Contributed by Joe Montero

A single unusual weather events does not provide proof of a climate crisis. The simultaneous rise of a series of such events over the planet is very different.

An incredible heatwave in Canada, raging bushfires across sub arctic Siberia, unheard off flooding across Europe, and even worse in China. Even Australia has been experiencing some unusual weather.

Is this a warning of even worse around the corner? It could well be.

Governments are  making more promises to act. The problem is that little of this is turning into doing nearly enough to make any difference. Some are winding back past promises. Australia’s is one of them. The cost of climate change is far too high to accept this.

The times call for a far better international response. This must focus of carbon emission reduction, through the building of a sustainable global economy.

A sustainable economy can be built

It is no secret that those refusing to act on the climate crisis are often those that have got in the way of dealing properly with the Covid pandemic.

A second connection is that the destruction of ecosystems is putting humanity at an increasing risk of exposure to pathogens, and this is the most likely cause of Covid.

Just about everyone knows that urgent climate action is necessary, it is not happening. Vested business interests are doing quite well out of the destruction. They don’t want change and have the clout to force their will on governments.

A propaganda onslaught telling us telling us every day that climate action will destroy jobs and wreck the economy. This is a lie. Alternative energy sources and timely net zero carbon emissions can become a reality. All it needs is sufficient effort.

Humanity must learn to live in harmony with nature. We depend on it for our existence.

It is obvious that the fossil fuel industry and those who support it in the political sphere, are creating the conditions for economic and social collapse, as they risk environmental collapse. Imagine a plummet in the supply of food and drinkable water, flooding of our cities with floodwater, the collapse of infrastructure and government? Billions will face death.

The failure to act is the road to a multi-faceted crisis.

Hope lies in the contradiction between feet dragging governments and the will of populations to put an end to this. They are getting stronger, starting to force governments into doing more.

Pressure on these governments must now be multiplied, through movements of people taking the initiative and forcing through change.

This must be realised here in Australia.

Dependency on fossil fuels to power our industries and as the driver of international trade must end. Changing this must involve workers and communities tied to the industry as partners in creating alternatives.

There is the matter of the Great Barrier Reef The Reef has never been as threatened by human activity as it is now.

Australia’s government has been disregarding this for a long time. Under Scott Morrison, it is now doing everything it can to prevent the United Nations registering the wonder of the natural world as endangered.

The Great Barrier Reef

The issue is gaining international importance. An army of conservationists, scientists, prominent actors, like  including Actor Joanna Lumley and Hollywood star Jason Momoa, are backing the call for the heritage listing. There are others. Even Prince Albert of Monaco is joining in.

The matter is coming before the 21-country World Heritage Committee.

The Great Barrier Reef is an important litmus test of what I happening to the planet.  

It would ultimately be a grave mistake to rely on the political elite to save the day. It is corrupt and compromised. The only answer is the rise of a political movement, which puts into effect the will of the population outside the existing and inadequate political framework. This is the scale of the emergency we face.  

There is a huge implication here. New political and economic structures are necessary. This means the rise of  a democracy that rises form the people and a collective and sustainable economy that puts people first.

This is the only way to avoid a horrendous crisis