This is an exciting time for climate change campaigning in Australia.

But while recent events have meant tackling climate change is firmly back on the government’s agenda – this does not guarantee action.

Send a clear message to our new Minister for Climate Change, Greg Combet, that the government’s renewed mandate for climate action must not be squandered.

The new Parliament meets for the first time in Canberra this week. In contrast to where we were just two months ago, the make-up of this Parliament appears set to allow real progress on tackling climate change. And this is just as well, with increasing pressure from business leaders, including some from the mining sector, calling for action on climate change via a price on carbon.

There is increasing pressure internationally too. China is now one of the world’s leading investors in renewable energy – investing 35 times more than Australia in 2009. Australia’s inaction means that we are currently trailing the rest of the world in climate change policy and are at risk of being left behind if we don’t act soon.

The benefits of action on climate change are well established. It is not simply our environment that will benefit, but also our economy, health, jobs and security. By investing in, and sharing, new green technologies we can also support developing countries to tackle poverty and develop along low carbon pathways.

Next week representatives of the Australian government will travel to China for the next round of United Nations climate negotiation.