Activists roar for the climate

A PROTEST outside Geelong’s City Hall last week made a loud noise (if only briefly) to demand stronger action in response  to climate change.

The Thrive For Future event on Friday attracted about 40 people, some in costume as part of a “fantastic climate creature” dress up, who heard speeches and music and took part in a one-minute “roar for the climate” just before noon.

The Thrive For Future group is one of several community groups calling on the City of Greater Geelong to declare a climate emergency.

Speakers at the event included local climate activists Caroline Danaher and Mik Aidt.

“It is so much more fun and empowering and better to be active than to be getting depressed and not doing anything,” Ms Danaher said.

“Some people say to me: how do we act? Together! Together we support each other.

“Even doing one job each day counts, like signing a petition… you don’t have to look far to find something you can actually do.”

Mr Aidt said it was important for governments to declare a climate emergency despite the existence of the Paris Agreement.

“The point is once you have said the words ‘climate emergency’ it changes the story about the situation we are in at the moment when we look at each other.

“An emergency is something where we deal with the danger that is in front of us, we get together and change things.

“So ‘emergency’ is not just, I think, like another Paris Agreement, even if we got it to the UN level and even if we manage to in December (at the next UN climate summit) because of the pressure that we are creating; people at city halls all around the planet.”