Section outline

  •  Global emissions reduction is a mitigation response at the policy and advocacy level. The objective of global emissions reduction advocacy is to accelerate national and global action to reduce emissions and keep global warming to well below 2°C.


    Principles

    Mitigation policy and advocacy initiatives should be evidence-based. They should be informed by the latest climate science, credible research and analysis, and international agreements. They should offer proven technology and action.

    Mitigation policy and advocacy initiatives should be equitable.They should ensure that industrialised nations take responsibility for their fair share of global emissions reductions and do not shift responsibility to developing countries.

    Mitigation policy and advocacy initiatives should be inclusive.They should includemake space for, and prioritise the voices of people and communities most affected by climate change, and where possible be led by local communities.

    Actions

    Key advocacy issues for global emissions reduction include:

    • Setting more ambitious emissions reduction targets in line with or better than the Paris Agreement.
    • Ending subsidies that sustain fossil fuel industries.
    • Banning all fossil fuel exports from Australia.
    • Increasing Australian assistance to development partners countries to transition to a low carbon economy.
    • Ensuring emissions offsetting is not used to avoid making real reductions in emissions and is only used where there are presently no viable alternative options to reduce emissions.
    • Ensuring any emissions offsets safeguard biodiversity, human rights and local community knowledge and rights.

    Resources

    Climate Action TrackerDownloads a Word document
    The Climate Action Tracker is an independent scientific project that tracks government climate action and measures it against the globally agreed Paris Agreement aim of "holding warming well below 2°C, and pursuing efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C." 

    Credit: Climate Analytics and NewClimate Institute

    Thorough reading time: 20-30 minutes
    ACFID Connect: Climate COP 101 (2023)
    This ACFID Connect event includes members sharing about the basics of the international climate negotiations that happen at the annual UN climate change conferences, "COPs" (Conference of the Parties), and how NGOs can engage. What happens at a COP? Who is there? What does it mean for climate action? How do NGOs engage? What can we expect from COP28 this year?

    Credit: ACFID

    Duration of the video: 1 hour
    A Little Less Conversation: Adaptation and Mitigation  (2023)Downloads a Word document

    Adaptation and mitigation are two terms commonly used in connection with how to approach responses to climate change: do we spend our energies trying to address the root causes of climate change, or do we work on strategies to help us adapt? In this episode, Sala George Carter of the Australian National University and climate change activist Lisa Viliamu Jameson join us to discuss the twin approaches.

    Credit: Good Will Hunters, WWF, ACFID

    Listening time: 50 minutes

    OXFAM Australia's Advocacy on a Just Transition  (2023)Downloads a Word document
    This case study describes Oxfam Australia’s approach to advocacy for a ‘just energy transition’ contributing to emissions reduction and low carbon development

    Credit: ACFID

    Thorough reading time: 15-20 minutes
    No. of pages: 2

    Submission to the Inquiry into the Climate Change Amendment (Duty of Care and Intergenerational Climate Equity) Bill (2023)Downloads a Word document
    An example of an advocacy message to the Australian Government  - submission from the Australia Insitute to the Inquiry into the Climate Change Amendment (Duty of Care and Intergenerational Climate Equity) Bill 2023

    Credit: The Australia Institute

    Thorough reading time: 10-15 minutes
    No. of pages: 3

    Climate of the Nation (2023)Downloads a Word document
    The Australia Institute’s annual Climate of the Nation report provides a comprehensive account of Australian attitudes towards climate change, its causes and impacts, and the integrity of Australia’s current and proposed climate solutions. 

    Credit: The Australia Institute

    Thorough reading time: 1-2 hours
    No. of pages: 56

    Causes of Global WarmingDownloads a Word document
    Foundational information about the causes of climate change with options for readers to join campaigns.

    Credit: WWF

    Thorough reading time: 10-15 minutes
    Calculate Your FootprintDownloads a Word document
    A tool for the public to calculate their ecological footprint

    Credit: WWF
    Write to the Climate MinisterDownloads a Word document
    A site to assist you to write and send an email to Climate Change Minister asking for a new climate target of Net Zero by 2035.

    Credit: WWF

    Thorough reading time: 5 minutes
    Updated assessment of Australia's emission reduction targets and 1.5 degree pathways.Downloads a Word document
    This briefing note provides an update to Climate Resource’s assessment of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions budget:

    Credit: WWF

    Thorough reading time: 30-45 minutes
    No. of pages: 12

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