Global warming is real, and threatens Australia

As a continent that is already hot and dry, the implications for Australia are profound.

Climate action can’t be put off Penny Wong, The Australian , February 02, 2010 “………There is a simple fact from which we cannot hide: the world continues to get warmer.

Earlier this month, the Bureau of Meteorology released its 2009 annual climate statement. It found 2009 was the second hottest year in Australia on record and ended our hottest decade.

In Australia, each decade since the 1940s has been warmer than the last.This is not a flash in the pan. It continues the trend.

Globally, 14 of the 15 warmest years on record occurred between 1995 and 2009. As a continent that is already hot and dry, the implications for Australia are profound.And over coming months and years, as scientists continue to refine their analysis of what that trend means for sea levels, for access to water, for our food supply, so will the pressure continue to increase on the leaders of the world to respond………..

Australia is a long way from leading the pack in terms of our domestic action on climate change. Leading economies are taking serious steps to curb growth in their emissions.

Countries across the world, both developed and developing, are increasingly recognising the threat that climate change poses to them and the planet. China has become the biggest emitter, but has the largest installed renewable energy capacity in the world and aims to increase the share of non-fossil fuel energy to 15 per cent by 2020.

Climate action can’t be put off | The Australian