Australians bury heads in sand - Hundreds of Australian climate change protesters have buried their heads in the sand at the country's Bondo Beach on Thursday.
The group says their eccentric protest was meant to send a message to the Aussie PM Tony Abbott and G20 leaders ahead of the 2014 summit scheduled for Nov. 15-16 in Brisbane, Queensland.
Over 300 Australian protesters converged at the beach for the event dubbed 'Bondo Salutes G20.' The Australians bury heads in sand was meant to mock the government's disinclination to discuss the issue of climate change at the upcoming G20 summit.
The protesters are reported to have dug holes at the popular beach, and buried their heads in the sand for several minutes.
"We want to tell world leaders coming for the G20 that Tony Abbott does not represent the view of most Australians who want to see urgent and global action on climate change, and for Australia to contribute a meaningful share towards reducing global emissions," Eden Tehan, one of the protesters said.
Australia became the first nation in the world to reverse a climate change decree in July. Aussie Senators voted to approve the dissolution of a controversial carbon emission tax earlier in the year. The policy had been in place for just two years prior to the Aussie leadership's change of heart, which many blame PM Abbott for masterminding.
The carbon emission law has since been up for debate in Australia. Many critics say it unfairly targets big businesses.
Australia is ranked the 12th largest economy in the world and has of the highest per capita fossil fuel emissions in the industrialized world.
"Obama's on board, Xi Jinping's on board, everyone's on board expect one man," says Pat Norman, an activist participating in the protest that saw Australians bury heads in sand, said. He said PM Abbott's stance and unwillingness to deal with the issues of climate change was heightened following Wednesday's agreement that was signed between the U.S. and China.
Australians bury their heads in sands to protest as increasing pressure is mounting on PM Abbott to make real commitment to deal with the problematic issue of climate change.
