Australian Youth Climate Change Declaration

Below is the declaration coming from the Australian Youth Climate Coalition, launched today Friday 16 of February, 2007. To sign onto the statement visit the AYCC website. See also the Resistance statement System Change not Climate Change. As young Australians we say that climate change is no longer an issue for tomorrow, it is an issue for today. It is time to transform understanding into action. We have a right, along with all species, to a sustainable future and a liveable planet. This right carries on to our children and grandchildren. Climate change affects all aspects of our lives. It impacts on our cultural heritage, including that of the oldest continuous culture on earth. It destroys a fragile environment unique in the world. Weather unpredictability, drought, increasing salinity, coral bleaching, sea level rise, habitat destruction and biodiversity loss threaten our country’s future – and with it, our own. The unprecedented pace and intensity of climate change becomes more pronounced every year. We recognise that the current extent of climate change is human induced. We no longer have the luxury of continued debate; the time for action is now. As young Australians we are ready to make this change. We call upon all Australians to join us. This problem is global in dimension and personal in scope: each of us can make change now, and it is our responsibility to respond before it is too late. We see climate change as a threat but also an opportunity to build a more ecologically and socially responsible society. Climate change poses a disproportionate impact on our Pacific neighbours, less developed nations, and marginalised peoples worldwide. Australia has an obligation to assist these vulnerable communities. We acknowledge Indigenous Australians as the original inhabitants and continuing custodians of this land and their unique position and valuable knowledge in caring for their country. We are concerned that climate change threatens Indigenous land and Indigenous peoples’ ability to maintain culture. Any climate change debate must include Indigenous perspectives so that land management and environmental practice is respectful of Indigenous culture, heritage and sacred sites. Economic sustainability and livelihoods depend on our natural environment. We believe the cost of goods and services should reflect their true environmental and social cost, and government subsidies should be directed towards renewable energy rather than fossil fuels. Australia’s economic interest lies upon realising the potential of sustainable innovation. The solutions to climate change already exist in Australia. We do not need nuclear power; it is too unsafe, too dirty, and too expensive. Similarly, we believe the idea of ‘clean coal’ is a distraction postponing a just transition from fossil fuels to a real clean energy future. As a concerned coalition of Australian youth-based organisations we commit to:

• Taking personal action to reduce our climate impact to sustainable levels,
• Advocating on behalf of young Australians for sustainability and climate protection
• Raising awareness of the impacts of current agricultural industrial and economic practices
• Educating, motivating and mobilising young people to address the climate crisis

In order to address the growing climate crisis we demand that the Australian Government:

• Ratify the Kyoto Protocol and take a leadership role in its upcoming second phase
• Funds and assists developing countries to both mitigate against the effects of climate change and ensure equitable access to sustainable energy resources, including supporting the Global Adaptation Fund.
• Recognise climate refugees and accept them to our country
• Set world-leading domestic mandatory renewable energy targets
• Ensure a just transition to renewable energy including through directing subsidies away from fossil fuels
• Focus its time, research and money on renewable energy sources; not fossil fuels or nuclear. There should be no further nuclear expansion in Australia.
• Encourage business to adopt true environmental cost analysis
• Improving public transport, building and urban design
• Phase out land-clearing, recognising the value of forests as carbon sinks
• Create incentives for localised sustainable farming including community gardens and urban agriculture, to aim towards water and energy efficient agriculture.
• Incorporate compulsory ecological sustainability and climate change education into school curricula; and increase funding and support for community-based programs around awareness, action and resilience building to combat climate change.

[The Australian Youth Climate Coalition unites a diversity of organisations and youth to form a powerful front across Australia tackling the biggest challenge of our generation: our climate crisis. Resistance was present at the founding of this coalition and is an initial signatory to the declaration. AYCC aims to build and strengthen a generation wide movement to stop climate change, leveraging our collective power. In the absence of significant action by industry and government, we will make climate change a priority for all Australians. Acting on local, state, national and international levels, we combine our forces to educate, inspire and mobilise young people, influence government, and implement concrete solutions. Working in schools, Universities, TAFEs and communities from coast to coast, we are calling for and building a just transition to a climate friendly future.]