Emma from SS4C seated at the bow of the Rainbow Warrior at dusk in Fremantle, 27 April 2023.

What is your name? Emma. I’m 16.

Where did you grow up? Margaret River – I love the ocean there, the trees and the community is really nice. I’m glad I live there.

Describe how you got involved in climate activism. When I was 13 or so we watched a David Attenborough documentary in class. It was called ‘A Life On Our Planet’ and there was a scene where he went through what would happen in 40 years if we did not meet our global 1.5 degree global warming target. Fires, floods, trees, no animals. This really really shocked me – so much doom and gloom. But then he started talking about solutions and I remember thinking they all seemed really easy. Really achievable, and they would make a much better world. So I struggled to understand why we weren’t doing any of those things, why our politicians kept ignoring the calls for change and continued leading us down an irreversible path towards an unsafe climate. That summer we had the 2020 bushfires. I was over east and saw the Hawkesbury covered in smoke and became increasingly frustrated by watching Scott Morrison, his inaction, and the way he ignored climate affected communities, the way he kept blocking and delaying climate justice. That’s when I started googling climate organisations and found School Strike 4 Climate. I learned about the Fund Our Future Not Gas campaign that SS4C was running. Scomo in the budget after the recession at that time was all “gas lead recovery” for the economy. I’m no economist but I knew that sounded like a terrible plan.

Do you have any particular anecdote or story about becoming an activist that you’d like to tell? Are there any special moments that stand out? The May 21st strike in 2021 was really crazy for me. I was 14 and had never done any community organising before. I helped to organise a Friday School Strike in the park. I remember going through permits and learning everything from scratch. But on the day, seeing friends and volunteers all turning up to the strike to stand together for climate justice, against dangerous gas was incredible. We’re just a small town but on that day it felt so powerful. It’s still one of my favourite moments. The community you make and meet through this work is so beautiful. Just hugging people and feeling lucky, so proud of this movement is one of my favourite things – there is so much love and support. Since then I’ve met some incredible mentors. Anybody that has worked at School Strike – graduated strikers and adults. I’ve learnt so much from them, and I’m so grateful.

What are you doing at SS4C? Describe how you got involved. Right now, locally we are in the process of conducting a survey to learn more about what people want to see in the Federal budget. Our Federal MP hasn’t really been very engaged with our community and listened or advocated for us. So we’re organising a big visual art installation of what our community wants to see in the Federal Budget so they won’t be able to miss it. This is in my electorate of Forrest.

Have you witnessed anything that makes you especially anxious about climate change?

Fires and seeing the impact it has on communities. When a fire happens it affects everyone. I’ve watched friends evacuate their whole lives. Politicians making big decisions that have big implications – new fossil fuel project approvals, like the process currently underway for Woodside’s Burrup Hub.

What gives you hope? The community in the climate movement and everyone I work with. Walking to be a proxy at Woodside’s shareholder meeting and seeing everyone there protesting, being so strong and staunch.  I am so proud of everyone I get to organise with,  seeing people everywhere, particularly my friends, organising things across the country to fight for climate justice makes me so hopeful – that we can build a better, more just future.

What do you know about Burrup Hub? I know its emissions will be 4 x times bigger than Adani – bigger than Australia’s national emissions combined with 6 x times Australia’s annual climate pollution. A lot of people have been outraged recently over the Willow project in America being approved – I watch their jaws drop when they find out that the Burrup Hub is 14 x times bigger in emissions than that. Burrup Hub’s climate change impacts have real and more tangible impacts on communities across the country. It has the potential to harm our oceans and reef, and damage First Nations’ Country. I love open water swimming and do this every weekend at Gnarabup and this alone is enough to make me angry. Imagine what it feels like to have your sacred spaces threatened or destroyed?

What would you like to say to Woodside ahead of the Paddle Out?

To Meg O’Neil – how do you stand there looking so poker-faced knowing your decisions are going to do so much damage to my generation and everyone in the future? You keep saying phrases like ‘offsetting emissions’ knowing full well the impact it will have. I want to believe your empty promises, so very much, but I have no trust in your words. You throw words around like confetti, but I don’t think you know that these words you throw around mean so much, that they matter. I expect better from you because it means so much to young people like me – you are playing with my future. Burrup Hub is risking everything – our country, our futures, our hopes of having a safe climate

Greenpeace and community paddle out in Fremantle, Western Australia for #WhalesnotWoodside. credit line: © Michael Lutman / Greenpeace

What will you do when you leave school? I thought about environmental law or environmental science for a while there but I am not sure I want to work in environmental law. I am in Year 11 now so it’s something I’m actively thinking about. I know I want to keep organising when I leave school. Where I find joy is organising and fighting for a better future. 

Was your mum a big influence in your life? In some ways yeah. In the early and late 90s she lived in Northcliffe – a tiny town kind of on the way to Albany. She used to go there and do sit-ins in trees. It was the start of the decades-long fight to save Western Australia’s old growth forests. She wasn’t in that movement for the longest time or necessarily the most active member, but I recall her telling me about a forest called Boorara. She lived in a house on her friend Wally’s property, he is a farmer, and the state government had decided to log trees on his property. In her room there is a photo of one of the huge trees in Boorara.

What advice do you have for other young people like yourself who may want to get involved in the climate movement but aren’t sure where to start? Just start! Getting involved with the climate movement is one of the best things I’ve ever done! Something that I was told growing up was you can’t complain about something if you are being passive, not doing anything to fix it, and I think you can apply this to the climate crisis! If you are frustrated by government inaction or scared for the future, transfer that into action! There are loads of great climate orgs in Australia to get involved with, and they all have the most lovely people who will support you in getting involved.

Some that I recommend,

1. School Strike for Climate (SS4C)
2. Greenpeace
3. The Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC)
4. Tomorrow Movement 

They all do different amazing things. There’s also so many local organisations who you can get involved with – your local environment centre, a local environmental campaign! I went into organising with no support or knowledge other than what my mum had shared with me about how she used to blockade forests, it was a good experience to learn through doing things. Nannas for Native Forests are amazing – nannas going to sit on equipment and lock on! They are a community group that has helped me so much! 

If the nannas can do it – so can you!

“Australia’s coal-fired bushfires are still raging. Koalas are burning alive, fires threaten families all over the country, and our capital city is choking on toxic smoke, and yet companies like BlackRock and Siemens continue to support fossil fuels by aiding projects like Adani’s Carmichael coal mine,” Greenpeace Australia Pacific CEO, David Ritter said.

“Unless BlackRock wants to be remembered as the company that stoked the bushfire crisis, it must lead by example and fix its own portfolio, and demand Siemens Energy withdraws infrastructure support for not only the catastrophic Adani coal mine but all fossil fuels completely.”

Just days ahead of Siemens’ AGM in Munich, crowds hoisted banners on cranes at BlackRock’s German headquarters in Frankfurt, reading: “BlackRock: Your assets are on fire!” Greenpeace is calling on BlackRock to demand the Siemens Board of Directors stop supporting infrastructure projects attached to the controversial Adani coal mine. [2]

Siemens will provide rail signalling technology for the Adani coal mine. The contract with Adani Group was signed in December 2019, at the same time bushfires were causing death and destruction across News South Wales and Queensland.

If completed, the Carmichael mine would be one of the largest in the world and is estimated to emit an additional 78 million tonnes of CO2 annually.[3]

According to research by The Guardian, BlackRock currently holds stocks and bonds worth over US$87 billion in coal, oil and gas companies and is the world’s largest investor in coal projects.[4] 

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink recently wrote a letter to management and supervisory boards asking companies to be more sustainable, announcing that future investments will be linked to climate protection criteria.[5] 

Photo and video:

Images from the demonstration available here

https://media.greenpeace.org/shoot/27MZIFJ8ST5KL 

Notes:

[1] Global Investment firm BlackRock holds 5 percent of Siemens shares.

[2] Siemens’ Annual General Meeting will take place in Munich on Wednesday, where shareholders will vote, among other things, on the discharge of their Executive Board. 

[3] http://envlaw.com.au/wp-content/uploads/carmichael14.pdf

[4] https://www.blackrock.com/de/privatanleger/larry-fink-ceo-letter?siteEntryPassthrough=true&cid=ppc:CEOLetter:Google:de:keyword&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI15Oly9-o5wIVCp53Ch1HLApcEAAYASAAEgK_NfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

[5] https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/investor-relations/larry-fink-ceo-letter

Contacts:

Greenpeace Australia Pacific Communications Campaigner, Martin Zavan: 0424 295 422, martin.zavan@greenpeace.org

Greenpeace Germany Media Officer, Sonka Terfehr, +49 175 589 1718, sonka.terfehr@greenpeace.org 

Greenpeace International Press Desk, +31 (0)20 718 2470 (available 24 hours), pressdesk.int@greenpeace.org

Greenpeace Australia Pacific CEO David Ritter said the announcement was further proof coal, as global warming’s primary fuel source, was a bad investment. 

“Burning coal is the number one contributor to climate change. It’s a dirty source of power and a bad investment with diminishing returns,” he said. 

“This is another nail in the coffin of the dirty coal industry and a welcome step for Aegon, and one that should be followed by many more insurance and investment firms.”

The policy also applies to Aegon’s US investment branch, Transamerica, covering a total of $225 billion in investments, including its Dutch account valued at $132 billion. 

Mr Ritter said climate change was already having deadly and disastrous effects in Australia and around the world, and the insurance industry is waking up to the costs. 

“The insurance bill for Australia’s bushfire crisis already nearing $1 billion and we are nowhere near finished counting the cost,” Mr Ritter said. [1]  

“Millions of Australians have now been exposed to damage from climate disasters. Lives have been lost, vast swathes of property destroyed and whole cities exposed to ultra-hazardous smoke clouds for protracted periods of time. 

“Insurers know better than anyone that climate-induced extreme weather events are becoming increasingly common and the costs are growing.

“The smart money is on getting out of coal and burning fossil fuels. These are the main causes of climate change and that’s why Aegon is making a wise move by limiting investments in this dirty power source.”

Notes to editors:

[1]https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jan/10/josh-frydenberg-demands-insurers-provide-unprecedented-detail-about-bushfire-property-losses

Key points in Aegon’s new coal policy:

• Aegon’s new global policy applies to around $225 billion in investments, including the Aegon Netherlands’ policy which applies to $132 billion.
• Energy companies with more than 10 gigawatt of coal-fired capacity and coal expansion plans are being phased out. Aegon excludes any company that earns more than 30 percent of its income from coal mining. This percentage will be gradually reduced to 10% in 2027, and to below 5% in 2029. 
• Aegon is currently adding 65 coal companies to its exclusion list, bringing the total number of excluded coal companies to 104.
• The policy of Aegon Netherlands is more ambitious than that of Aegon International: it also excludes energy companies that generate more than 30% of their revenue from coal. That percentage will be reduced to below 5% in 2029. 

Contact

Greenpeace Australia Pacific Communications Campaigner, Nicholas McCallum

0428 113 346

nicholas.mccallum@greenpeace.org

Greenpeace Australia Pacific Communications Campaigner, Martin Zavan

0424 295 422

martin.zavan@greenpeace.org

For those of us living with the impacts of climate change in the Pacific region, the conference brings a disquieting feeling of deja vu.

Despite the terrifying scale of what is at stake, a rising wealth of knowledge of the threat and what is required to address it – as a global community we remain far from where we need to be to avert climate chaos. For the Pacific, the climate crisis means much more than losing coastal areas to rising seas – it is an existential threat to our entire nations and cultures.

In her opening statements, Chile’s environment minister and conference chairwoman Carolina Schmidt was correct when she said that those countries refusing to adjust to the planets rising temperatures “will be on the wrong side of history.”

The summit, which will be attended by over 200 countries and aims to put the finishing touches on the rules governing the 2015 Paris Climate Accord. Doing so would require creating a workable international emissions-trading system and compensating countries on the frontlines of climate change like those in the Pacific for the losses we are already suffering from the consequences of the climate crisis – including rising sea levels and extreme weather events that have already stripped many in our region of their homes and livelihoods.

Unfortunately, Australia shows no signs of the kind of neighbourly, science-based leadership that is required. In fact, in August Scott Morrison told the Pacific Islands Forum that he didn’t believe climate change was already having severe impacts in the Pacific. Leaders such as Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama and Tuvalu’s former PM Enele Sopoaga have repeatedly asked Australia to stop exporting thermal coal and rapidly transition “to energy sources that do not contribute to climate change”. Morrison for his part, brought a lump of coal to Parliament and said “don’t be afraid.”

Scientists have warned of the threat of climate change for decades but the hard truth is that the world remains on course for temperature rise well above three degrees, which is incompatible with life as we know it. In the words of Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine, it means a “death sentence” for those of us in the Pacific.

Which brings us to COP25 here in Madrid. The 25th Conference of Parties meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP25) is literally the world’s 25th attempt at coming together to solve the worsening crisis, where fine words have been spoken that remain unmatched by any real action. For many of us in the Pacific, we cannot afford this any longer.

One of the most striking things about my conversations with the Pacific elders of the climate movement is how little has changed. It may seem as though the strong voices for climate action in the Pacific have piped up recently but the truth is they have always been there – they’ve just been bullied, silenced or ignored.

This isn’t ideology or something you can choose to “believe in” or not as we constantly hear our western contemporaries spout. We speak from lived experience, from seeing and living the impacts of climate change on a daily basis and the knowledge that if the world doesn’t radically reduce emissions, countries like Tuvalu, Kiribati, Marshall Islands will be the first of many island nations to walk the plank towards complete submersion by 2060. This is a frightening and unacceptable scenario for those of us whose cultures, whose lives, whose very identities are tied to our islands in the Pacific.

It’s beyond frustrating that well-meaning leaders can accept the science and the threat that climate change poses before in the same breath weighing the future of entire nations against the short term profits of the coal or oil industry. Australia’s Minister for the Pacific, Alex Hawke recently argued that Australia “is doing a lot internationally on climate change”. At the same time the Environment Department warns that emissions are increasing and Australia’s Paris goals are out of reach. By making that claim Hawke has shown he has the level of ambition of a lobster.

Despite Scott Morrison’s soaring rhetoric on Australia’s climate leadership, it’s hard for any of us here at the negotiations to have much faith that Australia will push for anything like the kind action needed – especially when we know Australia has sent a rookie team to the conference. Jamie Isbister, the newly appointed ambassador for the environment, will be attending in his role for the first time and leading Australia’s delegation since Angus Taylor was forced to pull out.

While Australia remains the world’s largest exporter of coal, while it persists with climate-wrecking projects such as the Adani coal mine and while it refuses to even send a high-level team of negotiators to such vital conferences such as the COP25 – we can only despair at Australia’s lack of moral courage or leadership in hearing and responding to the pleas of its Pacific neighbours.

What Pacific leaders need the Morrison Government to do now is to step up and resume its place in the dress circle of global environmental leadership.

Pacific leaders, the moral voices in the global fight against the crisis, call upon its great neighbour to stand with the Pacific once again and make a real and tangible effort to radically reduce emissions. The Morrison government’s claims that it’s doing a lot on climate are cold comfort to those of us in the Pacific already facing the impacts first hand.

If Australia is indeed a friend of the Pacific, we need our mates to stand with us now.

Resources Minister Matt Canavan will unveil a 12-month review into streamlining regulation in the resources sector today at a major mining conference in the NSW Hunter Valley, which threatens to strip back hard-fought environmental legal protections.The move has been slammed by environmental organisations, with Greenpeace Australia Pacific CEO David Ritter labelling it as regulatory malpractice.

“Australia’s mining regulatory system is broken and not fit for purpose. Now the Federal Government is seeking to strip back environmental protections even further,” he said.

“The mining and burning of coal is the number one driver of climate change globally. Resources Minister Matt Canavan has no mandate to fast-track the climate crisis.”

“Australia’s regulatory frameworks shamefully favour mining companies over communities, often leaving no option but to challenge the projects in court.”

“Communities such as Gloucester, Bulga, and Camberwell have had to resort to legal challenges because the planning system puts the interests of large mining companies above the amenity and in some cases viability of those communities. Now the government wants to remove what little avenues exist to protect communities’ rights.”

The announcement comes as 65% of Queensland is currently in drought, with Adani holding government approvals to extract billions of litres of groundwater every year to operate the mine.

“The Adani corporation has already bullied their way through many levels of state and federal approvals, flying in the face of scientists who have repeatedly said that this mine cannot go ahead.”

“This review into stripping back hard-fought environmental protection comes as our country is parched by some of the worst drought ever recorded, which is being driven by climate change.”

“Major coal mining projects like Adani suck up precious groundwater resources in a country baked dry by climate change. This is sheer insanity, as coal is the number one driver of climate change.”

“We are in the thick of the climate emergency, and this is a time that the Federal Government should be strengthening environmental protections, rather than tearing them down.”

For further information or comment please contact Greenpeace Australia Pacific Communications Manager Nelli Stevenson on 0428 113 346 or email nelli.stevenson@greenpeace.org.au

We live in a unique country. Australia has some of the most intriguing and fascinating species on the planet. Due to our geographic isolation, we have an enormous amount of species that are found nowhere else on Earth. Today, however, many of our beloved native species are under attack from a variety of threats including deforestation, the introduction of foreign species such as the Cane Toads, urban encroachment, land degradation, soil salinity and hunting.

Extinction is not a new phenomenon in Australia. It has been occurring ever since the time of the Megafauna. More recent notable extinctions include the Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger).

But due to the effects of climate change and other human caused environmental problems, this crisis has deepened in recent years and is impacting a variety of Australia’s ecosystems. We can see this in the bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef threatening our marine life. The recent approval of the Adani coal mine spells even more disaster for biodiversity. Meanwhile, the rampant clearing of native bushland reducing the habitat size of many rare and endangered marsupials, reptiles, birds and plant. 

Australia has some policies of preserving native species in place, but government funding for conservation programs has declined significantly. As a result these programs often fall short of meeting their requirements in preserving Australia’s unique biodiversity. Another major flaw is that these are mainly regulated by the State and Territory governments, which means that the effectiveness of conservation varies a lot in different parts of the country. We need a National plan to counter the extinction crisis and save our wildlife before it is too late.

Hope is not yet lost. Awareness of climate change, the extinction crisis, and the connection between the two is spreading throughout Australia. More and more local councils are declaring climate emergencies and putting more pressure on the Morrison government to act on climate change. People from all walks of life are raising awareness about the current situation and many are joining the Break Free campaign at Greenpeace Australia Pacific.

JOIN THE BREAK FREE CAMPAIGN

There is a growing chorus of voices calling for meaningful action on the climate and extinction crises. Together as one we can spread the message. It’s time for everyone to get involved. By joining this movement, you will be making your voice heard.

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. Its not”  – Dr Suess

Written by Greenpeace volunteer, Tanmay Bhakta

When I was 16 years old, my father took me for a walk through our village. Falefa is one of Samoa’s older villages, and during our walk, Dad would recount stories from our village’s ancient days, as he pointed to sites of famous battles and the burial places of great figures.

As my father spoke, I started to imagine what this place looked like 50, 100, even 1000 years ago. Dad wanted to show me where he went to school and as we approached the beach, we stopped and looked out into the open ocean. There, beneath our feet, under a foot of water, lay the foundations of his former primary school.

Since that day, I have seen many other striking images of the impacts of the changing climate, through extreme weather events and the displacement of whole communities. But the experience of standing with my feet in the sea, atop the foundations of Dad’s old school, remains with me, a vivid reminder of what is now at stake for all of us in the islands, on the front lines of climate change.

For well over 30 years, the science has been clear that our collective addiction to old, dirty sources of energy such as coal and oil and the dumping of decades of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere has directly contributed to the changing climate. Yet, in 2019, we are still no closer to decisive action in many parts of the world – including Australia.

Australia’s decision to put profits over people finds expression in a Prime Minister and political system completely beholden to the whims of Coal executives. The Adani Coal Mine has just cleared the final environmental approval hurdle, and is poised to serve as an ‘icebreaker’ for up to six other mines in the Galilee Basin. This final approval is its groundwater management plan which will severely affect the quality of water for first Australians. Once again, profits over people.

The flow on effects of harnessing that much coal power will contribute significantly to the tonnes of greenhouse gases already being pumped into the atmosphere and thereby, to the demise of front line communities, already reeling from the constant barrage of extreme weather systems, sea level rise and ocean acidification exacerbated by coal, oil and gas.

Yet, Morrison has attempted to orient Australia’s foreign policy to the Pacific, describing Pacific Islanders as family. How many family members do you know would burn their family’s house down to keep their oil executive colleagues happy? It seems like Morrison’s idea of family is akin to that of the Dad paying child support to a child he doesn’t even like. In the Pacific, we have a very different idea of “family.”

Scott Morrison is an odd fellow but not a difficult one to understand. In one breath he’ll pivot towards the Pacific and sign the Boe Declaration and in the same breath, bring a lump of coal to Parliament in a declaration of love for the industry and donors who fund his campaigns.

Under Scott Morrison’s leadership, Australia signed the Boe Declaration, which recognises climate change as the number one security threat to the Pacific region. How can the Morrison Government reconcile its support for Adani with its acceptance of the climate change threat to the Pacific?

It seems as if Morrison – an evangelical Christian no less – is able to close his eyes to the realities of peoples in the Pacific, suffering from the effects of Climate Change, in order to maintain his government’s support of the industry that is the lifeblood of his political career. Not very Christ-like, is it Scott?

Once again, an unambitious, one dimensional Government has been re-elected in Australia, off the back of years of concerted misinformation campaigning and millions of dollars of coal money. To say that concerned citizens and indeed, the Pacific are somewhat dismayed would be an understatement.

We in the Pacific do not have the luxury of taking our foot off the pedal, of getting “climate fatigue”, or taking a break. For us, looking at decisions like the approval of Adani’s groundwater management plan this week and the likely opening up of the Galilee basin – what is at stake is our whole way of life.

We need to keep fighting to save our homelands from the impacts of climate change at every turn. We have no choice but to press on. To pick ourselves up. To keep campaigning, mobilizing, organizing and speaking truth to power even when power refuses to hear it. The Pacific will not go quietly into the night.

We have 11 years. This is the job.

This piece first published in the Daily Telegraph and News Limited online network here (paywalled)

For more information please contact Communications Manager Nelli Stevenson on 0428 113 346 or email nelli.stevenson@greenpeace.org

“The coal industry hasn’t achieved its unprecedented power over governments and climate and energy policy by chance. The political decisions that delay climate action, slow the introduction of clean energy and – against the wishes of the majority of Australians – entrench coal power, can be attributed to the influence of this shadowy network,” Greenpeace Australia Pacific Head of Research and Investigations, Dr Nikola Casule said.

“A wide, well-funded web of industry groups and lobbyists, supported by coal’s political and media allies, has been key to protecting the interest of coal companies. Individuals at these organisations regularly trade places, reinforcing the connections within a system that keeps coal at the centre of Australian politics, stifling energy sector reform and action on climate change.

“On their face, many of the decisions the Morrison Government has made around climate and energy seem hard to explain.

“Why would the Prime Minister overrule Treasury advice and shortlist a coal fired power plant for a government subsidy? Why did Josh Frydenberg hand over $444 million in public funds to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation without a competitive tender process or application? Why would the Environment Minister order an independent government body to advise how coal-fired power stations could earn carbon credits under a climate action scheme? This report sheds light on the answers to these awkward questions.”

Through dozens of interviews with industry and political insiders, Dirty Power exposes how Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s senior staff and members of his government are dominated by former executives and employees of the coal industry, and its lobbyists. The report also examines the controversial, last-minute approval for the Adani Carmichael mine’s groundwater plan by Environment Minister, Melissa Price and the treatment given to Trevor St Baker’s coal business interests.

In its totality, Dirty Power reveals a network with industry, lobbying, media and political arms that all work together to keep coal paramount as individual leaders and ministers come and go.

“Australia is in a climate emergency caused by the coal industry and these enablers,” Dr Casule said.

“This network can no longer be allowed to decide whether the Great Barrier Reef lives or dies, or our children get to breathe clean air, or whether ever fiercer bushfires threaten our homes. People are fed up with broken promises and want urgent action now.”

To read the full report

https://act.greenpeace.org.au/dirtypower

For interviews

Greenpeace Australia Pacific Communications Campaigner, Martin Zavan

0424 295 422

martin.zavan@greenpeace.org

“We are seeing droughts, floods, fires, extinction of native animals and utter ecosystem collapse like the frightful scenes at Menindee and the slow moving death of the Great Barrier Reef. This is happening on our watch. This is urgent. It is time this lot acted like it – they should start by calling it for what it is and declaring a climate emergency”, said Greenpeace CEO David Ritter.

“Labor’s commitment to a new EPA is welcome and overdue, but we also need laws worth enforcing, and the EPA will need sufficient resources to do their job.

“Both major parties also need to explain how we reverse widespread environmental destruction, end deforestation, save our coasts, start regenerating nature and protecting our precious species.

“Most critically, Labor needs to ramp up its ambition on climate change and fast. Shorten must rule out Adani, protect Australia’s whale nursery in the Great Australian Bight from oil drilling, and explain how he will replace coal with clean energy – while ensuring that this is done in fairly. He isn’t doing any of these things. Instead, last week we saw a $1.5 billion promise of taxpayer subsidies for big gas companies in Queensland and the Northern Territory.

“The real test for Bill Shorten’s team is not whether they are a bit better than the Coalition, but will the ALP actually do what is necessary to swiftly reduce the sources of pollution that are driving global warming?

“If Bill Shorten is to be the Prime Minister who the national interest requires, then all his talents and energies must be directed to reshaping Australia to meet the challenge of global warming.”

For interviews

Greenpeace Australia Pacific Communications Campaigner, Martin Zavan

0424 295 422

martin.zavan@greenpeace.org