2
Motion nr:256
Rubrik: A People’s Climate Parliament in Australia
Ämnesområde: Övergripande 2
Inskickad: 2018-02-24
Motionär:Anthony Gleeson, Mik Aidt, Janine O'Keeffe, Ola Gabrielson (tee.gee2@yahoo.com.au)*
Ort:Geelong, Enskede
Organisation:Centre for Climate Safety, Victoria
 (* epostadresser är skyddade mot spamrobotar)

Föreslagna åtgärder:
We want Klimatriksdagen to assist with setting up and liasing with a People’s Climate Parliament in Australia, including recommendations about how to run this event, using the Swedish Climate Parliament as a model.
We also want an ideas discussion and online forum with Klimatriksdagen 2018 workers about other forms of external support including online learning and economic support. Vi förslår att sveriges regering driver KR i international fora som ett exempel fom medborgare deltagare i Climate omställning. Och vill stödja Australia som ett test host.

Sammanfattning:
While agreements such as the Paris Climate Accord are global, the implementation and mitigation is local. Another way of saying this is, that while talks are global, actions must be local.

We cannot expect any reasonable local actions to emerge without some sort of a local group decision making process about it. A democratic parliamentary process lends itself to this requirement.

The group-mobilizing and networking factor of the Climate Parliament method is extremely relevant in the fragmented Australian society.

Motiv och bakgrund:
There are several reasons for “exporting” the Swedish People's Climate Parliament model to Australia.

The first is: While agreements such as the Paris Climate Accord are global, the implementation and mitigation is local. Another way of saying this is, that while talks are global, actions must be local.

We cannot expect any reasonable local actions to emerge without some sort of a local group decision making process about it. A democratic parliamentary process lends itself to this requirement.

Misinformation, manipulation, lack of knowledge, and money rather than reason being a decisive power, is the order of the day in Australian politics.

The problem is that this economic system does not place a value on natural, biological and ecological feedback systems and cycles – and neither does it place a penalty for disrupting or destroying them. As an example, when there is a drought, water becomes scarce and this means there is less evaporation, which then reduces the rainfall further and makes the drought even worse. What initially appears as insignificant damage gradually loops into a vicious cycle until it becomes unmanageable, and eventually becomes a great cost to society – with no one in the economic system to send the bill to.

A second reason is about deep democracy: The Climate Parliament is not about blame, but rather about moving forward with many people together. This reduces the problem of any large group copying the behaviour of others. Only when taken through this process does any large group realise the solutions that are available.

A third reason is that at an individual level, a person could be saying, “Why should I reduce my carbon emissions when I can not impact others, and when my change, which is tiny in the bigger picture, leads to a significant economic loss for me?” But this excuse for inaction, based on that “someone else will have to make the first move,” is similar to the rabbit that freezes in the sharp night headlights of the approaching car, as it hopes not to be noticed. According to evolution, freezing may have been a smart strategy. But in front of a car, it is a response with a potentially deadly outcome.

The unprecedented threat of a climate emergency is such a wicked challenge because it also calls for an unprecedented response. Our evolutionary behaviour, our survival instinct as individuals, and our trust in that continuation of “business as usual” is probably our best option, is no different from the rabbit that freezes in the headlights: Our genes are not programmed to respond to a global climate threat. So... not surprisingly, most people don’t. Instead we ignore the threat and go on with our lives the best we can. As we are already seeing the first signs - extreme weatherevents and catastrophes around the globe – this is actually a really stupid response with a potentially deadly outcome.

A fourth reason is the experience people have when they write something and then get to adapt and sharpen their proposal in a process with others. It is a powerful way to educate oneself on the topic, while getting closer connected with members of one’s community and aspiring to reach consensus in a group.

Using the process of voting, as done in the Climate Parliament, is also empowering. A proposal which first has had maybe 10-15 people agreeing about it, and then hundreds of people who voted it up, becomes so much more important to everyone involved, and it speaks with a far more powerful voice than a single person’s voice at the doors of power.

This fourth reason is also fantastic group-mobilizing and networking factor of the Climate Parliament method. This is extremely relevant in the fragmented Australian society. The unique feeling of contributing towards a group and finding new ways of thinking together, and establishing new networks to rely upon is truly liberating.

For the implementation of this project, Centre for Climate Safety would be working together with groups such as the Australian Climate Action Network, the Victorian Climate Action Network, Breakthrough, the Sustainable Living Festival, Climate Emergency Declaration, Cedamia, and many other active climate action networks in Australia.




256

0

L