Climate Minister Penny Wong today joined over 80 countries, as well as eminent scientists such as Tim Flannery, to support the international youth statement, that a global climate change agreement should “safeguard the survival of all countries and peoples”.
Minister Wong’s announcement occurred in the afternoon session of the United Nations Climate Conference in front of distinguished delegates from around the world. Other nations in support of the youth statement included, France, Japan, Norway, and some of the world’s most vulnerable countries such as Tuvalu and Bangladesh.
These developments came just days after members of the Australian Youth Delegation here in Poland spearheaded an International Youth project to help Small Island States have their voices heard at the UN. It started with getting coffee and running erands for under resourced delegations like the Solomon Islands, however quickly developed into “Project Survival”. Youth filled lobbying halls getting nation after nation to sign onto the statement.
We need a global agreement that ensures the continued survival of places and people particularly vulnerable to climate change, including our island neighbours in the Pacific and the livelihood of those in the Murray Darling basin.
It is great to see that Minister Wong has stated that Australia supports this principle.
Australia’s neighbours in the Pacific are at extreme risk from climate change, many of the people we’ve met here are worried about losing their homes, livelihoods and even their entire culture beneath the waves. The emission reduction targets currently being thrown around in the media of 5-15%, if adopted globally, would mean these nations will simply not survive.
For these nations to survive, and to protect some of Australia’s most important natural assets, we need an Australian emission reduction target, to be released officially on Monday, of at least 40% by 2020.
It was a truly amazing day – especially when Penny Wong referenced the international youth statement: http://copportal1.man.poznan.pl/Archive.aspx?EventID=1692&Lang=english (forward to around 25.00).
More exciting blogs coming soon, from Poland in the last days of the conference.
Nathan.
