March 27 action at MP Nicola Roxon's office

By David White and Dick Nichols

When the history books are written the January 31-February 3 Climate Action Summit in Canberra will surely be seen as the moment the movement against global warming came of age in Australia. After three days of passionate debate and decision-making among the 500 participants, the summit:

· Equipped the movement with an adequate target for atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration (300 parts per million)
· Set a goal of achieving 100% renewable energy by 2020
·Came out against the Rudd government’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme
· Adopted four major action initiatives for 2009: March 27 protests at Corporate Offices and MPs’ offices calling for their opposition to the CPRS; World Environment Day (June 6) rallies in each major city and actions in regional areas launching the 100% renewables by 2020 campaign; three-day Climate Direct Action Camps at polluting infrastructure in each state in mid September (to coincide with the peak melt of the Arctic Summer Sea Ice); and actions in communities in the week leading up to and during the December 7-18 Copenhagen International Climate Negotiations.
· Provisionally adopted detailed policy for the transition to climate sustainability.
·Started work on designing a national network that would help build “diverse, participatory grassroots climate action movement; support the exchange of knowledge, skills and resources; implement the outcomes of national Climate Action Summits; and facilitate major campaigns.”

The summit would not have happened without the enormous work of the organising committee, formed by activists from the Australian Student Environment Network, Rising Tide (Newcastle), Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, Canberra Climate Action Network along with others committed to making the summit a success.

Around 40 Socialist Alliance members took part over the three days of the summit, and we can be proud of the positive and thoughtful contributions they made. Socialist Alliance people helped articulate the sentiment of summit participants, and contributed to its positive outcome in many ways. While everyone did their bit, a special contribution came from the comrades of Alliance affiliate and socialist youth organisation Resistance.

One big feature of the summit was the variety of people participating. From vegan and vegetarian groups to local sustainable technology businesses, from professors of environmental science to high school students, from local Climate Action Group activists to organic farmers, from trade unionists to environmentalists active around water and forests, from Greens to socialists and people who “hate politics”, the summit was a representative pot pourri of the growing army of Australians who are alarmed about global warming and determined to act against it.

That such a diverse group of people could come up with overwhelming support for the outcomes of the summit confirmed that we had one serious shared value—determination to see adequate and resolute action against global warming. When 2500 of us encircled Parliament House on February 3, that shared value marked the birth of a new movement.

Since the summit Socialist Alliance members have been active in growing the new movement. In Western Australia Kamala Emanuel and Annolies Truman have helped out with the formation of Coalition for a Safe Climate; in South Australia members are actively building CLEAN (Climate Emergency Action Network) SA; in Hobart Mel Barnes is playing a leading role in the new Climate Action Hobart; in Victoria Ben Courtice is in the thick of building World Environment day; in the ACT Leigh Hughes drives in the local Canberra CAN; in Sydney Brianna Pike, Kiraz Janicke, Simon Butler and Trish Corcoran are helping run People for a Safe Climate, Parramatta CAN and in building World Environment Day; in Newcastle Resistance members Zane Alcorn, Simon Cunich, Laura Ealing work closely with Rising Tide; and in Brisbane there has been progress on the formation of a united southeast Queensland climate network to bring together and represent all local and regional climate groups.

Across the country Socialist Alliance members were prominent in the March 27 actions against the CPRS (see photo).

Socialist Alliance members are also involved in developing a draft proposal on national climate network structure to be presented to CAGs and all other participants in the Canberra summit for amendment and ratification.

As this Alliance Voices goes to press our National Environment Committee held its April 5 meeting, which covered the main initiatives arising from the summit. The minutes of the meeting have been posted on the SA environment elist, and cover progress in the construction of a national network, debates about slogans for World Environment Day, and the development of a petition/open letter to the Greens, calling on them to reject the Rudd government's Carbon Pollution Reduction scheme outright.

Stay informed, get involved

We invite all interested Socialist Alliance members to become more involved in our work. If you want to find out more about what is happening in your area get in touch with the following comrades:

• Western Australia: Kamala Emanuel 0417 319 662 Annolies Truman 08 9299 6453
• South Australia: Ruth Ratcliffe 0403 679 742
• Tasmania: Mel Barnes 0423 978 518
• Victoria:Melbourne region Ben Courtice 0413 580 706
• Geelong region Bronwyn Jennings 0412 387 353
• ACT: Leigh Hughes 0421 283 825
• New South Wales:
  

Sydney (inner West): Brianna Pike 0439 694 505 Simon Butler 0421 231 011
Sydney (West): Kiraz Janicke 0432 391 098
Newcastle: Simon Cunich 0438 297 552
Illawarra: Chris Williams 0425 329 963

• Queensland:

  Northern Queensland: Jonathan Strauss 0418 773 287
  Brisbane region: David White 0403 871 082
  

For any information about the work of the National Environment Committee, and to participate in its activities, contact David White on 0403 871 082 or email him at astraloz@yahoo.com.au
For a detailed account of the summit go to www.socialist-alliance.org/page.php?page=822 and Green Left Weekly number 782 (February 7).

Full details of the Climate Action Summit outcomes are available at www.climatesummit.org.au. The site also allows anyone to become involved in the three streams of work around which the summit was built—campaigning, developing policy and helping develop the national network. It will also shortly house the fortnightly Climate Action Summit bulletin presently being sent to all summit participants.

To stay up to date with news and debates in the movement and Socialist Alliance’s work members should subscribe to our yahoo egroup. Send an email message to SAenvironment-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.au.

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