Some of the biggest names in tech and VC have penned an open letter to the government about climate change

A coalition of business, technology, venture capital and social impact leaders, led by Canva co-founder Cameron Adams, have written an open letter to the Morrison government calling on Canberra to stop investing in fossil fuels and abandon its “gas-led recovery”.

The letter seeks a renewable energy target of 100% by 2030, with Australia reaching net zero emissions just a decade later, 10 years earlier that the government’s preferred timeline.

More than 40 people have signed the open letter, posted on Medium, including partners in VC firms Airtree, Blackbird, Tractor and Folklore, as well as senior executives and founders from startups such as Buildkite, Vinomofo, Envato, Sendle and Carbar.

The letter, which calls on other business leaders to add their signature, is reprinted below:

Dear Mr. Morrison,

We write to you as a coalition of business, technology, and social impact leaders across Australia, hoping to open up an alternative path to the one that Australia is heading down. An alternative of hope, optimism and economic opportunity.

Today, the scientific consensus cannot be any clearer. Climate change is the single greatest threat to global stability, security and life on earth. Its effects are already being felt around the globe: sea levels are rising far ahead of projection, unprecedented bushfires only recently ravaged our own backyard and global temperatures are rising at an alarming rate.

But as innovators, leaders and business builders, we have experienced first-hand the opportunities that often lie in challenges. The solutions required to fight climate change and reduce our carbon emissions already exist, they’re also the future industries that will power Australia’s growth and development on the world stage. In fact, The Climate Council has predicted that Australia being powered by just 50% Renewable Electricity in 2030 will lead to the creation of more than 28,000 new jobs — nearly twice as many as a business as usual scenario.

This opportunity is one that we firmly embrace. With a carbon free future in mind, each of us has committed our organisations to being a catalyst for this change, and embracing the solutions that will help humanity combat climate change. We have all committed to:

• Powering our global operations through 100% renewable energy by 2030
• Net Zero operations by 2040
• Encouraging employees to voice their demand for swift and decisive action by attending the upcoming climate rallies across Australia

Each of those steps will be critical for all organisations to take, but in isolation they will not be enough to prevent the effects of climate change. To do that we need individuals, organisations and governments to step up and commit to legitimate action and effective timelines. Preventing a climate catastrophe is physically and scientifically possible, we just need policy to catch up. It is not too late for Australia to embrace the opportunities that this challenge brings and reap the benefits of leading the charge to climate positive solutions.

We call on you to immediately put in place policies that rapidly reduce Australia’s emissions and create the framework that will provide the foundations of our future growth. This is an appeal for you and your government to do the following:

• Immediately cease further investments in fossil fuels, and put a stop to the ‘gas-led recovery’
• Implement a renewable energy target of 100% by 2030
• Achieve a target of Australia Net Zero by 2040

This letter and thousands like it are being collected at http://towhomitshouldconcern.com. We encourage you to read each of them in order to properly understand the concerns of Australians like you and us, our children and the future generations who deserve a planet with a brighter future.

If you’re a business owner committed to doing your part to protect the planet — add your name to this letter here.

Sincerely,

Those signing the letter are:

Cameron Adams, Co-founder & CPO, Canva

Craig Blair, Co-founder & Managing Partner, Airtree

Daniel Petre AO, Co-founder & General Partner, Airtree

Tim Lucas, Co-founder & Co-CEO, Buildkite

Ronni Kahn AO, CEO & Founder, OzHarvest

Adam Jacoby, Director Global & Strategic Innovation, Swinburne University & Chairman MiVote

Hichame Assi, CEO, Envato

Alister Coleman, Founder & Managing Partner, Folklore

Rick Baker, Co-founder & Partner, Blackbird

Niki Scevak, Co-founder & Partner, Blackbird

Maxine Sherrin, Festival Director, Spark Festival

George Hedon, Founder & CEO, Pause Fest

Jon Tse, Co-founder & Co-CEO, Karst

Kevin Garcia, Co-founder & Co-CEO, Karst

Justin Dry, Co-founder and Chief Entrepreneur, Vinomofo

Phoebe Gardner, Co-founder & CEO, Beyond Ag

Alex Arnold, Co-founder & CTO, Beyond Ag

Michael Batko, CEO, Startmate

Adam Jacobs, Co-founder, Hatch

Lauren Peate, Founder and CEO, Multitudes

Dean McEvoy, Angel Investor & Advisor

Simon Ingram, Co-founder & Managing Director, Terrain Solar

Daniel Jarosch, Leaders for Climate Action

Dave Greiner, The Greiner Foundation

Martijn Wilder AM, Founding Partner, Pollination

Grant McDowell, Co-founder & CMO, Enosi

Matt Allen, CEO & Co-founder, Tractor Ventures

Markus Mutz, CEO & Co-founder, OpenSC

Prashan Paramanathan, Founder & CEO, Chuffed

Andre Eikmeier, Founder, Good Empire

Brad Parsons, CEO & Founder, MOVUS

Michael Fox, Co-founder & CEO, Fable Food Co

Vince Allen, Co-founder & CEO, SunDrive Solar

David Hu, Co-founder & COO, SunDrive Solar

Simon Griffiths, Co-founder & CEO, Who Gives A Crap

Sam Kroonenburg, CEO & Founder, A Cloud Guru

Alex Zaccaria, Co-founder & CEO, Linktree

Andrew Barnes, CEO & Co-founder, GO1

Matthew Byrne, Founder, Pure

Matt Fairhurst, Co-Founder & CEO, Skedulo

Iain Smale, Managing Director, Pangolin Associates

Eva Ross, Chief Marketing and Customer Officer, Sendle

Desmond Hang, CEO & Founder, Carbar

Sandra Byron, Co-founder & CEO, A Ton of Fun

Lili Sussman, Chief Strategy Officer, WISR