Declare a Climate Emergency NOW!

Start: 2020-05-14 09:00:00 UTC Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney (GMT+10:00)

End: 2020-05-14 17:00:00 UTC Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney (GMT+10:00)

This is a virtual event

Join us Thursday May 14th to demand the Federal Government declare a national climate emergency! Use our easy how-to guide to email your Federal MP to express your concern and make sure your voice is heard!

We need our leaders to #tellthetruth and declare a national climate emergency NOW ?

These past few months we have seen our leaders respond rapidly and effectively to the COVID-19 pandemic. By listening to the expert opinion of scientists we have avoided the worst of this crisis. Now, we need our leaders to apply that same logic to the even greater crisis that is the climate emergency.

Scientists and experts have been warning us for decades, but our government has failed to listen and act. This is unacceptable! We demand the Federal Government take the climate crisis seriously and respond with the same decisive action they applied to the COVID-19 pandemic. Together we will raise our collective voice to demand action NOW!

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How to get involved:

1. Find your electorate and who represents you in Parliament here: https://electorate.aec.gov.au/

Learn how to contact senators and members here.

2. On May 14, send your Federal representative a short email or letter voicing your concerns (we have included a template below to make this process as easy and quick as possible). Or better yet, pick up the phone and give them a call!

3. Make it personal. Adding a personal touch will grab their attention and garner better results. Speak from the heart; tell your story and how the climate crisis has affected you and your community.

4. Optional – use the meme generator to include a meme that expresses how the climate crisis has personally affected you. Simply upload a photo that depicts an element of the climate crisis and add the text: [ADD TEXT HERE THAT RELATES TO IMAGE] CRISIS = CLIMATE CRISIS
Meme generator: https://imgflip.com/memegenerator Koala Emergency = Climate Emergency
5. Share your meme in the Facebook discussion group!

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Suggested email template:


Subject: Declare a Climate Emergency

Dear (Federal Member),

I live at (.....give your address) in your electorate.

I'm writing to congratulate and commend the Government and the opposition for their decisive action on the COVID-19 crisis. It has been fantastic to see us come together as a nation to follow expert advice and respond rapidly to the science as it comes to light. As an Australian citizen I feel fortunate that we have averted the worst predictions of the pandemic, thanks to your leadership. For me personally, I was pleased to see [add an example of what government action has impressed you, e.g. increasing Newstart, Jobkeeker payments to small businesses, access to superannuation, early closing of public spaces].

By listening to the experts and science, Australia has benefitted through lives saved and a quicker recovery.
Now is the time to apply the same logic to the climate emergency.

Australia is in the midst of a much greater emergency, the effects of which have already caused the loss of Australian lives, property and millions of native animals. The science is clear that the climate emergency will have devastating effects across the globe. The same decisive action the Government took to stop the spread of the coronavirus, based on the expert advice of scientists, must now be applied to the climate emergency.

No-one is saying this will be easy, but Australia has restructured its economy in the past and we can do it again. We must do it again, because the alternative will be catastrophic. All sections of society are looking to you to guide our country towards a carbon neutral future. We need you to provide the leadership you have already shown is possible in a crisis.

One thing that particularly concerns me is… [add an example, e.g. the rate of extinctions in Australia is the highest in the world and future generations deserve the chance to know our unique wildlife.)

The science is clear, and the stakes are high. You know what to do. Declare a Climate Emergency when Parliament resumes and take the necessary action to protect this beautiful country and future generations.

Yours faithfully,

[add your name here]

#digitalrebellion
#actnow
#anotherworldispossible