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Climate change bushfire Solidarity Sit Down November 29 – #climatestrike

November 20, 2019 at 11:14 am John Englart Leave a comment

Keep Friday November 29th free to attend or support the Student Climate Strike ‘This is #climatechange Solidarity Sit Down action in Melbourne:

When: Friday, November 29, 2019 at 2:30 PM – 4 PM
Expected weather: 10–19°C Rain Showers
Where: Parliament of Victoria, Spring Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Facebook event

Australia is experiencing catastrophic bushfire weather and bushfires along with extreme heat, and it is only mid November, still very early in the fire season. The east coast of Australia has literally been on fire writes Climate Action Moreland Convenor John Englart on his blog.

6 lives have been lost in the NSW bushfires, hundreds of homes burnt to the ground.

For the first time Sydney was put on a catastrophic fire weather alert. But it didn’t matter that bushfires did not engulf the peri-urban interface of Sydney, because the bushfire smoke blanketted the city causing a major pollution alert, warnings for people with respiratory problems to close all windows and stay inside.

A heatwave has been building in Western Australians with temperatures in the low 40s. That heat is now moving into South Australia. There is at least one location in South Australia where the Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting a 48C maximum temperature.

High winds are also expected along with the extreme heat causing seven South Australian districts to be put on Catastrophic fire weather alert.

This is the new normal that Prime Minister Morrison and his Government will not acknowledge.

This is climate change causing a climate crisis, that the Prime Minister and Federal Government do not want to discuss, or debate.

The Federal Government appears to not be taking any ambition to the UN Climate Conference COP25 to be held in Madrid Dec 2-13, which Climate Action Moreland Convenor John Englart is slated to attend as an official NGO observer.

They want to allow their coal and fossil fuel mates to be able to make some quick bucks, while the world literally burns, while the future for all our children slides into a dystopic nightmare.

Students Climate strikers have called this event.

Visit the Student Strike for climate for full details of events around Australia

On November 29, join all of us at Solidarity Sit-Downs to demand increased support for Indigenous land management and the Rural Fire Service and real climate action:​

* No new coal, oil and gas projects, including the Adani mine
* 100% renewable energy and exports by 2030
* Funding for a just transition and jobs for fossil fuel workers and communities.

Together, we’ll sit shoulder to shoulder outside the offices of our politicians and fossil fuel companies across Australia and hear from those on the frontline of the climate crisis. We’ll also donate to support those impacted by and fighting the fires.

Hear Shian’s first hand account of evacuating, but losing her home, on her 18th birthday.

Background:

Since 2014 the Climate Council has warned of Climate Change and the Australian Bushfire threat, but have been ignored by the Liberal and National Party politicians in power.

In April 2019 23 former Fire and Emergency Leaders with more than 600 years of combined experience banded together and called for stronger action on climate change, warning that worsening extreme weather is threatening Australian lives. They were ignored by the Morrison Government.

The leaders issued a joint statement, with signatories from every state and territory, which called on the Prime Minister to:

* Meet with a delegation of former emergency services leaders to discuss rapidly escalating climate change risks.
* Commit to a parliamentary inquiry into whether Australian emergency services are adequately resourced and equipped to cope with increasing natural disaster risks due to climate change.
* Consider current arrangements and their effectiveness and properly fund strategic national emergency management resources.

The former fire commissioners reiterated their call in the midst of the east coast fire crisis on November 13, as events unfolded as predicted.

Read the latest Climate Council Bushfire most report, published 18 November 2019:
‘This is Not Normal’: Climate change and escalating bushfire risk

Key Findings

1. The catastrophic, unprecedented fire conditions currently affecting
NSW and Queensland have been aggravated by climate change.
Bushfire risk was exacerbated by record breaking drought, very dry
fuels and soils, and record-breaking heat.

2. Bushfire conditions are now more dangerous than in the past. The
risks to people and property have increased and fire seasons have
lengthened. It is becoming more dangerous to fight fires in
Australia.

3. The fire season has lengthened so substantially that it has already
reduced opportunities for fuel reduction burning. This means it is
harder to prepare for worsening conditions.

4. The costs of fighting fires are increasing. Australia relies on
resource sharing arrangements between countries and states and
territories within Australia. As seasons overlap and fires become
more destructive, governments will be increasingly constrained in
their ability to share resources and the costs of tackling fires will
increase.

5. The government must develop an urgent plan to (1) prepare
Australian communities, health and emergency services for
escalating fire danger; and (2) rapidly phase out the burning of coal
oil and gas which is driving more dangerous fires.

Entry filed under: heatwave, news, rallies & protests. Tags: bushfires, climatestrike, COP25.