10 June 2022
Janaline Oh's article in the Canberra Times today, entitled National security and future prosperity rely on climate action, highlighted how Australia's failure to lead on climate issues has had a significant negative impact on our international reputation and national security. Janaline is one of our more than 100 former Australian diplomats, development and trade specialists, calling on the government to take immediate, ambitious steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to restore Australia's international standing on this issue. In the article, Janaline argues: "Climate change does not respect national borders. It is a global challenge requiring every nation to pull its weight. It is wrong to claim that, because only around 1.3 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions are released in Australia, what we do is irrelevant. Climate action by nations is a matter of political choice: Australia is a wealthy country with the resources to transform its economy and the innovation to do so in a way that we can profitably share with other countries".