Media release 5 November, 2009
North Melbourne churches petition MP on climate change
A petition with more than 800 signatures will be submitted to Kelvin Thomson, Member
of Parliament for the federal seat of Wills, in a public handover event.
Friday 6 November
9.45am
Coburg Baptist Church
298 Sydney Road
Coburg
The petition calls on the government to drastically ramp up its greenhouse gas reduction
commitment from 5 per cent (on 2000 levels) to 20 per cent by 2020 (based on 1990
levels).
It also wants this target boosted to 30 per cent if other developed countries commit to
similar goals and timeframes.
The petition has rallied Christians of different denominations for a single cause.
Many Uniting Church, Baptist, Salvation Army, Catholic and Anglican members from
Brunswick, Coburg, Glenroy, Stathmore and Pascoe Vale are expected to attend the
handover event.
On acceptance of the petition, Mr Thomson will also provide a response.
"The available research shows that if we do not reach an effective global agreement on
climate change it will result in more than a billion people being short of water,
widespread famines, major species extinctions, and extreme sea-level rises,” said Dr
Mark Zirnsak, Justice and International Mission (JIM) director at the Uniting Church in
Australia, Victoria and Tasmania synod.
“Such dramatic changes would be highly likely to trigger large movements of people.”
In comparison, the UK has committed up to 36 per cent in greenhouse reductions by
2020, despite being hit harder by the Global Financial Crisis. Germany will cut emissions
by 40 per cent and Sweden by 25 per cent.
“All countries must take on their fair share. Australia is yet to commit to that,” Mr Zirnsak
said.
Media enquiries – Michael Docherty, media liaison, 0408 950 702
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