Since the Black Summer bushfires of 2019-20, our governments have spent over $40 billion supporting the continued expansion of the fossil fuel industry through subsidies and tax breaks – and that’s a conservative estimate.
Our governments cannot keep funding the industries most responsible for climate damage and putting our communities and wildlife at risk.
Write an email to our federal Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen and ask him to:
Australian governments spend $21,143 every minute subsidising coal, gas and oil projects that heat our climate and make it unsafe.
Imagine if our governments invested our public money into climate solutions, instead of climate pollution.
We could transition to clean energy quicker, we could protect and restore our forests to store carbon.
The time for talking about climate action is up, we the Australian people want real action now to create a safe future.
Let's send thousands of messages to Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen demanding he end all fossil fuel subsidies in Australia and overseas.
Here is a template to help you write your email:
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"To the Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen, My name is ___ and I'm concerned about the Bureau of Meteorology's forecast for a hot and dry spring, the Australasian Fire Authorities Council's warning of an "increased risk" of bushfire and our country's lack of action to protect communities and wildlife from climate change driving more and more extreme weather. We all witnessed a Northern Hemisphere summer with fires in Canada, Greece and Hawaii. Climate change made the fires in Canada twice as likely to happen. Here in Australia, we know how devastating bushfires are. The 2019/20 Black Summer Bushfires took 33 lives, destroyed over 3,000 homes and killed or displaced 3 billion animals. Since then, our governments have spent over $40 billion in public money supporting the continued expansion of the fossil fuel industry through subsidies and tax breaks. And that's a conservative estimate. The fossil fuel industry is most responsible for driving climate damage and making extreme weather more frequent and more severe. As the Climate Change Minister you must take action now to stop subsidising and giving tax breaks to the fossil fuel industry that allows it to keep expanding and polluting our atmosphere, both here in Australia and overseas. You must sign the Glasgow Statement and join countries including the United Kingdom and the United States of America in ruling out subsidising fossil fuel projects. You must end the Fuel Tax Credit Scheme for fossil fuels. You must ensure the $1.9 billion in public money spent on the Middle Arm hub in the NT does not in any way facilitate or support the extraction, processing and export of climate-heating gas. Imagine if we invested our public money into climate solutions, instead of climate pollution. We could transition to clean energy quicker, we could protect and restore our forests to store carbon. We could create a safer future for our communities, wildlife and the next generation. Minister Bowen, the time for talking about climate action is up. Please stop handing our public money to fossil fuels now. I look forward to your reply and seeing you spend our public money on stopping, not fuelling climate change." |