The Albanese government's decision on Australia's 2035 climate pollution reduction target is looming.
It should be a straightforward choice: protect people or protect big polluters.
In just the past year, we have endured punishing heatwaves, back-to-back floods in Queensland and NSW, drought across parts of South Australia and Victoria, toxic algal blooms killing marine life, and freak storms leaving devastation in their wake.
These are no longer "one-off" events. Because of worsening climate change - caused by burning coal, oil and gas - these events are the new normal, coming harder and faster, and they are already reshaping how and where we live.
The toll on people and communities - particularly those experiencing marginalisation and disadvantage - is catastrophic.
People lose homes. Older people and those with chronic illnesses are pushed to the brink in relentless heat.
Regional and coastal towns face soaring insurance premiums, with some areas slipping towards being uninsurable.
For many, a single climate disaster is enough to condemn them to poverty. And it's not just physical damage. The mental health burden is immense.
Communities reeling from back-to-back disasters are living with anxiety, trauma and uncertainty about the future.
Younger people in particular carry the weight of knowing that, unless action is taken, their generation will face an even harsher climate than today.
This is why the Albanese government's decision this month on Australia's 2035 climate pollution reduction target matters so deeply.
It is not an abstract conversation about numbers on a page - it is a decision about how much harm we are willing to allow to happen to people and the planet.
The science is clear. To limit global heating to 1.5 degrees - the threshold that gives us a fighting chance of avoiding irreversible damage - Australia's fair share as a wealthy country is net zero by 2035 (100 per cent).
This is the target the community sector has urged Australia to adopt. Our community sector represents people most at risk, supporting people through repeated devastation.
We see up close every day how serious the impacts of climate change are now. We no longer have time to waste.
The Climate Change Authority has been tasked with giving the federal government advice.
Scientists, environment and community groups have advised the CCA that we need a 2035 target much higher than their draft 65-75 per cent range if we are to reduce harm to people.
Independent researchers ClimateWorks found 85 per cent reduction was achievable with existing technologies. Deloitte Economics found that a 75 per cent target would provide a $370 billion boost to Australia's GDP and leave Australia almost half a trillion dollars better off by 2050 compared to a weaker target.
More than 500 investors and businesses have backed a target of at least 75 per cent.
At this point, anything less than 75 per cent is untenable. A 2035 target lower than 75 per cent would lock in more disasters, more deaths, more burden and more inequality.
It would leave the cost of climate change on people least able to bear it, while coal, oil and gas corporations pocket billions.
A strong 2035 target, backed by credible policies, would set Australia on a path to a safer, fairer future.
It would accelerate the shift to clean energy, cut household power bills, reduce our reliance on volatile fossil fuel markets, and create new jobs in renewable industries, clean manufacturing and community-led projects.
It would strengthen building standards so homes are safer in heatwaves and storms, and ensure that all people - not just those who can afford solar panels or electric vehicles - benefit from the transition.
The costs of inaction are already all around us - measured in lives lost, homes destroyed, and communities shattered.
The benefits of ambitious action are equally clear: cheaper energy, new industries, healthier people, and a safer climate.
Ambitious action must go hand-in-hand with support to ensure those most at risk are protected and included in the transition.
The question is no longer whether we can afford bold action. It is whether we can afford the cost of doing too little, too late.
Setting a strong 2035 target - aligned with science, not with the interests of polluting coal and gas - would provide certainty and confidence for investors, workers, and communities that we are on a clear path together, determined to deliver a future that gives our children hope instead of despair.