Episode 7: Climate Emergency

Australians are taking to the streets, demanding the Federal Government declare a climate emergency. Governments declaring a climate emergency is a global trend. So much so that ‘climate emergency’ was the Oxford dictionary’s 2019 word of the year. The first declaration in 2016 was by Darebin council in Victoria, and is credited with starting a movement that is now supported by governments representing 800 million people worldwide… That’s about 1 in 10 people covered. However, Australia as a whole has not followed suit. The important question is, what do we mean by declaring a climate emergency? And, If we did declare a climate emergency, what would that mean for Australia. Who better to answer the question than Australia’s most beloved and trusted scientist, Dr Karl. Dr Karl is joined by Peter Thompson, one of the founders of the People’s Climate assembly, a coalition of environmental groups calling for the declaration.

KEY QUOTES - DR KARL

“Emergency is a balance between risk and time… we are getting closer to what is called tipping points - hence the name emergency.”

“What we’ve learned from Chaos theory is that you can’t really predict the exact moment of a tipping point but you can say when it’s happened and it’s too late.”

“With the carbon emergency, the science is so robust I’m very confident that I’m the right side of history.”

“There is three messages of hope. We can fix global warming. This is the smartest generation ever. You are living in the most peaceful time ever in the history of the human race.”

KEY QUOTES - PETER THOMPSON

“Greed blinds us and doesn’t allow us to see the danger as clearly as science is pointing out.”

“ The acknowledgement of the truth automatically points towards action.”

“This should have always been a bipartisan issue according to science. This is an emblematic statement for the rest of Australia and the rest of the world. People must step forward and say is enough is enough. We are sick of these vested interests governing our lives and destroying the planet”