Climate change poses an existential threat to the wild ecosystems that skiers and snow boarders, hikers, climbers, paddlers, trail runners, and mountain bike riders rely on for adventure. It also poses an equally grave threat to the businesses that rely on wild nature for their existence. This is true locally and globally.

Climate change is a global problem. This requires a co-ordinated global response. But as part of global efforts, we all need to step up and do our part. From individuals to transnational corporations, and local councils to the UN, we all have to apply ourselves wherever we can, using the resources and influence we have.

At present there is a huge opportunity to set the state of Victoria onto a path that will see the transformation of it’s economy away from fossil fuels. But we need to seize this opportunity now.

“Burning fossil fuels is causing the planet to warm and it’s going to continue to warm unless we act”

  • snowboarder and founder of Protect Our Winters Jeremy Jones.

There’s only weeks left before the Andrews government makes its final decision on Victoria’s first Emissions Reduction Targets.

With the Morrison govt refusing to tackle the climate crisis, we need Victoria to show greater leadership.

When it comes to tackling the climate crisis, the global goal is to keep warming below 1.5°C. We need this to be Victoria’s goal too. We need science-based Emissions Reduction Targets.

Getting strong targets for 2025 and 2030 will start the transformation of Victoria’s energy system from coal to renewables.

Take action

We need everyone to do something to help convince the VIC government that it should adopt science based ERTs.

Three easy things you can do to add power to this campaign:
1/ We’re calling on community climate champions, allies in the movement and elsewhere to join us in a Week of Action for Victorian Climate Leadership.

It’s really simple – organise something locally or join an existing action. Anytime during the week of March 17 – 24.

Details here.
1.5oC sign at Hepburn Feb 20202/ Tell the premier. Just tag the premier in a social media message (any platform), ideally with a picture, saying something like:

The only way to avoid worsening #ClimateImpactsVic is to make deep emission cuts before 2030. Will premier @DanielAndrewsMP rise to the challenge and set science-based Emission Reduction Targets?

unnamed-4You could use this photo, or make your own sign and add a selfie.

Or simply take an image of a place that you love that will be threatened by climate change and post that with the message above.

3/ Or sign our petition > https://www.actonclimate.org.au/petitionforambition

Please check our Act on Climate website or FoE Melbourne for extra details.

Thanks for any help you can offer.

A bit of inspiration

mt hotham4
Climate Strike event at Mt Hotham, Sept 2019.

How good was it when the outdoor community backed the school kids going on #ClimateStrike for action on climate? (Really good).

This was in September 2019.

Let’s do it again for emission targets.

 

One more reason to care:

‘This winter has been by far the hottest recorded in Europe, scientists have announced, with the climate crisis likely to have supercharged the heat. The unseasonal heat has led to the failure of the ice-wine harvest in Germany and snow having to be imported for sporting events in Sweden and Russia. In Helsinki, Finland, the average temperature for January and February was more than 6C higher than the 1981-2010 average’. [source].

Further information

Check here for stories on how climate change will impact alpine environments.