Thousands Walk Against Warming

Up to 150,000 people marched on November 11 around Australia against the lack of action on climate change by Australian political leaders, according to Walk Against Warming. Melbourne saw a crowd of 50,000 people (photos) bringing the city to a standstill, with 30,000 in Sydney, 9,000 in Canberra, and thousands more in Perth and 60 events across Australia.

Like the USA, Australia has refused to sign the Kyoto protocol and has the second highest emissions on a per capita basis behind Luxembourg. Australia exceeded the United States for the average highest emitter per capita in the developed world between 1996 and 2005. Action on Climate change has become the most important issue in the Australian Federal Election with voting on November 24. The climate policies of both major Australian parties allow Australia’s emissions to continue to rise, despite scientific projections and warnings that Catastrophic Climate Change may be Inevitible unless Drastic Steps are Taken with Arctic Sea Ice already Heading for Rapid Disintegration and predictions of Disastrous Sea Level Rise.

Photos: Melbourne 1, 2 | Perth 1 2 | Goldcoast | Sydney | Adelaide 1 2 | Cairns | Brisbane | Canberra
Video: Thousands march in Melbourne
Sydney IMC | Perth IMC | Climate IMC

New coal-fired power stations continue to be built in Australia, with 11 new coal projects under construction or planned which will see emissions increase by 10% over current levels, according to Greenpeace.

Climate activists from Rising Tide Australia recently blockaded the port of Newcastle, the largest coal port in the world, to protest the expansion of the coal industry as a major source of greenhouse gas emissions.

Fifty Marine Scientists meeting in Canberra, Australia recently published an unprecedented consensus statement demanding immediate action on Greenhouse Gas Emissions warning of the impact of climate change on coral reefs and fisheries and calling for immediate and substantive reduction targets in human produced greenhouse emissions. The scientists had already warned that ocean acidification due to increased atmospheric CO2 is accelerating.

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