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Doing What Matters

 COP27 is the United Nations Conference on Climate Change held in Egypt this year started on 6 November. This year's conference focuses on the theme 'Together for Implementation'.

Recent UN reports show that current national climate commitments will limit warming to 2.5 to 2.8C missing the 1.5C target world leaders have agreed to. 

Speaker after speaker are urging the world to move from nice ideas to real action hence the theme Together for Implementation. 

There was a very inspiring speech by youth climate activist Leah Namugerwa where she called on the world to "live by the rule of nature, live for others. Trees do not eat their own fruits and rivers do not drink their own water."

UN Secretary General António Guterres said “cooperate or perish”. 

I can’t believe how often Al Gore, my climate superhero, has to warn the world and yet we still do nothing. In his speech he said our current level of emissions is like heating the world with 600 000 Hiroshima style bombs everyday. 

It is important when it comes to climate that the world starts doing what matters. 

In the state that I live, Victoria, Australia, we are about to have an election. The party I support, Labor, has copped a lot of criticism due to its Covid response and the amount of lockdowns that occurred. What I want people to remember before they vote on 26 November is that true leaders have to make hard decisions to save lives. I believe all of Australia’s current leaders, including Dan Andrews, are true leaders. 

Another important part of doing what matters is putting your community first. I have seen too much individualism take over the world. In Australia, union membership has dropped to an all time low of 14 percent. Is it any wonder then why we have a massive wage growth problem? Workers need to stick together and improve the state of the union. 

Even local sporting clubs have trouble keeping local players. There was a time when if you lived in Lara you played for Lara and you were proud to. 

Another symptom of this individualist problem is declining membership of local churches. 

We need to increase people's participation in faith groups, political organisations, unions, and sporting clubs. The only way we can fix the problems of the world is to bring back a strong community spirit. A community spirit that is committed to doing what matters. 



Earth's Black Box


It is certain to be a catastrophic crash when Earth now has its own black box;

Sand storms silence the ticking of the clocks.

An empty wheelchair rolls down the main road.

Was its passenger lost when the world no longer snowed?


The world is covered in a mudslide; 

We can no longer hide the effects of fossil fuels that are so cruel.

Listen to the African girl who teaches us the rule of nature and live for others

Heed her warning before Earth shudders.


Trees do not eat their own fruit, rivers do not drink their own water.

We must take climate action now for someone else’s daughter. 

Mother Earth will soon have to consider kicking us out of the planet and changing the locks

Before the extinction of humanity has to be recorded on Earth's black box. 



Chris Van Ingen | 10 November 2022








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