The Blog

"As a community, we need to come together and show the council that we care; that we will do what it takes to rescue our beautiful beaches, wetlands, our farms, and our homes."

On Tuesday 13th August 2019, the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council unanimously voted to declare a climate emergency. Not only did each councillor vote to support the motion, but each took the opportunity to voice strong support for this action, to stress the importance of timely and ambitions activity to combat climate change, and to highlight the crucial need for collaboration between all levels of government to enact the required change.

"With the tears came a renewed resolve. I told myself: we simply don’t have time to wait for them. And we won’t."

Steve Sawyer passed on 31 July, 2019 shortly after he was diagnosed with lung cancer. He was the Senior Policy Advisor at the Global Wind Energy Council. For over 10 years as the organisation’s General Secretary, Steve tirelessly represented the wind industry and worked to convince governments to adopt wind as the solution to growing energy demand and carbon emissions.

Greenpeace volunteer Tanmay Bhakta on Australia's extinction crisis

Brisbane’s climate emergency declaration vote has fallen short today. It’s a disappointing result, but with a second vote all but certain, now is the time to lift our game. So many people in Brisbane mobilised to get the climate emergency firmly in the public eye. Whether they signed a petition, emailed a councillor or turned out to the rally today - those efforts matter. Hobart lost its initial vote too, which then ignited a wave of support that led to one of Australia’s first climate emergency declarations. We have laid the groundwork for Brisbane to do the same, and it'll take more people stepping up to take action to make it a reality.

Brisbane City Council is about to vote on whether to declare a climate emergency: a powerful first step to building a future free of disasters like the 2011 floods in Brisbane. Local Break Free Action Group member Jo Owen shares her story and explains why this one matters so much.

In a big win for Melbourne, Australia and the entire global community, Melbourne City Councillor Cathy Oke has announced that the Future Melbourne Committee will declare a climate and biodiversity emergency.

From Kingborough in Tassie, to Wagga Wagga, to Sydney, Paris, London and New York: the wave of councils, towns and cities declaring climate emergencies is growing by the day.