agree a comprehensive treaty to prevent dangerous climate change. If we don’t, the evidence points to massive environmental damage that will lead to a dramatic loss of croplands and water sources that will significantly worsen poverty and suffering around the world.
The challenge we face shouldn’t be underestimated – we are at a tipping point that requires urgent and substantial international action.”
– Andrew Hewett, Executive Director, Oxfam Australia and co-chair of Make Poverty History
We're all in this together
Climate change will affect everyone, but it will affect poor people in developing countries first and most dramatically.
Yet it's the rich developed world that has produced the vast majority of carbon emissions that have caused climate change. While the US has been the world's biggest producer of carbon emissions, Australia's performance has also been extremely damaging to the environment, with Australia now the world's second biggest carbon emitter per capita.
We need a global solution
The United Nations has begun the process of negotiating a new international climate change agreement to take effect in 2012. This began in Bali in December 2007 with the "Bali Road Map". It’s a long road ahead for all nations, but especially for those who will be worst affected by climate change.
Rich countries such as Australia need to take the lead in negotiating this new agreement. Australia needs to substantially cut our greenhouse gas emissions and provide resources to help people adapt to our changing climate.
Justice and equity requires that the developed nations of the world, such as Australia, accept responsibility for their actions and play a leading and constructive role in finding a just solution to climate change.
A solution that looks like this
A fair and equitable United Nations agreement needs to:
- Acknowledge that climate change is largely the result of greenhouse gas emissions from rich developed nations, and subsequently that rich countries need to take the most dramatic action in cutting their greenhouse emissions to avoid dangerous climate change
- Provide more and reliable funding to help developing countries adapt to climate change
- Ensure that rich countries share low-carbon, renewable technologies with developing countries so that we can have a sustainable world
Sign the petition asking the Australian Government to act on climate change
Developed countries are responsible for most of the pollution that has caused climate change. Australia is one of the worst per capita polluters. Yet poor communities in developing countries are the ones that are being hit hardest and don’t have the means to adapt.
We call on the Australian Government to show leadership on climate change by:
- Agreeing to cut Australia’s greenhouse pollution by at least 40 percent by 2020 and at least 95 percent by 2050 (on 1990 levels)
- Providing developing countries with adequate financial assistance to help them adapt to climate change
- Helping developing countries to access renewable energy technologies
- Negotiating for a just and equitable post-2012 international agreement on climate change