SYDNEY, May 2, 2019 – Greenpeace is calling on Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to follow the UK’s lead and declare a climate and environment emergency.Overnight members of the UK Parliament passed a motion to that effect, making the UK the first nation in the world to do so.
Ahead of the 2019 federal election, Greenpeace Australia Pacific Campaigner, Alix Foster Vander Elst, said it was time for Australia’s political leaders to do the same.
“Heatwave, fish kills, floods and fires are proof that we are living through a climate crisis that demands an emergency response,”she said.
“People are more concerned about climate change and the environment than they have been in more than ten years, and they are unhappy with the government’s handling of the issues. [1]
“Whoever leads Australia into the future needs to accept the reality, declare an emergency and start taking urgent action to prevent the crisis from worsening. That needs to include a plan to end our reliance on climate damaging coal and replace it with clean energy sources, like the sun and wind.”
Notes
For interviews
Greenpeace Australia Pacific Communications Campaigner, Martin Zavan
0424 295 422 [email protected]
