In this issue: Welcome back; Feeling the heat; NQCC News in brief; Carmichael Mine; Contaminated dust deposition; Water issues; A GLOBAL agreement on climate change – Paris December 2015; Divestment – Westpac commitment, Market Forces ‘Burned’ Report; improved SuperSwitch; Decarbonisation – Inspiration for Action; Earth Hour; Townsville Against Live Export; Turning clicktivists into real-world activists; Diary Dates.

Welcome back
It seems crazy to be wishing people a happy new year when we are over a 10th of the way through 2016 – but we do hope that the year ahead will be a good one for you and yours.

Paperbark is a monthly e-letter of current NQCC activities, campaigns, news and events

The Paris agreement

The people marched, leaders and the world’s powerful converged on Paris, and an agreement was reached. Better than past outcomes? Definitely. Sufficient to address the problem? Unfortunately not.

As George Monbiot wrote in the Guardian, ‘… the Paris agreement is full of soft facts: promises that can slip or unravel. Until governments undertake to keep fossil fuels in the ground, they will continue to undermine the agreement they have just made.’

Photo: Greg Keating

An estimated 600+ people marched on a hot Saturday afternoon in Townsville to join over 2300 such groups in 150+ countries calling on global leaders to take strong and effective climate action.

A large crowd is anticipated to join in the Townsville People’s Climate March on the Strand on Saturday afternoon.

The Townsville march is one of over 2380 marches being held around the world over the weekend. The marches precede the beginning of the 21st United Nations Climate Summit (CPO21) in Paris next week.

Townsville and communities worldwide will call upon global leaders to commit to strong climate action, a rapid and just transition to clean, renewable energy, a safe climate and a better, safer and fairer future for all.