You are welcome to take inspiration and copy any of these sample letters.
Pick the parts you like and make it your own.
ADDRESS YOUR ENVELOPE TO
Plea for Climate
Locked Bag 8450
Canberra, ACT 2601
ADDRESS YOUR LETTER TO
Your favourite parliamentarian
– or any politician that needs to understand your concerns and the real issues.
It is important you write your email address and postcode on the back of the envelope and restrict letters to one per envelope. Mail your letter by 30th September 2021.
REMEMBER TO INCLUDE IN YOUR LETTER:
Zali Steggall’s Climate Change Bill(s)
For instance you could end your letter with: “I urge you to demand a parliamentary debate and conscience vote on Zali Steggall’s Climate Change Bills and that you vote in favour of them.”
Sample Letter 1
In November 2020 Zali Steggall’s Climate Change Bills were referred to the Energy and Environment Committee for consideration. The committee sought submissions, receiving 6,500 written submissions and 49 witnesses. Of these, 99.9% were in favour of the Bills. Despite this, the committee recommended the Bills be rejected. This is a failure of the democratic process.
Committee deliberations highlighted two very concerning facts. Firstly, the Department of Environment has not carried out a risk assessment in relation to the impacts of climate change since 2015. Secondly, the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources has failed to model a pathway to net zero emissions. I am writing to ask that action be taken to correct these failures. A national risk assessment is a matter of urgency. We need a cohesive, coordinated national framework and a clear legislated net zero emissions target.
I urge you to demand a parliamentary debate and conscience vote on the above bills and that you vote in favour of them when they are re-introduced to parliament.
Sample Letter 2
The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP26, is the 26th United Nations Climate Change conference. Scheduled in Glasgow from 31 October to 12 November 2021 it is under the presidency of the United Kingdom. The UK and USA have committed to net zero emissions targets. Both are ramping up efforts to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels, switch to renewable energy, create circular economies and mitigate their detrimental impact on the environment. They encourage their trading partners to do the same.
The European Union plans to impose tariffs on Australian exports to account for the carbon pricing disparity between ourselves and European nations. Now, a Morrison Government-majority committee has recommended rejecting Zali Steggall’s Independent members bills to address climate change.
By not committing to targets and a path to mitigate and adapt to climate change, the Morrison Government is actively choosing to ignore the science, ignore the economics, ignore the climate crisis, putting people and planet at greater risk. Australia is a shameful outlier on the international stage – as an irresponsible laggard amongst the COP26 community. I ask you to please support Zali Steggall’s Climate Change Bills.
Sample Letter 3
I am disappointed that Zali Steggall’s Climate Change Bills have been rejected and once again we are without a strategy to address the climate crisis. We have no risk assessment, no planning or strategies to address the changing climate. The government has made no requests from their own Climate Change Authority since 2015. Government Departments have been told not to discuss climate change, politicians have been told to hold the party line. And now the government wants new regulations on charities which will give them the power to deregister charities that work against them. What is happening to our democracy?
I urge you to demand a parliamentary debate and conscience vote on Zali Steggall’s Climate Change Bills and that you vote in favour of them.
Sample Letter 4
The pandemic presents opportunities to reset economic and environmental priorities. It is clear that fossil fuel resources are finite and cannot support the long-term viability of the patterns of civilisation we have seen to date. A transition to renewable energy is therefore inevitable. Not only is it economically imperative, the earlier and smoother the transition, the less costly it will be in terms of social disruption and mental health, international tension and environmental damage. I urge you to demand a parliamentary debate and conscience vote on Zali Steggall’s Climate Change Bills and that you vote in favour of them.
Sample Letter 5
Australia’s average annual temperature has already increased by 1.44 degrees since 1910. This rings deafening alarm bells. It is imperative we have a climate action plan to enable people to tackle the future positively with an outlook of reducing emissions in an orderly manner. Our governments need to increase jobs in sustainable and future industries while phasing out old industries as soon as possible. Australia could be a world superpower in renewable energy, but it needs the right Federal Government policy settings.
I urge you to demand a parliamentary debate and conscience vote on Zali Steggall’s Climate Change Bills and that you vote in favour of them.
Sample Letter 6
The Commission for the Human Future is warning us that the human induced risks of catastrophic events have increased dramatically since the mid twentieth century. Scientists have been warning us about the effects of climate change for decades. However, climate change is not an isolated issue. It is interconnected with population growth, food security and the availability of fresh water. It has the potential to increase international tensions dramatically. Already we are being issued with tariffs by other countries because of our inaction in addressing climate change. Our farmers will suffer and so will every Australian.
I therefore urge you to demand a parliamentary conscience vote on Zali Steggall’s Climate Change Bills and that you vote in favour of them.
Sample Letter 7 (To Trent Zimmerman or Bridget Archer)
I believe Australians can feel empowered and prosper into the future if we can work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and open up a new era of technological and industrial development. Zali’s Climate Change Bills give us the opportunity to do this. It is hard for the public to understand why these Bills have not been adopted. We need clear metrics to address climate change and a legislated net zero emissions target. Zali’s bills provide this. I ask you to please call for a conscience vote in parliament. Failing that, I ask you to cross the floor and vote to legislate climate action by supporting the Climate Change Bills when they are re-introduced to parliament.
Sample Letter 8
I can’t believe that our scientists are being ignored. Our engineers and agriculturalists and energy experts are all developing techniques to reduce carbon emissions and do things in a better way. How is it that we don’t have a subsidy for electric cars? We seem to put money into roads and infrastructure instead of electric cars. What has happened to the conscience of our politicians?
I urge you to demand a parliamentary debate and conscience vote on Zali Steggall’s Climate Change Bills and that you vote in favour of them.
Sample Letter 9
The climate bill introduced into the parliament by Zali Steggall was based on a very successful Act the UK parliament passed in 2008. That Act has led to bipartisan support for emissions reductions in the UK. A similar result could be achieved in Australia. To reduce the compounding effects of climate change we need cooperation across political divides. We want climate action instead of continued and prolonged fighting amongst our politicians.
The IPCC’s sixth Assessment Report makes it very clear that the world is heading for disaster unless immediate and strong action is taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Polls show that at least 80% of the Australian population support climate action. Please do not ignore these facts. My colleagues and I will be looking at how you vote when the Climate Change Bills are re-introduced to parliament. That will influence whether we vote for you at the next election.
Sample Letter 10
Climate change is a uniquely long-term challenge spanning many decades. The science is indisputable. Our climate is suffering from human-induced climate change as a result of increased greenhouse gas emissions in our atmosphere. We are destined to experience more extreme weather events on a regular basis. Fire, flood, drought, storms. The longer parliamentarians shy away from dealing with climate change, the more disastrous the impact on the lives of our children and subsequent children. I ask you to please vote for climate action and support Zali’s Independent Member’s Climate Change Bills.
Sample Letter 11
I am a member of a consortium of several climate activist groups involving tens of thousands of members. When Zali Steggall re-introduces her Climate Change Bills to parliament later this year we would like you to vote in favour. The bills have near universal support across all sectors of the community.
We would like you to know that our consortium is going to keep track of every vote on this matter and make the information widely available to voters at the next election.
When voting on Zali’s climate bill please consider how that vote may affect your future election chances. We will be doing our best to make sure that electors know about your support for bills that could make climate change a bi-partisan issue.
We hope you can see the sense in voting for climate action.
Sample Letter 12
The recent Federal Court ruling that Sussan Ley has a “Duty of Care” to the children of Australia shows there is community appetite to hold politicians to account for their inaction on climate change. Will all politicians be held accountable for their inaction in the future? I ask you to vote in favour of Zali Steggall’s Climate Change Bills when they are re-introduced to parliament.
INSPIRING LETTERS
Meet and beat
Bruce from North East Victoria wrote and sent the following message to Canberra:
The government has a 2030 target to reduce our carbon dioxide emissions by 28 percent below what they were in 2005. If successful, it will have taken 25 years to reduce emissions by 28 percent. That will leave 72 percent to be reduced in the 20 years between 2030 and 2050 (if we are to reach zero by 2050). In other words, we will have to more than triple the rate of reduction after 2030 compared to before 2030. Logic suggests that aiming for a bigger reduction by 2030 will make it easier to reach zero by 2050. As for whether Australia will adopt a target of net zero by 2050; the carbon tariffs that our trading partners are working on at present will probably force us to make that commitment.
~ Bruce
North East Victoria
→ Letter from ADAC sent to 227 parliamentarians in September 2021.
ADDRESS YOUR ENVELOPE TO
Plea for Climate
Locked Bag 8450
Canberra, ACT 2601
ADDRESS YOUR LETTER TO
Your favourite parliamentarian
– or any politician that needs to understand your concerns and the real issues.
It is important you write your email address and postcode on the back of the envelope and restrict letters to one per envelope. Mail your letter by 30th September 2021.