“We’ve convened national cabinets, rapidly created economic initiatives, enacted new regulations, and elevated the leadership status of experts and scientists. That’s a methodology we should carry over into the post COVID world, and we should use it to urgently respond to climate change.”
Shane Rattenbury, ACT Energy Minister
“The stimulus to recover from the pandemic will need exactly the sort of actions that are needed to address the climate crisis, too.”
Anna Skarbek, ClimateWorks
“Sorry to be the harbinger of denier disappointment, but there is every reason to expect that the virus crisis will strengthen and accelerate the imperative to transition to a low-carbon world by mid-century,”
Former Liberal Leader John Hewson
“We are in a moment where a range of things are possible which weren’t possible before, where a renewables-led economy and recovery processes are now on the cards for Australia. We have an opportunity to craft the future we want to see for Australia.”
Amanda McKenzie, Climate Council
We import $29 billion oil each year, most of which is used for transport. Every vehicle we divert to electric reduces that cost and when powered from renewable electricity offers huge emission savings.
Smart Energy Council President Steve Blume
“Moving quickly to net zero emissions will be good for Australian employment and income.”
Professor Ross Garnaut
“The energy industry that emerges from this crisis will be significantly different from the one that came before.”
IEA executive director Fatih Birol
“Investing in new gas generation now is like buying a fleet of hummers for your delivery business because petrol prices are low.”
Jonathan Upson, Canadian Solar
“We are in the critical decade. It is no exaggeration to say that what we do regarding emissions reductions between now and 2030 will determine the quality of human life on this planet for hundreds of years to come, if not more.”
Christina Figueres, former executive secretary of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
“There’s going to be a new debate about re-industrialisation in Australia in the years ahead. And in particular, how we do it powered by renewable energy.”
Former Treasurer Wayne Swan
“My research suggests the current growth rate of carbon dioxide emissions is faster than those which triggered two previous mass extinctions, including the event that wiped out the dinosaurs. The world’s gaze may be focused on COVID-19 right now. But the risks to nature from human-made global warming – and the imperative to act – remain clear.”
Andrew Glikson, Earth and paleo-climate scientist, ANU
