A record-breaking e-petition has been submitted to the Australian Parliament, calling for the government to declare a climate emergency, two days after a crossbench motion to do so was blocked.
The "Declare a Climate Emergency" parliamentary e-petition closed at midnight on Wednesday with 370,004 signatures – more than three times the number of signatures on the previous record parliamentary e-petition, which was to remove the GST on menstrual products.
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| A climate change rally takes place on the front lawn of Parliament House on Tuesday as a motion to declare a climate emergency was voted down. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen |
The reason given is that "the overwhelming majority of climate scientists around the world have concluded that the climate is changing at unprecedented rates due to anthropogenic causes.
"The result of these changes will be catastrophic for future generations, and so we must act now to minimise both human and environmental destruction."
As an official parliamentary e-petition, the signatures theoretically carry more weight than other online petitions by organisations such as Change.org that do not require signatories to confirm they are residents or citizens of Australia.
But while the tampon tax was eventually axed in January this year, six months after the 104,185-signature e-petition was submitted to Parliament, it's unclear whether the petition to declare a climate emergency will have the same success.
On Tuesday, the government voted down a motion by Greens MP Adam Bandt, supported by Labor and the crossbench, to declare a climate emergency.
When asked how the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor planned to respond to the petition, a spokesman forwarded his speech to Parliament on Tuesday in which he described the proposed declaration as an "absolutely empty gesture" from Labor and the Greens.
"Labor is making a huge song and dance about declaring a climate emergency, yet refuses to commit to a single policy in this area from the last election," Mr Taylor said on Tuesday.
Labor's climate change and energy spokesman Mark Butler said it was "no surprise" that the government voted against debating the motion, "considering emissions have been rising ever since 2014 and given the government’s own data projects emissions continuing to rise all the way to 2030.
"Parliaments in the UK, Canada and several other nations have already passed resolutions recognising climate change as an emergency and it is time that our Parliament did the same," he said.
While the petition to declare a climate emergency is the biggest e-petition to be put to Parliament, it falls short of at least two pen and paper petitions since signatures were first recorded in 1988.
In 2014, a petition concerning the funding of community pharmacies became the biggest put to Parliament, with a total of 1,210,471 signatures. The second-largest petition, with 792,985 signatures, was presented in December 2000 over the GST on beer.
Links
- 'Grand symbolic gesture': Attempt to declare a climate emergency fails in Parliament
- Why Declaring A National Climate Emergency Would Neither Be Realistic Or Effective
- John Hewson Urges Liberal Conscience Vote On Climate Emergency
- World 'Gravely' Unprepared For Effects Of Climate Crisis – Report
- Climate Change, Poverty And Human Rights: An Emergency Without Precedent
- Australian Medical Association Declares Climate Change A Health Emergency
- The Making Of An Emergency
- Wollongong Council Declares 'Climate Emergency'
- Australia’s Climate Stance Is Inflicting Criminal Damage On Humanity
- A ‘Climate Emergency’ Was Declared In New York City. Will That Change Anything?
- The City Of Sydney Has Officially Declared A Climate Emergency
- The Climate Crisis Is Our Third World War. It Needs A Bold Response
- Petitions are back in vogue. How do they work (and are they effective)?
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