HASTINGS residents are invited to join climate action groups on September 20 to take a stand on what is now billed an environmental emergency.
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The Strike for Climate will kick off at 9am at the Glasshouse forecourt. Climate groups are calling on council and businesses to allow their staff to attend.
Spokesperson for Climate Change Hastings, Harry Creamer, said news that billionaire co-founder of Australian tech company Atlassian, Mike Cannon-Brookes, is encouraging his staff to attend, raises the bar for local businesses.
"Mike Cannon Brookes is one of Australia's most clever people," Mr Creamer said.
"He is a successful and wealthy entrepreneur and he absolutely gets it on climate change. He says it is a 'massive existential issue... humanity faces a climate change emergency... it's a crisis that demands leadership and action'.
"Mike says companies have a role to play in solving the climate crisis. Business leaders have to 'step up and try to solve this problem' in the absence of effective policy. Actually, he delivered an Ash Barty serve against the federal government for its lack of action on climate change, citing the continued rise in Australia's harmful greenhouse emissions."
Global climate strikes started in 2018, led by students inspired by teenage Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.
"We are running out of time to preserve a liveable climate for future generations. We demand action from our national, state and local council leaders - we must stop all new fossil fuel projects and make a fast transition to 100 per cent renewable energy," Mr Creamer said.
"There is an appalling vacuum of leadership at all levels of Australian, NSW, and local government on climate and energy.
"The climate strike is being held to demand real leadership to combat climate change, and an end to the deforestation and land clearing that is destroying forests and woodlands, right here on our doorstep as we speak.
"Forests are the lungs of the planet and store vast amounts of carbon in their trees."