Critical Times

MEDIA RELEASE
Climate Emergency Action Network SA (CLEAN SA)

Monday, 9 November 2009 – For Immediate Release

“A war of attrition against the people of Adelaide”, is the way that one local climate action group today described the expected record heatwave for the city, saying that the continuous heat should be an urgent wake up call to all politicians about the need for urgent action on climate change.

“This November heatwave is likely to cause more deaths among the elderly and the isolated, like the 30 pensioners who died of heat-related causes during the heatwave earlier this year,” John Rice, spokesperson for CLEAN SA, the Climate Emergency Action Network, said today.

“Adelaide’s unprecedented November heatwave is classic climate-change weather.”

“We need politicians to show real leadership and begin to seriously address the climate emergency today.

“We need to set urban ecologists to work in redesigning our urban spaces so that they are cooled naturally: the residential development in the city, Christie Walk, is an example of what can be done. Salisbury Council’s wetlands are a demonstration that we do not need energy-hungry desalination plants for our mains water supplies.

“A persistent ridge of high pressure is stopping cool changes reaching southern Australia. This kind of pattern is predicted by climate scientists to become more and more frequent in coming decades.

“Determined global action is needed if Adelaide’s climate later in the century is not to resemble that of Leigh Creek.

“CLEAN will be calling all of our members and networks to march on December 12, in the middle of the Copenhagen summit, for the national Walk Against Warming.

”As world leaders, including South Australian senator and Minister for Climate Change, Penny Wong, prepare to gather in Copenhagen, CLEAN demands that they show real leadership and commit to the necessary measures to maintain a safe climate namely:

– 100% renewable energy by 2020! – Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions of at least 60% below 1990 levels by 2020 and zero emissions by 2040! – No new coal fired power! – Green jobs, not job cuts! – Climate justice for the Third World!

For further comment, please contact John Rice on 0400 754 559.