Emma Thompson slams Tony Abbott’s climate change policy

By MiNDFOOD

Emma Thompson slams Tony Abbott’s climate change policy
Oscar winning actress travels through the arctic onboard a Greenpeace ship to send world leaders a climate change message

Oscar winning British actress Emma Thompson has slammed Tony Abbott for failing to act on climate change while travelling through the Arctic as part of a Greenpeace campaign, alongside her 14 year-old daughter.

Thompson was photographed holding a sign that said “Tony Abbott climate change is REAL I’m standing on it”, as she visited the Smeerenburg glacier, east of Greeland.

A second photograph was also taken, featuring the actress holding a sign with the words “Where I stand should be ice”.

Thompson, her daughter and a team of others are making their way through the arctic on board the Greenpeace ship, Esperanza, visiting retreating glaciers.

The campaign hopes to draw attention to the impact of climate change according to Greenpeace’s program director Ben Pearson.

Speaking from the deck of the ship Thompson said “’We’re told that it is all our fault, global warming — we want the fuel, we want our cars, and that the oil industry is merely responding to the needs of a greedy public. But that’s simply not fair. Most of us want to live cleaner lives, but our governments don’t make these things easily available.”

Thompson is encouraging those concerned about climate change to pressure governments to make a difference “We need governments to stand up to the dirty industries that have for so long funded and controlled them and to give us all an affordable chance to live our lives in a more sustainable way.”

Tony Abbott wasn’t the only leader Thompson had her sights on , other prominent figures such as Mr Putin and President Obama were also being called upon for help.

However, Tony Abbott was specifically targeted by Thompson who wanted to highlight the international belief at the dismantling of Australia’s climate change policy.

‘Tony Abbott is leading a government which is the first in the world to actually repeal a carbon price and that’s outrageous. We are already seeing the impact of climate change and the dismantling of climate change laws is completely unjustifiable,’ Mr Pearson said. “Emma is expressing the outrage that many people feel about that.”

The actress has received messages from all over the world including from celebrities such as Tom Hanks, Russell Crow & Gwyneth Paltrow who have taken to Twitter to pledge their support.

Greenpeace’s global campaign hopes to secure a ban on dangerous oil drilling and industrial fishing in the Arctic, as well as the creation of a protected sanctuary in the international waters around the North Pole.

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