Politics

Russell Crowe Neatly Summarised What We Need To Do To Address Climate Change

"Ultimately there's only one way to mitigate climate change and that is to step away from all fossil fuels on a rapid timeline and convert the entire country and economy to renewable forms of energy."

by Rachael Conaghan  17 February 2020
russell crowe climate change

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Want to see a video of Russell Crowe once again subtweeting the Australian government?

Of course you do.

Yesterday the legendary actor released a video for Fire Fight Australia talking about our bushfire crisis and the impact of climate change. You never know, maybe all those people who are wilfully ignoring the science will be more willing to listen to the Gladiator — at this point, it’s worth a shot.

In the video Rusty acknowledges that science is ever-evolving, but there are certain things that we can all agree on — like the fact that humans are having a measurable, negative impact on the planet mostly because of our giant love affair with coal, oil and gas.

“Ultimately there’s only one way to mitigate climate change and that is to step away from all fossil fuels on a rapid timeline and convert the entire country and economy to renewable forms of energy,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter at all how many people engage in the decarbonisation of their lives individually.

“If we don’t erase fossil fuel use as a society, then the extremes in our weather will just continue to increase. We need to focus on big decisions, on core problems, and put the planet and people above politics.”

So, while it’s great that pubs are banning plastic straws and more people are taking the bus instead of the car, without a wider structural change it won’t make enough of a difference to limit global warming.

Of course, not everyone wants to hear that message.

Russell Crower recorded the video for the Fire Fight Australia charity concert which aired last night, raising more than $9 million for bushfire relief.

“Everything I’ve said here can be backed up and confirmed by our brightest scientific minds, just ask them. Our taxes have already paid for their bloody education, it’s time to utilise that knowledge,” he said.