ABSTRACT
Chapter 5 (Engaging with the Australian Climate Movement) constitutes an auto-ethnography of my involvement as a climate justice activist in the Australian climate movement. I present accounts of my observations at selected climate rallies, climate action conferences, and meetings in Victoria, New South Wales, and South Australia, including the National Climate Emergency Summit in Melbourne in February 2020. This chapter also presents the life history of Rod Quantock, a renowned left-wing Australian comedian with over 50 years of experience in stand-up comedy, cabaret, theater, television, and radio. In seeking to unravel Rod’s emic or insider’s perspective in anthropological parlance, I discuss his views on capitalism and the culture of consumption, politicians and political parties, climate change, and changing the system. I return Rod’s views on climate action in Chapter 6, where we engage in a dialogical conversation about our respective views on catastrophic climate change and climate action.
