60 school students gather on the lawn in front of Parliament House in Canberra.
Holding handwritten heart-shaped letters, they're after more action from Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on climate change.
Anthony Parisi is one of the students hoping other nations' delegates will pressure the Australian Government to change its emissions target at the upcoming Climate Change Conference in Paris.
"Because there are countries around the world that do believe in climate change and know the effects that are happening and I think Australia can learn from that, definitely."
Former Prime Minister Abbott wasn't going to attend the COP21 summit in Paris.
He was planning instead to leave it to his Environment Minister Greg Hunt and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.
But the leadership has changed - and so too has the approach.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will be in Paris planning to work with other leaders to reach an agreement on curbing emissions.
"I've just been to the G20 and to Apec and also the east asia summit but at the g20 where you had the 20 largest economies naturally climate change was a bit issue. The views around the table were as close to unanimous as you could imagine everyone is committed to acheiving a good outcome in Paris."
For months Greg Hunt has driven and defended the government's policy: an emissions reduction pledge of 26 to 28 per cent by 2030 based on 2005 levels.
"At the end of the day we're going to meet our targets and we're going to go to Paris and achieve a global agreement."
Australia has among the highest emissions per person in the world - higher even than the United States and dwarfing those of China and India.
Helen Szoke, the CEO of aid agency Oxfam Australia, says the federal government has an obligation to help its nearest neighbours in the Pacific who are suffering the direct impacts of climate change.
"Oxfam doesn't think that the current target that Australia is taking to Paris is reflecting the sort of ambition that is necessary to address the immediate needs of some of our neighbours in the pacific for example."
Oxfam isn't hopeful the target will change but wants provisions agreed to that allow it to be revised sooner rather than later.
"Ratchet up provisions so that there is a review and it's possible for countries to revise their targets within a reasonably short time frame, we're hoping that they will increase the amount of financing that goes into the green climate fund."
Days before heading off to Paris the government's released figures from the Environment Department showing Australia's already met its 2020 greenhouse emissions target.
But the figures also show emission reductions from previous years can be carried over, and this has been derided by Labor's environment spokesman, Mark Butler
"And that surplus was achieved because of the land-clearing restrictions that were put in place by the Peter Beattie and Anna Bligh Labor governments (in Queensland)."
The Greens' environment spokeswoman, Larissa Waters, agrees with Labor that the government is misrepresenting the figures.
"To now seek to twiddle the figures and use accounting to try and fool the rest of the world that Australia's doing anywhere near its fair share doesn't fool anyone."
Labor's pledging to aim to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 45 per cent of 2005 levels by 2030.
Mr Shorten says under a Labor Government there will be zero net emissions by 2050.
Government ministers say such a target would lead to higher electricity prices.
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