Australia’s national environmental legislation requires immediate reform. Its primary purpose is to safeguard our natural environment, as well as the people, communities, animals, and ecosystems dependent on it, from various forms of harm. However, it currently fails to directly address the most significant threat facing our environment: climate change.
The Albanese Government has openly recognized the need for a substantial overhaul of our national environmental laws and has committed to introducing proposed changes by year-end. However, it has not yet committed to making climate protection a central focus of these reforms.
The Climate Council, in collaboration with Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action, is urging the Albanese Government to halt the approval of all environmentally damaging fossil fuel projects until our national environmental legislation is adequately strengthened to effectively tackle climate change. It is imperative that the environmental impact of new developments is thoroughly assessed in the approval process, and your support can contribute to achieving this goal.
If you believe that Australia’s national environmental legislation should prioritize climate protection, please add your name to the joint petition.
We call upon the Albanese Government to take immediate action to bolster our national environmental legislation. The natural environment sustains all of us, and safeguarding our cherished natural spaces, unique flora and fauna, and communities on the front lines of climate change should be a top priority.
Our environmental laws are designed to shield our native species, pristine landscapes, and communities from harm. Regrettably, they are currently flawed and are permitting the greenlighting of new fossil fuel projects that exacerbate pollution and worsen climate change.
We are already witnessing severe consequences due to our delay in phasing out fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas. We remember the smoke, heat, and extensive devastation caused by the Black Summer bushfires, and we are aware that due to the accelerated pace of climate change, extreme weather events like bushfires, floods, and heatwaves are becoming more frequent and dangerous, jeopardizing our homes, lives, and natural environment.
Approving any new coal, oil, and gas projects is a reckless move as it poses a threat to our communities, clean air and water, unique wildlife, and precious ecosystems.
However, our national environmental legislation has a glaring blind spot when it comes to climate change, and this issue must be urgently addressed as part of the government’s reforms.
We urge the Federal Government to suspend the approval of all environmentally harmful new fossil fuel projects, including extensions, until our national environmental legislation is robust and adequately equipped to address climate impacts.