Let’s make climate the #1 issue this federal election
The federal election has been announced for Saturday 18 May and we think everyone should #VoteClimate. Why? Because climate change is real and Australian politicians are not doing enough about it.
Not convinced, let’s look at the facts…
- The Great Barrier Reef lost more than half its coral in two mass bleaching events in 2016 and 2017 due to rising water temperatures. Recent reports indicate the situation is worse than ever.
- Houses in Sydney are literally collapsing into the ocean due to coastal erosion caused by climate change.
- 2018 was the third hottest summer on record with only 2005 and 2013 hotter. Seven of the ten hottest summers on record have occurred since 2005, based on 100 years of records from the Bureau of Meteorology.
- Extreme weather events are becoming more and more common, for example the unprecedented flooding in Townsville and raging bushfires across Tasmania.
- Reports indicate Australia is not on track to reach its 2030 targets to reduce carbon emissions.
Metro, regional and rural – wherever you live, we’ve all seen the effects of climate change. From hotter summers to increased bushfires to ocean heatwaves, the weather is weird and getting weirder.
We believe the best action every Australian can take is to consider the climate when voting in the federal election. We’ve teamed up with our friends and long term partners at 350.org Australia to create the #VoteClimate pledge, sending a clear and unified message to politicians that Australians want climate action now
It’s time for all of us – young and old – to take action and #VoteClimate
The recent climate strikes by schools students show that young Australians care deeply about their planet. Unsurprising - as they’re the ones who will have to live with the impacts of climate change the longest. On March 15th they did what they could to get their voice heard – they want climate action now and they want adults and politicians to take notice.
Talking to our friends at Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC) we found out that while many university students were eligible to vote, many were not enrolled and so their voices were also not getting heard. To help solve this problem, earlier this year we ran a campaign and a university O-week tour to help these university students check they were properly enrolled. Overall, we had over 3,000 conversations about climate change and about 2,100 young Australians confirmed their enrolment.
Now it’s time for all of us to stand in solidarity with the school children and to use our voice and our vote to turn the heat up on our politicians. The best way we can get do this is to pledge #VoteClimate and make climate the #1 issue this election.
The #VoteClimate pledge
Join us and our partners 350 Australia and pledge to #VoteClimate and make climate change the #1 issue of the 2019 federal election.
A little thank you for pledging to #VoteClimate
To say thank you for pledging to #VoteClimate we are giving away a free scoop of ice cream from any Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shop – just show your pledge email when you order. Only 350 scoops will be given out at each Scoop Shop between Monday, May 13th and Friday, May 17th so find your nearest Scoop Shop today.
Thank you for joining us and our partners 350 to make climate the #1 issue this election.