John Englart

Event at Peter Khalil MP office 11am 26 September calling for a Climate Trigger as National Bushfire Preparedness Summit takes place in Canberra

Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt is convening a meeting with experts on 25-26 September in Canberra regarding preparedness for the bushfire season in Australia over the summer period.

While we welcome this important preparation, we note that the root cause of increasing temperatures, extreme heat and more intense bushfires is not being tackled.

The Environment Minister has approved or allowed to go ahead 10 new coal and gas projects since May 2022. This is despite the science clearly saying we already have more fossil fuels in production to exceed the Paris Climate Temperature targets.

Climate Action Merribek are organising a small event outside Wills MP Peter Khalil’s office on Tuesday at 11am 26 September calling for a pause on new and extended fossil fuel projects, and a Climate Trigger in the changes to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act. We need to End Fossil Fuels. Australia should be looking to phase ot fossil fuels and join the Port Vila Call for a Just Transition to a Fossil Fuel Free Pacific.

The National Bushfire Preparedness Summit is the first time a Summit of this kind has been convened. It builds on months of work from Federal, State and Territory Governments to prepare for this year’s bushfire season. This preparedness conference is important to co-ordinate and address the extreme bushfire threat, in stark contrast to the last Government when Prime Minister Morrison took a holiday to Hawaii while Australia burned..

Extreme heat and wildfires have scorched many countries in the northern hemisphere over the northern summer.

Questions have already been raised about Victoria’s bushfire preparedness, and that Climate driven overlapping wildfire seasons between the Northern and Southern hemispheres pose resource and personnel issues for Bushfire seasons. The Guardian reports that almost 2,000 firetrucks in NSW don’t meet safety standards, as state faces a daunting bushfire season.

Tackle the cause: End Fossil Fuels

The government should put an immediate pause on all new fossil fuel project approvals, and fast track insertion of a climate trigger in the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.

This tackles the root cause of global warming driving more extreme heat and bushfires. The Australian Environment Minister has approved 10 Fossil Fuel projects since May 2022.

We endorse Bushfire Survivors for Climate action Campaign:

BSCA is asking for the Federal Government to:

  • Pause new coal and gas approvals, including expansions, until Labor’s promised environmental reforms and the new EPA are in place.
  • Ensure a climate trigger is included in the EPBC reforms, requiring thorough assessment of all such projects against their impact on climate.
  • Take responsibility for progressing all 80 recommendations of the Bushfires Royal Commission, for coordination and monitoring of all measures, and facilitating faster implementation across federal and state/territory jurisdictions.

You can sign the BSCA petition here: https://www.bushfiresurvivors.org/petition-pauseapprovalsepa

Protest event at Peter Khalil’s office

When: Tuesday at 11am 26 September
Where: Outside Federal MP for Wills Office, 466-468 Sydney Road, Coburg
What: calling for a pause in all Fossil fuel approvals and prioritising a Climate Trigger amendment in EPBC Act.

We note Anthony Albanese MP called for a Climate Trigger in the EPBC Act in 2005: See Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change (Climate Change Trigger) Bill 2005

See Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/692481589595397/

Silence on Heat health threat

Australia is already recording catastrophic fire weather and extreme heat and heatwaves over Spring.

This conference focuses on bushfire preparedness and does not address the heat health threat from extreme heat, despite the large number of people historically affected and die due to extreme heat related causes. In the 11 years between January 2006 and October 2017 an estimated 36,765 deaths in Australia can be attributed to heat-related causes. During the 2019/20 catastrophic wildfires at least 417 deaths could be attriibuted to the bushfire smoke.  

In Europe during the 2022 summer, upper estimates suggested more than 61,000 heat-related deaths between 30 May and 4 September, with persistent heatwaves affected parts of Europe between June and August, causing numerous evacuations. (Nature)

We also need preparedness by Emergency Services and Health authorities to address the health threat from extreme heat.

Prime Minister on Catastrophic fire weather, El Nino declaration

On Tuesday 20 September the following interchange took place at a doorstep interview in Newcastle:

JOURNALIST: Catastrophic fire day yesterday, El Nino is declared. Have you been meeting with fire chiefs about these clear threats that this summer and even hold?

PRIME MINISTER: We had the head of the Emergency Management Australia address our entire Cabinet just weeks ago and Murray Watt is convening a meeting on Tuesday in Canberra, as well, of experts. It’s something, as well, that we’ve raised at the National Cabinet level, given the need for coordination across different levels of government. We are continuing to examine what more can be done. But my Government is not complacent about this. We know we’ve just had the hottest July that has occurred. We know that the period, here we are in September, was pretty warm in Canberra this morning, let alone Newy. And that says something about the fact that the science is in on climate change and we are facing potentially a hot, dry summer. So, we are being vigilant. And that’s why Murray Watt has already convened meetings with the Emergency Management Ministers, that’s why my entire Cabinet have been briefed on these issues, and that’s why we’ll be having a further meeting on Tuesday.

Polling: majority support for climate trigger

Polling commissioned by 350.org and Move Beyond Coal was conducted by Ucomms on the nights of Wednesday September 13 and Thursday September 14 show strong support for the government to stop approving new coal and gas and for national environmental laws to take climate change into account.

The national poll was of 1641 Australian eligible voters and a poll of 801 eligible voters in the Federal electoral division of Sydney.

On national environmental laws taking climate change into account:

  • More than two thirds (70%) of voters agree that Australia’s national environmental law should take climate change impacts into account, with a majority of voters (51%) strongly agreeing. Only 1 in four voters (25%) disagreed.
  • Support for national environmental laws to take climate change impacts into account was highest from Labor voters (91%), slightly higher than Greens voters (90%).
  • A majority (51.7%) of Liberal voters support national environmental laws taking climate change impacts into account.
  • Two thirds of undecided voters (65.8%) support national environmental laws taking climate change impacts into account.
  • Only 5% of Labor voters disagreed with national environmental laws taking climate change impacts into account.

On approval of new coal and gas projects:

  • A majority (55%) of all voters think that Australia should stop approving new coal and gas mines.
  • More than three quarters of Labor voters think that Australia should stop approving new coal and gas mines.
  • Nearly a third (30%) of Liberal voters think that Australia should stop approving new coal and gas mines.
  • A majority (51%) of undecided voters think that Australia should stop approving new coal and gas mines.

On consideration of how greenhouse gas emissions from coal and gas projects could damage Australia’s environment:

  • Nearly two thirds (64.5%) agree that greenhouse gas emissions from new coal and gas projects should have their impact on the Australia’s environment considered when the projects are assessed by the Environment Minister.
  • More than two thirds of undecided voters (67.5%) agree.
  • More than eight out of ten (82.8%) of Labor voters agree only slightly lower than Greens voters (84.2%).

On whether the Albanese government should be doing more to protect the environment and prevent climate change getting worse:

  • A majority (61%) of all voters agreed that the Albanese government should be doing more.
  • Nearly eight out of ten (78%) of Labor voters agreed that the Albanese government should be doing more.
  • Nearly two thirds of undecided voters agreed that the Albanese government should be doing more.

References:

Doorstop interview with Prime Minister Albanese, Transcript, 20 Sep 2023, https://www.pm.gov.au/media/doorstop-interview-newcastle

Murray Watt, Minister for Emergency Management, 25 August 2023, Bushfire season preparedness set to be focus of national summit https://minister.homeaffairs.gov.au/MurrayWatt/Pages/bushfire-season-preparedness-focus-national-summit.aspx

Parliament of Australia, Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change (Climate Change Trigger) Bill 2005 https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=r2416

Ballester, J., Quijal-Zamorano, M., Méndez Turrubiates, R.F. et al. Heat-related mortality in Europe during the summer of 2022. Nat Med 29, 1857–1866 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-023-02419-z

Eliza Spencer, The Guardian, 21 September 2023, Almost 2,000 firetrucks in NSW don’t meet safety standards, as state faces daunting bushfire season https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/20/rfs-chief-says-still-a-lot-to-be-done-to-prepare-for-nsw-fire-season

For the Port Vila Call for a Just Transition for a Fossil Free Future see PICAN, March 2023, 2nd Ministerial Dialogue on a Global Just Transition away from fossil fuels, https://www.pican.org/fossil-free-pacific

Ucomms Commissioned national polling, 21 Sep 2023, https://www.movebeyondcoal.com/polling_summary

The science on fossil fuel extraction and climate targets is clear:

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