Blogs
Andrea Beneke, Townsville, Australia-Youth Climate Justice Advocate
The Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC) is a group of people that strive towards climate justice. They advocate for just and sustainable solutions to the climate issue, they work together to support those who have been most affected by climate change and analyse and challenge that systems that are the foundation of the climate issue. The AYCC has been in the PV Magazine news article, explaining their views on the fossil fuel industry that they believe are “taking advantage” of the COVID-19 health crisis “to push their dirty agenda” (pv magazine, 2020). According to a recent Resource Watch blog, published by Emily Cassidy, the top three countries that use the highest amounts of fossil fuels include, China, the United States and India. Due to weather events such as heavy rains, heat waves, earthquakes and typhoons, Japan is the most threatened country in the world by climate change. Additionally, according to results presented by The German Watch Institute, the Philippines and Germany are also most affected by climate change (Iberdrola, 2020). As a result of the Global North countries being responsible for 92% of global carbon emissions, they are morally obligated to reduce the amount of emissions. Jason Hickel, anthropologist and lecturer at Goldsmiths, University of London, states that “countries that have exceeded their fair share of the planetary boundary have a responsibility to reduce emissions much more quickly—in a matter of years, not decades.” To ensure that we move towards climate justice, Australia must focus on using renewable energy instead of fossil fuels that are very harmful to the environment. This is a quicker, cheaper solution to reduce carbon emissions. Schools can also play a part in moving towards climate justice. For example, using renewable resources and growing vegetable gardens and planting trees. Enforcing these into the school community will ensure effective results that will support the journey towards climate justice.
