The floods causing widespread disruption across New South Wales have been made worse by climate change, driven by the mining and burning of coal, oil and gas.
Right now thousands of people across the state have been forced to flee to safety while others try to protect their homes and businesses from the brutal impacts of climate change.
"Burning coal, oil and gas are the top causes of climate change, which makes all extreme weather events worse," Greenpeace Australia Pacific Campaigner, Martin Zavan said.
"The torrential downpours and flash floods that have swept away homes, inundated properties, closed schools and left many isolated and cut off from essential services like hospitals are all exacerbated by climate change, that's why we need to halve emissions by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2040 at the latest.
"These floods are just the latest example of the many devastating ways that climate change is disrupting our daily lives right now and it's only going to get worse unless the Federal Government reins in the mining and burning of coal, oil and gas".
A recent poll that found more than two-thirds of Australians support the introduction of a levy on fossil fuel exports to prepare for and protect communities from the consequences of climate change. [1]
"Many people living on the mid-north coast of New South Wales are only just getting their lives back on track after the deadly 2019-20 bushfires and pandemic, only to be faced with another climate disaster," Mr Zavan said.
"The brave men and women in our emergency services are under greater strain than ever as they are forced to respond to one climate disaster after another with almost no time in between events. That's why more than one in six Australians want the coal, oil and gas companies that have contributed the most to the climate crisis to pick up the bill for the damage they have caused."
Notes
[1] https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2020-10/apo-nid309142.pdf
