This week, world leaders are gathering for an emergency United Nations Climate Summit in New York City. Australia’s Prime Minister is in the United States at the same time, but infuriatingly, he can’t be bothered #ShowingUp to this critical summit. This is unacceptable and doesn’t represent the fierce, overwhelming enthusiasm that Australians have for strong climate action, as we demonstrated on Friday with our biggest ever climate mobilisation – a massive 350,000 people in the streets in over 100 cities and towns.

By Glen Klatovsky, 350 Australia Campaigns Strategist You may know that Australia has a national wealth fund – our ‘Future Fund’ – of over $200 billion that is invested globally for the benefit of future generations of Australians. This collective wealth is designed to work for us. But currently, our Future Fund is caught up in the industries we have long known are putting our survival at stake – fossil fuel industries that extract and burn coal, oil, and gas and are rapidly pushing us to climate catastrophe.

By Lucy Manne, 350 Australia CEO Never seen before. That is how experts are describing the intensity and scale of bushfires we are witnessing in Queensland and New South Wales these first weeks of spring, which marks the worst start to Australia’s fire season in recorded history [1]. It is a shock to witness hundreds of Australians gathered in evacuation shelters, while crews battle over 100 fires just one week after the end of winter.

We’re two weeks away from what is shaping up to be the biggest climate mobilisation we’ve ever seen. But these next two weeks will mean the difference between it turning out to be another climate rally, or one of the most enormous, fiery, impossible to ignore moments that Australia – and the world – has seen.

350.org co-founder, Bill McKibben, wrote these reflections in June to introduce the Great Transition Initiative Forum. We are gratefully republishing Bill’s words with permission from The Great Transition Initiative, and encourage you to learn more about their work here. What Is the Climate Movement’s State of Play? I came to climate activism gradually.