Since mid-January 2019, Adrian and Bryony from CACE have been campaigning (and touring) in Europe. Adrian will be in EU until on 12 March and is currently firming up his schedule, with meetings so far in Zurich, Helsinki, Sweden, Bonn, Brussels and Copenhagen. 

Meetings and presentations to date have focused on the UK but also include continental meetings, as in the list below.  Most engagements have been very fruitful. CACE's goals have included not only spreading the campaign but also getting a proper climate emergency response from councils that have declared. 

1. FOE - London presentation 
2. Oxford - public presentation. ~100 attendees at Oxford Town Hall
3. Stroud councillors meeting (12+ councillors)
4. Forest of Dean (~12 campaigners and councillors)
5. Heresford presentation ~20 Extinction Rebellion attendees )
6. Met with staff from Centre for Alternative Tech in Wales
7. Public presentation at Green Drinks in Manchester (about ~35 attendees, one councillor)
8. Met with FOE in Leeds 
9. Public presentation in Norwich (~25 attendees)
10. Met with a London enviro staff officer. 
11. Met with Bristol councillors and local Extinction Rebellion campaigner. 
12. Public presentation Graz, Austria, ~25 attendees. (organised by 'System Change, Not Climate Change')
13. Met with staff of Hungarian ENGO 
14. Met with 'Rain for Climate' researcher, Vlado Zaujec, in Prague with related people

Over 350 councils across four countries have now declared a climate emergency with the vast majority declaring since November 2018. The momentum is staggering. CEDAMIA has been tracking and mapping the progress.

Maribyrnong in Victoria, Australia, declared this week following a targeted community campaign. Sarah Rickard, who led the campaign, has kindly provided a summary document of what the campaign group undertook to get all councillors on board. Follow this link.

The photo below shows Sarah and other campaigners with the Maribyrnong councillors, holding their statements of support for the Climate Emergency Declaration.

It seems that every week now, another council is passing motions to recognise the climate emergency. The long silence that followed Darebin's climate emergency motion in 2016 is now popping with declarations almost weekly, not just in Australia but around the world. 

Following Byron Shire's motion on 18 October we have seen similar motions by Ballarat (a second regional Australian Council), Bristol (the first UK Council) and Totnes (the second UK council).

A distinction can be made between councils that plan to declare a climate emergency committing to mobilisation of resources and those just passing motions to recognise the emergency.  The lists are as follows. Acknowledgement motions only are underlined.

Which council will be next?

Byron Shire has become the first NSW council to declare a climate emergency.

Cr Cate Coorey introduced the motion and referring to other Australian councils following Darebin's lead. The motion passed by the council on 18 October 2018 is as follows:
18-680 Resolved: 
1. That Council:
a) notes the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC);
b) notes the Federal government’s latest emissions data showing we are increasing, not reducing our carbon emissions;
c) declares that we are in a state of climate emergency that requires urgent action by all levels of government, including by local councils, and
d) acknowledges that Byron Shire is likely to be substantially affected by climate impacts, particularly sea level rise, bushfires, drought and floods.
2. That the recommendation be added to the Agenda of the upcoming Sustainable Emission Reduction Advisory Committee meeting for their input to convene a community-led Climate Emergency Guidance Group that provides a report as to how Council may assist;
3. That the Guidance Group develops a Shire-wide Community Climate Emergency Plan to further enhance resilience and reduce climate impacts in a timeframe that is as fast as practicably possible;
4. That Council, calls upon the State and Federal Governments to:
a) declare a climate emergency, and
b) to back this up with legislated programs to drive emergency action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and meet the lower of the Paris Agreements at 1.5%
5. That Council writes to the Member for Ballina, Tamara Smith, the Parliamentary Secretary for Northern NSW, Ben Franklin, the Member for Richmond, Justine Elliot, the NSW Environment Minister Gabrielle Upton and the Federal Environment Minister Melissa Price, advising them of Council’s resolution and urges them to acknowledge a climate emergency and to act with urgency to address the crisis.
6. That Council encourages neighbouring Local Government Areas to join with us by declaring a climate emergency, developing their own Climate Emergency Plans and advocating to State and Federal governments as per point (5).
​
The declaration is covered in the local paper here.

On 11-12 September 2018, Darebin Council hosted the world's first council-run climate emergency conference and perhaps even the world's first 'climate emergency' conference.  

The conference was an action from the Darebin's Climate Emergency Plan and part of the council's effort to educate the public and other councils on responding in the climate emergency.  

Over 200 attended both days, including many councillors from around the country.

Speakers included Darebin Mayor Kim Le Cerf, David Spratt, Paul Gilding, Philip Sutton. Day one  framed the emergency and the rationale of councils acting. 

Paul Gilding had this great article on the conference appearing in The Age. 

Attendees left fired up and on board with many announcing plans to start campaigns in their own local government areas. Moreland Council unanimously passed a climate emergency motion at the close of the conference. Details in the post below.

Materials from the conference will be provided here as they appear. The Conference Program is attached below.

At the Moreland Council meeting on 12 September 2018, Cr Dale Martin put up a climate emergency motion that was passed unanimously by council. The motion stated:

1. Council acknowledges we are in a state of climate emergency that requires urgent action by all levels of government, including local Councils.
2. Councillors receive a briefing from officers on how to best act on the ‘climate emergency’ acknowledgement and ensure this is embedded into future strategies and the next council action plan.
3. Council updates the Zero Carbon Evolution 2040 framework to embed the ‘climate emergency’ acknowledgement.
​
CACE met with councillors and been holding fortnightly meetings toward a Moreland climate emergency response. Thanks to Andrea Bunting of Climate Action Moreland, who gathered statements of support from councillors for the Climate Emergency Declaration!

Moreland is the fourth council in Australia to pass a motion recognising the climate emergency motion (along with Darebin and Yarra Vic, Vincent WA). However, Moreland is the second council to Darebin to committing to framing council work in the climate emergency. 

Councillor - Steph Amir  has used her bi-monthly column in her local ward community news letter to highlight Darebin Councils One of the first actions this council term.

"Council took after being elected was to declare a climate emergency. Until now, most Australian climate policies aimed to make modest reductions in carbon emissions while having the smallest possible impact on other areas of business or life. response to the Climate Emergency. 

Our climate emergency plan takes a different approach, acknowledging that we need to urgently make big changes to avoid catastrophic climate change. When an emergency strikes – like a bushfire, pandemic or a war – there’s no time to lose. It’s the same with our climate. We need rapid mobilisation of people and resources, together with huge shifts in how we create and use energy.

​But we can’t tackle this emergency alone. We need experts, community leaders, business leaders, and people from all three levels of government working together. Darebin’s climate emergency conference is coming up in September and it’s your chance to get involved in the climate emergency movement that started in Darebin and has already extended to places as near as Coburg and as far as California. One of the special guests is co-founder of Getup, Jeremy Heimans–it’ll be an event not to miss!"

Date:  Monday 30 July 
​Time: 6.30pm to 8.30pm
Location: Pachamama Wholefoods 74-78 Sydney Rd, Brunswick, Brunswick, Victoria 3056