David Ritter
David Ritter is CEO of Greenpeace Australia Pacific.
Let's be blunt, because time is short. We've already been through too much this year as a nation not to be straight with each other.
Australia urgently needs to reduce the emissions that are driving the climate emergency - and the number one driver is the burning of coal, gas and oil.
If we can't do this, we are stuffed and every other issue becomes moot.
Our response to climate change can be a giant leap for humanity, not just a grab for safety. Virtually all climate change solutions are things that we should do anyway, because of their massive other benefits, including more liveable cities; thriving environments; improved human health; better jobs; less pollution and greater global equality.
The expert advice is in: Australia can make the rapid transition to 100% renewable use with ease and has a golden opportunity to become a global clean energy superpower. Accompanying this ambition should be a universal security guarantee for all Australians, under which we commit to taking care of those harmed by severe climate
change damage like the fires of last summer, and everyone economically impacted by the transition to renewable energy. We can make the great transformation together and ensure that none are left behind.
2020 has created shared experiential foundations for universal action. We were forced to recall our interconnectedness and were reminded that government is capable of decisive action for the wellbeing of the many. We rediscovered our preparedness to make shared effort for the greater good. As we mourned the deaths of strangers and felt melancholic at the burning of hillsides never seen, we felt the deep truth that every life and ecosystem is precious and miraculous.
But we have also been grimly reminded of the vested interests preventing Australia's advance as a nation and the necessity for relentless democratic effort to preserve our country's future.
2020 reminded us that we are bound together as a community of fate. My sincerest hope for 2021 is that we reap the renewed spirit of shared destiny, and are tireless in our shared determination to acheive a nation and a world capable of nurturing life in all of its magnificent diversity.