South Australian farmer David Bruer handed over the petition which attracted more than 40, 000 signatures in less than a week.
Brisbane Airport created international headlines when it banned a billboard with the words “Action on climate change is #onmyagenda please put it on yours” for being too political.
The billboard is part of a campaign to encourage people to tweet G20 leaders attending their annual conference amid tight security in the city on 15 and 16 November, asking them to include climate change as a stand-alone item on the G20 agenda.
WWF CEO Dermot O’Gorman said: “We wanted Brisbane Airport to know that people in the community believe we should be given a fair go and our billboard should appear at the arrivals terminal.
“If left unchecked climate change could cost trillions of dollars in damage and lost revenue. There’s still time for world leaders to take note and prioritise discussion on climate change at the Brisbane G20.
“By tweeting G20 leaders people can make their feelings known directly and in a peaceful way.
“The G20 countries are responsible for around 80% of global emissions and more than 80% of global economic activity,” Mr O’Gorman said.
Farmer David Bruer, who has been battling the impacts of climate change on his South Australian vineyard, said the issue must be discussed at the G20.
“Climate change is making it a lot harder for many farmers to make a living. But I really fear for the next generations. The world’s children and grandchildren will pay dearly if we don’t take stronger action,” said Mr Bruer.
“World leaders are meeting face to face and it will be a lost opportunity if they don’t talk climate change,” he said.
The public can go to www.onmyagenda.org to tweet G20 leaders.
