For me, as a new grandmother, the issue of action on climate change is about minimising future harm.

The horrendous fires we are seeing now are linked to the amount of CO2 and other greenhouse gases that have already accumulated in the atmosphere.

The more we continue to pump these greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the more severe the consequences will be in the future.

It is in our own interest to take action on climate change. But more importantly, we are members of a larger global community and we need to take responsibility and to be part of the global solution. This means weaning ourselves off fossil fuels urgently.

I urge our political leaders to have the courage to extricate themselves from the control of the fossil fuel lobbyists and their billionaire masters and take some leadership in this global crisis.

Carol Baker

Port Macquarie