National Climate Emergency Summit

A major climate summit has issued a strong warning that Australia’s catastrophic summer bushfires signal a far more dangerous future, calling for immediate and far-reaching climate action.

The National Climate Emergency Summit, held in Melbourne, released a declaration stating that rising global temperatures pose a direct threat to Australian society and civilisation. According to the statement, climate impacts are already severe across Australia, Antarctica, Asia, and the Pacific, making it clear that the planet is now dangerously overheated.

The declaration warns that surpassing 1.5°C of warming above pre-industrial levels could lead to irreversible consequences. These include the likely collapse of the Great Barrier Reef, significant sea-level rise, and the triggering of major tipping points in systems like the Amazon rainforest and Greenland ice sheet—releasing vast amounts of stored carbon.

Prominent figures including Ian Dunlop, Carmen Lawrence, John Hewson, Tim Costello, and Kerryn Phelps backed the declaration. It also highlighted that current global commitments under the Paris Agreement could still lead to around 3.5°C of warming by 2100—and potentially 4°C to 5°C when longer-term climate feedbacks are considered.

Security experts cited in the declaration warned that warming of around 3°C could trigger widespread social instability, while 4°C could make organised human civilisation extremely difficult to sustain.

The summit stressed that climate change must be treated as a primary national and global security threat, requiring the highest level of political and economic priority.

To respond effectively, the declaration called for:

• Rapid reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to zero
• Large-scale removal of carbon already in the atmosphere
• Integration of adaptation and resilience into economic systems

Speaking after the summit, Tim Costello described the declaration as a call to action from across sectors including defence, agriculture, politics, and economics. He said there is widespread frustration at the lack of meaningful progress, despite growing awareness of the risks.

He compared the scale of the challenge to wartime mobilisation, suggesting that failure to act could lead to severe consequences for political systems and human rights.

Costello also pointed out that climate change has long been a lived reality for vulnerable communities, particularly in the Pacific. What Australia now faces as an emerging existential threat has already been devastating livelihoods and lives in neighbouring regions for years.

The declaration criticised Australian political leadership, arguing that short-term political thinking has left the country dangerously unprepared for escalating climate impacts. It stated that governments have failed in their fundamental responsibility to protect citizens and maintain social stability in the face of growing risks.

It further argued that Australia should push for stronger global climate action, noting that continued dependence on fossil fuels is both economically and environmentally unsustainable. Despite being highly exposed to climate impacts, Australia remains one of the world’s largest contributors to carbon emissions when exports are included.

The statement concluded that it is irrational to base the nation’s economy on fossil fuels when Australia has abundant renewable energy resources and significant potential to lead in clean energy development.