The climate emergency
Climate change presents an immediate and significant risk to all life on earth, and requires urgent action.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has identified that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees is required to mitigate against the worst effects of climate change (Climate Report 2018 and Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 degrees). They have also noted that based on current trajectories, this 1.5 degree threshold could be reached as soon as 2030.
There is a clear and urgent need to address climate change.
The term “climate emergency” reflects our global situation, where urgent action is required to reduce climate change and avoid potentially irreversible environmental damage.
Similar to other emergency situations, there are two corresponding components to the Climate Emergency:
- The situation: the rapidly increasing occurrences of changing weather patterns and global warming caused by human activity.
- The response: the need to mobilise action on climate change at a large scale and at a rapid speed.
A campaign to highlight the need for urgent action on climate change at all levels of government through Declarations of Climate Emergency was initiated at a forum of local Climate Action Networks held in Melbourne in September 2016.
There are now over 2,000 jurisdictions globally who have made a declaration. Over 100 are in Australia (including the government of the Australian Capital Territory), representing over 9 million people.