With John Howard all set to call the election, we rolled out our team of polar bears this morning to trail the Prime Minister on what could be his final morning walk from The Lodge. We were there raise the profile of The Big Switch campaign, the prime web-tool for Australians to express their views on climate change and get some real action out of their leaders.
Although the lack of action from the Government to effectively deal with climate change is inexcusable, we did feel some sympathy for Johnnie. The polar bears know how it must feel to lose your home due as a result of climate inaction, Mr Howard may also learn the hard way if he doesn’t deliver the goods over the coming weeks.
If the plain logic and common sense behind cutting greenhouse pollution isn’t enough, the sheer immorality of failing to act on climate change is an inescapable argument. The Arctic Ice cap is rapidly disappearing to the extent that by 2050, two-thirds of the world’s polar bear population is expected to be lost. This is just one of many profound impacts of climate change that Australia and other major greenhouse polluters are driving.
As many Australians as possible need to get on board The Big Switch campaign and make it clear to MPs and candidates for the federal election that only real climate action will do to secure votes. This means cutting greenhouse pollution by at least 30% by 2020 and moving away from fossil fuels such as coal to renewable energy technology to power Australia.
