The ACT's Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister and Greens leader has joined an expedition to Antarctica, which includes more than 100 experts and leaders focused on documenting the effects of climate change and alerting the planet to the need for faster action.
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Shane Rattenbury said he had been invited because the expedition's organisers - Ocean Geographic - had seen Canberra as a leader in climate action
"The purpose of the expedition is to really highlight the need for urgent climate action by documenting the impacts that climate change is having in the Antarctic," Mr Rattenbury told The Canberra Times from his cabin aboard the ship.
"And also to highlight what will happen if the Antarctic does melt in the way that some scientists fear it might - really highlighting this last wilderness on earth is an integral part of the climate story."
Mr Rattenbury said the ACT was in many ways at the forefront of global climate action and his invite reflected the city's growing reputation for climate action.
"Hopefully we can also, through telling our story of how we've been able to make progress, inspire others to lift their ambition also," he said.
The expedition includes scientific work to sample microplastics and to survey whales and penguin colonies.
"The other side of it is there's a series of resolutions being put together - policy actions that people can take - and the intent is that they are workshopped while we're on board with all of the experts that are here and then published," Mr Rattenbury said.
The trip is Mr Rattenbury's second to Antarctica. Seventeen years ago, he led a Greenpeace expedition to disrupt Japanese whalers.
"We took two ships down there and spent a bit over 10 weeks at sea taking on the Japanese whaling fleet, essentially seeking to put ourselves between the whales and the harpoon and prevent the whales being slaughtered in the southern ocean," he said.
"It was a really different experience. And, you know, in some ways a really tough expedition that time, because obviously seeing whales being harpooned up close is something really difficult to watch."
Mr Rattenbury said the crew on this latest voyage had already remarked they had seen changes in the weather in their lifetimes. Experiences like this showed taking action on climate change was no longer something solely for future generations but mattered in the lifetimes of those alive now, he said.
The Greens leader, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2008, acknowledged most people would never get the opportunity to visit Antarctica.
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"But hopefully through being here and documenting the reality of it - showing the beauty of Antarctica but also the consequences of inaction on climate change - we can inspire people. ... And hopefully that will encourage people to take further steps, whether it's in their personal lives or in lobbying governments to speed up action on climate change," he said.
Other members of the expedition team include climate activists, scientists, medical professionals and others. The expedition is led by Sylvia Earle, an oceanographer and leading marine conservationist.
Mr Rattenbury said he hoped to bring back to the ACT the lessons from specialist experts on further climate action the territory could take, including in areas like measuring the effects of indirect emissions.
Mr Rattenbury's trip has not been funded by the government and the voyage is run by a carbon-neutral operator.
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Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
