Global march for a cooler climate

Published Saturday, 28 November, 2015 at 12:00 PM

Minister for Environment and Heritage Protection and Minister for National Parks and the Great Barrier Reef
The Honourable Steven Miles

Queenslanders in the hundreds gathered in Brisbane today (28 November), along with millions of people in major cities around the world, to take part in the People’s Climate March and show their support for strong action on climate change.

Minister for Environment and Heritage Protection Dr Steven Miles who marched with the crowd, said he would be attending the COP21 Climate Summit in Paris next week to advocate for strong climate action as climate change had particularly devastating effects for Queensland.

“We’re already seeing more extreme weather events, we’re feeling hotter days in the summer and summers are longer than we’re used to.

“Hotter temperatures really have the ability to change our way of life. Queenslanders are an outdoorsy people, we love bike riding, fishing, picnics on the beach and barbies in the backyard but with only a small increase in the worlds temperature that’ll mean many more days that are too hot to go outside,” Dr Miles said.

“We are also vulnerable because of our volatile and extreme weather conditions such as floods, heatwaves and bushfires.”

Dr Miles said the government was committed to working with the community to minimise climate change impacts.

“We are working swiftly to manage the state’s climate risks. Just this week the largest collaborative workshop on adapting our community to the impacts of global warming was held right here in Brisbane. The workshop tapped into the leadership and expertise of the Queensland Climate Adaptation Strategy (Q-CAS) Partners.

“But climate change is a global problem that requires an all-in solution. We need the Federal Government to do their bit and commit to more appropriate emissions targets.

“And we need a positive outcome from the UN climate summit in Paris. Capping the rise in Earth's temperatures to 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels must be the core goal.

“Right now, even if the emissions reduction pledges submitted by 150 nations ahead of the Paris summit are fulfilled, it still puts us on a pathway to around a 3C world,” Dr Miles said.

“When it comes to climate change, near enough is not good enough, we are marching today to keep the pressure on our world leaders to make a serious commitment to reaching our 2C goal and to protecting our planet for future generations.”

ENDS

Media contact: Katharine Wright 0422 580 342