Losing a vote in Parliament last week has not stopped crossbench MPs from continuing their fight to have the government declare a climate emergency.
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A week after the government voted down the crossbench motion, MPs were back on Tuesday with a record-breaking petition containing 404,538 signatures.
Indi MP Helen Haines joined her colleagues in Canberra to support the petition, which called on the government "to immediately act and declare a climate emergency in Australia, and introduce legislation that will with immediacy and haste reduce the causes of anthropogenic climate change".
"I put it to the Australian Parliament - of which I am now a member - to get out of your corners, to come together, to act collaboratively and to do something real, effective and scientifically-proven to address the climate emergency," she said.
"I know that if we had acted 30 years ago, we would not be facing the emergency we're facing today and there's no sector more vulnerable than the agriculture sector.
"There are no Australians more vulnerable right now than the people of rural and regional Australia, who are facing unprecedented drought and whose agricultural enterprises are now at extraordinary risk."
The petition was started by 23-year-old Sydney man Noah Bell, who joined the MPs in Parliament on Tuesday.
"It's fantastic he's stepped forward and brought over 404,000 Australian people with him," Dr Haines said.
"We should never underestimate the voices of the people and a petition is a traditional means of bringing the voices to Parliament, in this case in a modern way with an e-petition, which is now record breaking."
The responsibility fell to Warringah independent MP Zali Steggall to introduce the petition to the House of Representatives.
"This is a demonstration of grassroots action," she said.
"We have a duty to the Australian people that goes beyond partisan allegiance.
"It is time for us all to be accountable - let's listen to the people and take meaningful action on climate change."
But the Coalition has insisted it is taking the right approach to climate change.
Trade, Tourism and Investment Minister Simon Birmingham told Sky News he was "not going to be drawn into some distraction over the theatrics of parliamentary motions, when what's more important is delivering on a climate solutions fund".
The climate change e-petition is likely to end up on the desk of Farrer MP Sussan Ley in her role as Environment Minister. She already provided responses on Monday to two other petitions related to the issue.
One asked the government to "ban the use of unsustainable resources and introduce sustainable eco-friendly resources" and the other demanded it stop trying to control the weather and curb global warming.
In response, Ms Ley said the government took its advice from the CSIRO and other scientific organisations, which "found that the earth's climate is changing and humans are primarily responsible".
"The government has a comprehensive set of policies to meet our emissions reduction commitments, encourage innovation and expand the clean energy sector," she said.
"Under the Paris agreement, the government has committed to reducing emissions by 26 to 28 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.
"While Australia is only responsible for 1.3 per cent of global emissions, countries that each produce under two per cent of the world's emissions together account for around 40 per cent of global emissions.
"Our national target is achievable, balanced and responsible, and is part of coordinated global action to deliver a healthy environment for future generations, while keeping our economy strong."
