Antinuclear

Urgent threat of Climate Change to Western Australia

Report: Act now on climate to save WA  TV Channel 9 News, 16 Aug 11, A report by the Climate Commission has predicted up to 28,900 coastal homes in Perth and Western Australia’s southwest will be flooded by the end of the century due to rising sea levels.

The Climate Commission will release a report on Tuesday titled The Critical Decade: Western Australian Climate Change Impacts. The report forecasts sea levels on WA’s coast will continue to rise at double the global average, impacting significantly on WA’s coastal infrastructure and eroding the state’s iconic beaches…….

WA’s declining rainfall and higher temperatures are also expected to have serious implications on agriculture and urban water supplies in the southwest, the report reveals. Climate Commissioner and author of the report, Professor Will Steffen, says WA’s economy, coastal infrastructure, biodiversity, mining infrastructure, agriculture and tourism industries are all vulnerable to the impacts of a changing climate.

“We are more certain of the climate change risks for water resources for southwestern WA than any other part of Australia,” he said….   Professor Steffen said the risks had never been clearer, which meant action had never been more immediately necessary.

“This is the critical decade. The decisions we make this decade will determine the severity of climate change impacts our children and grandchildren suffer,” he said…. http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8286068/report-act-now-on-climate-to-save-wa

August 16, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | climate change - global warming, Western Australia | climate change - global warming