Climate Action

The Climate Action campaign is an initiative by SCEC focused on broadening Sunshine Coast residents’ awareness of climate change issues, and encouraging them to become involved in climate action to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

There is consensus in the scientific community that as a result of our increasing greenhouse gas emissions (carbon dioxide, methane and other gases), we are on track to cause catastrophic changes in the earth's climate that will affect generations across all nations and all sectors of the economy. Beautiful icons such as the Great Barrier Reef are at serious risk of disappearing.

“The past decade, since 2010, has been the hottest ever recorded according to both NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), with 2016 ranking the hottest year to date, with 2019 following closely behind. The world has warmed up by about 1.2 degrees Celsius since the industrial age (mid- to late 1800s), and despite the year-to-year variability due to climate patterns like El Niño which tends to increase global temperatures, chief scientists from the IPCC, the world’s top authority on climate science, say the long-term trends of global warming are very clear. In fact, 2019 ranked as the second hottest year on record, only marginally behind 2016, even without an El Niño which spiked temperatures in 2016.” Source: Associated Press, 15 January, 2020.

What does this mean?

Sustained above-average temperatures, as the planet has seen so far this century, can affect the ice sheet, global sea levels, ecosystems, agriculture, coastal development, ocean acidification, rainfall and a number of cyclical rhythms. “In February 2020, we saw the worst ever coral bleaching event in the Great Barrier Reef – the third mass bleaching event in just five years – and a direct result of increased sea water temperatures…”. Source: Science X, 6 April, 2020.

Organisations such as CSIRO, the International Energy Agency, NASA, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)  and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) all agree that we must drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions if we are to prevent catastrophic climate change into the future.

What is SCEC doing?

Lobbying local governments and institutions to declare a climate emergency and divest from fossil fuels

We want our politicians, of all parties and at all levels, to acknowledge that we are in a climate emergency and that they must show real leadership by committing to reductions in greenhouse emissions both in Australia and internationally. 

SCEC is part of the Urgent Climate Action Network Sunshine Coast (UCANSC) and working with the community to get the Sunshine Coast Council to declare a climate emergency.

To prevent warming beyond 1.5°C, we need to reduce emissions by 7.6% every year from this year to 2030. This means that urgent action is required now. To find out more about the climate emergency declaration and what it means click here. 

What is divestment and why is it important? Find out more here. 

ClimateClever

SCEC is proud to partner with WA startup ClimateClever to help support the community to take action on climate change and lower energy and water bills. SCEC receives anonymised data from all homes and schools that sign up to the program on the Sunshine Coast, this data will be used to track the communities progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and will assist in developing initiatives to further reduce emissions. 

Sign here to show your support for local councils and institutions to divest from fossil fuels

Sign the Petition

Climate Action in the Community

SCEC hold a variety of community events, and film screenings to raise awareness and spread knowledge about the impacts of climate change in the community. We want to show our politicians that their constituents want action on climate change now!

Over the years, SCEC have held a number of community events to coincide with international climate conferences and days of action. 

Our aim is to bring the broader community together and lend their voice towards the environmental issues that matter to them. Whether that be through one of our Earth Hour events, The Rise to Meet the Tide event,our Eumundi Lantern Parade or Plates in the Paddock evening, our Paddle out for Climate Action event, one of our documentary film screenings; or one of our Climate Change Relays – we aim to build a resilient community ready to adapt to the changes we face in the future. Keep up to date with further events and actions from our member groups Zero Emissions Noosa, Sunshine Coast Climate Action Now, Solar Citizens and Stop Adani Sunshine Coast.

What you can do to act on climate change

Please join us in our efforts to tackle the most important issue of our time

  • Write to your Councillor and express your concerns on climate change and request that the Sunshine Coast Council declare a climate emergency. Learn more at the Urgent Climate Action Network Sunshine Coast Facebook page here.  
  • Sign up to the ClimateClever app and implement measures to reduce your carbon emissions at home.
  • Visit www.marketforces.org.au and look up your bank and superannuation fund. Are they investing in fossil fuels? If so, move your money to a bank or fund that doesn’t.
  • Sign our online petition above asking for your local council and university to divest from fossil fuels.
  • Talk to your friends and family about climate change. Many people find it difficult to bring up this topic, but we will never move society on this issue if we all remain silent.
  • Sign up for your free Climate Action Now sign from the Queensland Conservation Council.
  • Make a tax deductible donation to support climate action projects.