By Ula Majewski, Food and Climate Justice Campaign Lead
Over the weekend, at The People’s Climate March, we made history.
And it was truly, awesomely epic. A momentous, tell-your-grand kids kind of occasion.
Hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in cities around the world to march for a cleaner and fairer climate.
Over 150,000 people stood up, and showed the world that Australia cares as we stood with our First Nations people and our Pacific neighbours, and marched for climate justice.
It was people power on the grandest, most beautiful scale. It took my breath away.
We marched to show that we want an end to dirty fossil fuels. We marched for a world free of dangerous global warming, and the extreme hunger and inequality it brings. For a world powered by clean, renewable energy.
We marched to show that we are a diverse and powerful alliance of people from all walks of life. That we are growing in numbers and in strength, and that we will continue to stand up for a safe climate for all. We are working together, and we are unstoppable.
The power of our message reverberated across the world: Australians want urgent action on climate change. We want a fair deal for those already being hit hard by its disastrous impacts.
Even though we just made history, there’s no time to rest on our laurels.
Right now, world leaders are meeting in Paris to negotiate a new global climate deal. And we have a brilliant Oxfam campaign team on the ground, working day and night to crank up the pressure on governments to make the right choices. Follow the Oxfam delegation on Twitter for all the latest up-to-the-second updates.
But so far, the Australian Government has failed those people living on the frontline of climate change. The Prime Minister’s announcement that Australia will contribute at least $1bn over the next five years to support vulnerable countries to adapt to the impacts of climate change is woefully inadequate, and represents no increase above Australia’s previous contributions.
Australia and other rich countries must support the poorest nations to invest in clean energy and cope with the brutal impacts of climate change.
