How to write to an MP on climate change

This guide is provided by Climate Writers.

We are a grassroots movement turning everyday Australians into lifelong climate advocates. What began as casual living room gatherings has grown into a 200+ strong community that has sent 500+ personalised climate action letters, met with dozens of MPs, and contributed to a policy paper presented to the NSW Minister.

❓Why write to MPs?

Politicians are the decision-makers of our country. They enact policies that lead to systemic change. E.g The banning of single use plastics means that you don’t have to rely on convincing your friends to use their tote bags at Woolies, but that businesses are forced to think about their packaging and supply chain. This allows for top-down sweeping change that allows us to meet emissions reductions targets faster.
Our Federal government has only committed to a 43% reduction in emissions by 2030. According to the IPCC report written by scientists, this should be a 75% reduction in order to meet our Paris Agreement of staying below 1.5C warming. To close this gap, we must urge politicians to raise their climate commitments.
Personalised emails go a long way. Sharing your personal story is more powerful than using a copy/paste letter writing template. When we met with MP Chris Bowen (Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy), he said that he doesn’t read website generated templates, but rather personal stories that demonstrate that someone has taken the time to write to him.
1 letter represents ~20 letters. If one person is bothered to write to a politician, then ~19 other people are also concerned about the issue, but haven’t been able to write. This was something that we found out from previous staffers for MPs. Even if you don’t hear back, they will make a tally! And don’t be afraid to follow up.

🌱 Pick a topic:

Want some inspo on writing your email? View examples here (observe the structure only as the content might be outdated)
🗳️🌏 [Email] Tell my MP that climate is a top issue for me this election
📡 🗳️ [Letter to the editor] Get published in a local paper to bring the public and MPs on board with climate change

📝 Want to write about something else?

Explore resources on Climate for Change‘s website. Click on one of the images to learn more.

🙌 Hot tip: Do it with friends!

It’s more fun doing it together.

Based on Gadigal land / Sydney? Join our next monthly Climate Writers session in Redfern.
Not based on Gadigal land / Sydney? Bring together friends and write letters from your home / cafe / pub / library using one of the above topics. Contact [email protected] for tips and resources.