About 100 people gathered on Warrnambool's Civic Green on Saturday to call on the Victorian State Government to extend the moratorium on onshore gas drilling by another five years.
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The small but passionate crowd listened to speeches from Deakin University academics Dr John Sherwood and Professor James Dunbar, along with Kylie Gaston about the city council's response to the climate emergency, and Jemila Rushton from Friends of the Earth.
Professor James Dunbar said it was important to consider what was being left for future generations when using fossil fuels.
"I think about my grandchildren, the world won't be inhabitable for them if we don't act very soon," he said.
"My 10-year-old grandson was asked to draw an animal and the effect of climate change in class.
"He drew a dead eagle and said it died because it couldn't breathe the air.
"If a 10 year old can understand the problem it's time we did something about it."
The inaugural director of the Deakin University Department of Rural Health, Professor Dunbar, said climate change was already having an effect on health.
"Increased heat is leading to heat exhaustion and heat stroke already, heart attacks, strokes and respiratory problems are all going up because of the pollution.
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"Social dislocation, like we have seen after the bushfires, mental health problems, asthma, infectious diseases, shorter life spans, everything is starting to go wrong.
"Climate change is here.
"Individual decisions are important, but the changes have to happen with a system wide thing. What the Warrnambool council does, the state and federal government and international collaborations, that's where the changes need to happen."
Friends of the Earths' Jemila Rushton said more people needed to get in touch with all politicians to let them know the drilling moratorium needs to stay in place.
"Let them know the issue is on the community radar," she said.
"When the Andrews government brought in the state's renewable energy target, the renewable energy sector started growing and growing and we have seen investment in that in south-west Victoria.
"We need to support the industries who are supporting the transition away from fossil fuels."
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