Australia, especially indigenous Australia, vulnerable to climate change extremes
Australia shouldn’t be waiting for more evidence of climate change impacts,such as floods, fires and cyclones.
She says while adaptions can be made by future governments, there should be recognition now of the magnitude of the challenge and of the need to act.
AUDIO: New climate change warnings for Australia http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2013/10/15/new-climate-change-warnings-australia A leaked draft report by the IPCC outlines a sobering set of climate change challenges faced by Australia. By Ildi Amon (Transcript from World News Australia Radio)
In a report last month, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded it was more certain than ever that humans were responsible for global warming.That report focused mainly on the science of climate change, rather than on what to do about it.
Now, the Panel is working on a report on climate change impacts, vulnerabilities and adaptation, due for release in March.
And, as Ildi Amon reports, a leaked draft of that report by the Panel outlines a sobering set of challenges faced by Australia.According to the leaked draft report, climate change will present Australia with significant heat stress, extreme weather events, and a higher rate of disease in the coming decades.
It says there is high agreement among scientists that Indigenous Australians will face disproportionate harm from climate change. Continue reading
Australia becoming an international pariah of science denialism?
Australian Environmental Politics in Denial http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/46514 Daniel Yeow, Worldwatch Institute, October 7, 2013 We interpret everything according to our own experiences. With that in mind, it would seem somewhat surprising that in Australia, of all places, a startlingly high number of people still deny climate change. Most Australians do believe in it, but in a country that no longer has a science minister, the newly-elected conservative government is populated by “leaders” who believe that it is some kind of conspiracy.The media that the average Australian consumes is overwhelmingly populated by sources which are owned by people of a highly conservative and libertarian belief. Libertarianism—the belief that people should be free to do as they wish so long as they do not impinge on the freedom of others, is a decidedly human-centric philosophy and as such, large-scale environmental problems are generally not well-handled. In the minds of people like Rupert Murdoch, among others, environmental regulations are an unnecessary burden on people’s freedom, and even if you don’t really believe that, if that’s what you read in the newspaper every day, then that’s what you will be led to believe. Continue reading
Local Councils and ratepayers may be interested in contributing to Climate Council
Ratepayers may pay for Tim Flannery Climate Council JOHN MASANAUSKAS HERALD SUN OCTOBER 08, 2013 COUNCILS may volunteer their ratepayers’ money to help prop up a climate advisory group axed by the Abbott Government.Some local councils are considering whether to donate to the new Climate Council, led by controversial scientist Professor Tim Flannery.
Prof Flannery was formerly in charge of the federal Climate Commission, which was relaunched as the Climate Council after the new Government abolished it. The Council is being funded through public donations; about $1 million has been raised so far.
The inner city Yarra Council will vote on Tuesday night on a motion to donate funds and join the Climate Council as a “founding friend”.Greens councillor Amanda Stone, who is putting the motion, said it would be up to councillors to decide if and how much to donate.
“Given that Yarra Council is a leader in addressing climate change at the local level it’s highly appropriate that we express support in a symbolic perhaps more than in a very concrete way,” she said. “I wouldn’t imagine it would be a huge amount.”…….
Cr Stone said she understood that a similar motion to go before Moreland Council had suggested a $1000 donation.
“Given that the vast majority of climate scientists are agreed on the science and the implications for people on this planet, it’s absolutely vital that there’s an independent source of accurate information there for people to access,” she said.
Cr Stone said she was confident Yarra ratepayers would support the gesture as there was strong support for the council’s policies on sustainability and climate change……….Yarra claims to be the first Victorian council to achieve carbon neutrality. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/ratepayers-may-pay-for-tim-flannery-climate-council/story-fni0fiyv-1226734337554
Public support for new Climate Council reaches $1 million
Climate Council, which replaced the axed Climate Commission, reaches $1 million funding target http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-05/climate-council-has-sufficient-funding-to-operate-for-a-year/5000822 6 Oct 2013, The newly formed Climate Council’s appeal for public support has seen it raise its minimum annual operating budget – reaching a target of $1 million.
The council was formed by the team who ran the Commonwealth-funded Climate Commission, which was axed by the Coalition Government.Professor Tim Flannery relaunched the commission as the Climate Council – an independent, crowd-funded organisation to provide quality information to the Australian public.
Climate Council CEO Amanda McKenzie says the organisation now has the minimum amount needed to continue for 12 more months.
“This means that we can start employing researchers… by the public getting behind it,” she said. She says reaching the $1 million mark through crowd-funding in such a short period of time proves it is a service that is still wanted and needed.
“Australians are concerned about climate change, they want to see something done, so getting that independent scientific information is really important,” she said. Professor Flannery said donations started rolling in from September 24. “We had our first donation from James in New South Wales for $15 at midnight,” he said at the time.”We’ve been raising $1,000 an hour… through the night.” By Tuesday afternoon 7,200 people had donated $218,000.
Professor Flannery says the council’s purpose is to provide independent information on the science of climate change.
“We have simply one goal and one objective and we always have, which is to take the science, the economics of climate change and what’s happening internationally in terms of action and present it in a clear and understandable and authoritative way to the Australian public,” he said.
The impact of climate change on Australia
Australia has ‘much to lose’ from climate change SMH, September 28, 2013 Nick Miller and Nicole Hasham Australia has much to lose if climate change continues unabated, the head of a new review of climate science has warned.
Dr Qin Dahe, a glaciologist and respected Chinese academician, was co-chair of the working group that wrote the fifth major assessment of climate science for the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, released on Friday. In an exclusive interview with Fairfax, he urged Australia not to think of itself as a small, unimportant player in climate change.
The Chinese government is very aware of the risks of a more extreme monsoon climate on its food supply, the economy and society.“Even if the climate changes slightly that would lead to very catastrophic consequences to China,” he said. “That is why the Chinese government attaches great importance to climate change, including its physical science basis.”
Australia, though smaller in population, has a land mass comparable to China and its population is concentrated along coastlines – “sea level rises pose a hazardous impact to cities such as Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane,” he said. Climate change could disrupt farming. And the frequency of bushfires is indirectly linked to climate change…… http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/australia-has-much-to-lose-from-climate-change-20130928-2ukez.html#ixzz2gPQPMyYk
Never mind the latest climate change report, the Abbott government will dismantle carbon pricing
The Climate Institute said the government should retain the current carbon laws until it can demonstrate through independent analysis that its policy can achieve emission reductions of up to 25 per cent by 2020.
The Australian Conservation Foundation said the IPCC report finds Australia could get hotter and this should be acknowledged when parliament resumes in October or November.
“In the first week of Parliament, we urge all politicians to treat climate change as a serious threat needing serious action, and not a device for cheap political point scoring,” the ACF said.
Abbott govt keen to repeal carbon tax http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/abbott-govt-keen-to-repeal-carbon-tax/story-fni0xqi4-1226728812968 AAP SEPTEMBER 27, THE federal government says it will push ahead with plans to dismantle Australia’s carbon pricing mechanism despite a key report on climate change declaring it “extremely likely” that human activity was the dominant cause of global warming.
That’s the strongest statement so far from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which said on Friday a human footprint could be found in the warming of the atmosphere and oceans, rising sea levels, melting snow and ice, and changes in some climate extremes.
Environment Minister Greg Hunt said the coalition government would go ahead with repealing the market-based carbon-pricing mechanism set up by the former Labor government despite some calls for a rethink. Continue reading
Climate action hope for Australia: the new Climate Council
Out Of The Ashes : The Climate Council http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3958 26 Sept 13 The former Climate Commissioners may have had their funding cut; but they intend continuing the battle to inform the public under a new community-funded body – The Climate Council.
The Climate Commission was established in 2011 to provide all Australians with an independent and reliable source of information about the science of climate change.
Another casualty of the Abbott government’s seeming war on renewable energy and the environment, the Climate Commission was abolished last Thursday. More than two years of important work was ended in a phone call made by the new Environment Minister, Greg Hunt to the Commission’s head; Professor Tim Flannery – who was also Australian of the Year in 2007.
But a phoenix has arisen from the ashes after an outpouring of support and offers of donations from the public to maintain the crucial work.
An Update from the Climate Council
“People want us to keep going, they told me they need the information that we provide,” said Professor Flannery. “Without an informed public, we’re unlikely to make the decisions that will safeguard our future against truly dangerous climate change. So we’re going to keep going.”
All the former Climate Commissioners are supporting the Climate Council initiative – Professor Flannery, Professor Will Steffen, Roger Beale, Gerry Hueston, Professor Lesley Hughes and Professor Veena Sahajwalla.
“Information is the currency of democracy, and Australians deserve to have independent information on the state of our climate,” states the Climate Council’s web site.
The body will be “fiercely independent and apolitical” and will continue to provide journalists and the public with authoritative reports; starting with the soon to be released international climate science update. The Climate Council has already received seed funding and is seeking additional funding from the public. Donations can be made securely via this page.
Australia’s Climate Commission is dead. Long live Australia’s Climate Council!
The decision to axe the commission has delighted climate sceptic opponents of Flannery but has horrified several academics, who have raised concerns that the government isn’t interested in providing the public with independent, credible information on climate change.
Axed Climate Commission to be resurrected as Climate Council Tim Flannery says new body will be privately funded thanks to ‘overwhelming’ support of Australian public Oliver Milman theguardian.com, Tuesday 24 September 2013 The Climate Commission has been resurrected just days after its highly controversial axing by the Coalition government as a new, privately funded body called the Climate Council, after being “overwhelmed” by support from the Australian public.
Tim Flannery, outgoing head of the commission, told Guardian Australiathat he and the other commissioners – who include the climate scientist Will Steffen and the former BP executive Gerry Hueston – had been “deluged” by emails and calls from people pledging financial support. Continue reading
Abbott government tight-lipped about Australia’s presence at Global Climate Fund in Paris.
Coalition no comment on UN climate meeting, The Age, September 23, 2013 Peter Hannam Carbon economy editor
Australia’s international commitment to tackling climate change is in doubt with the Abbott government refusing to say if a senior bureaucrat will lead a key meeting of a giant new United Nations fund for developing nations.
Ewen McDonald, acting director-general of Australia’s main aid arm AusAID, is scheduled to co-chair the board meeting of next month’s Global Climate Fund in Paris. The fund is intended to become a conduit for state and private funds of up to $US100 billion ($106 billion) a year by 2020 to help poorer nations shift to low-carbon energy. ”The [fund’s] Interim Secretariat expects that Mr McDonald will attend and co-chair the meeting,” said a spokeswoman for the fund.
AusAID’s executive, though, would not say whether Mr McDonald will take his leadership role in France. The Department of Foreign Affairs, which Prime Minister Tony Abbott directed to absorb AusAID, also refused to comment. Greg Hunt, the new environment minister, referring to Australia’s support for the fund refused to say if Mr McDonald would go to the Paris meeting. Continue reading
The case for the Climate Change Authority
Australia needs climate institutions, whoever is in power, The Conversation Frank Jotzo Director, Centre for Climate Economics and Policy at Australian National University 20 Sept 13 “……..The most important element of the institutional structure at risk is the Climate Change Authority. This was established as a statutory agency to provide advice to the government and parliament, modelled after the UK Committee on Climate Change.
The Authority conducts reviews on Australia’s climate change policies. Its draft report on Australia’s climate change target – which has bipartisan support – is due in October. The final report, as well as a report on Australia’s emissions trends and drivers, is due early in 2014. A review of Australia’s renewable energy target is already out.
The government has said it will abolish the Authority. Doing so will require a change to legislation so cannot happen immediately.
Axing the Authority would be the most severe blow to Australia’s climate change policy institutions. Even if the carbon price was repealed, the authority has an important role. It has to advise on Australia’s national emissions target, and provide deep and critical analysis on any policy aimed at cutting emissions.
By all indications, the Authority has been taking very seriously its task to critically evaluate the evidence and form well-supported recommendations for policy. The Authority employs some of the sharpest climate policy analysts in Australia, led by Anthea Harris, one of the country’s most experienced climate policy practitioners……….http://theconversation.com/australia-needs-climate-institutions-whoever-is-in-power-18371
Australia’s Climate Commission and Clean Energy Finance Corporation – what they actually do
Australia needs climate institutions, whoever is in power, The Conversation Frank Jotzo Director, Centre for Climate Economics and Policy at Australian National University 20 Sept 13 “……The first of Australia’s independent climate change institutions to get the axe is the Climate Commission, the agency created by the Labor government to disseminate public information about climate change.
It made its mark with reports about climate change impacts and the scientific basis for prompt action. But it also explained the advantages of carbon pricing and listed mitigation policy actions that other countries are taking, and took its message to many public forums.
It is by no means revolutionary stuff. The fact the incoming government sees the Commission as a problem is an indication of just how deeply politicised the Australian climate debate has become.
Next on the block is the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, which is charged with making co-investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in the commercial sector.
The Corporation has a A$10 billion investment mandate – not a subsidy, but the mandate to invest up to that amount and earn an appropriate return on the investments. The Corporation has been told to stop lending, though whether the government can legally require it to do so before new legislation is passed appears somewhat unclear.
It is slated to be abolished if and when the government repeals the Clean Energy legislation including the carbon price.http://theconversation.com/australia-needs-climate-institutions-whoever-is-in-power-18371
To shut the Climate Change Authority is an attack on future generations
Abbott shuts down Climate Commission (includes opinion poll) Tom Arup Environment editor, The Age 19 Sept 13 A spokeswoman for Mr Hunt said he had also approved a brief to begin drafting a bill to repeal the separate Climate Change Authority as part of the Coalition’s broader efforts to remove the carbon price.
She said the government would hold more discussions with the authority in coming weeks.
While the Climate Commission could be abolished by the minister at any time, the authority can only be shut down by an act of Parliament.
The authority was created to advise the government on emissions-reduction targets and caps and to detail international efforts to combat climate change. It was due to release a draft of a report on targets and caps next month.
A Climate Change Authority spokeswoman said it believed the government intended to abolish the agency through the repeal of legislation, but it did not have any further information at this time.
Greens leader Christine Milne said said issuing instructions to close the authority was irresponsible in the face of dangerous climate change.
“The Climate Change Authority was set up to de-politicise the process of setting greenhouse emission reduction targets. Everyone knows that a 5 per cent emission reduction target is woefully inadequate,” Senator Milne said. “Shutting down the Climate Change Authority, ahead of its first report on fair and science based emission reduction targets for Australia, is cowardly and an attack on current and future generations.” http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/abbott-shuts-down-climate-commission-20130919-2u185.html#ixzz2fSelP96C
Legislation needed to axe Climate Change Authority. Public to be kept in the dark
”what will the future think of the people who voted for this action?”
Mr Hunt declined to respond to questions from Fairfax Media.
Scientists say climate cuts leave public in the dark September 19, 2013 Peter Hannam, The Age Carbon economy editor The Abbott government’s plan to make scrapping the Climate Commission and the Climate Change Authority among its first priorities will deprive Australians of independent information on global warming just when it is needed most, leading scientists say.
Staff at the Climate Commission, a federal body set up to publicise climate-change science, have all but ceased work as they await instructions from new Environment Minister Greg Hunt.
The Climate Change Authority, a statutory body that will need a change in legislation before it can be axed, is continuing work on a draft report due out next month. That report will recommend the level of cuts to greenhouse gas emissions Australia should set and also details international efforts to combat climate change.
Maurice Newman, Tony Abbott, John Howard, get behind climate denialist campaign
Tony Abbott’s business advisor attacks “myth” of climate change http://reneweconomy.com.au/2013/tony-abbotts-business-advisor-attacks-myth-climate-change-53017 By Giles Parkinson on 17 September 2013 Maurice Newman, the former chairman of the ABC and the ASX who will be the chair of Tony Abbott’s Business Advisory Council, has launched an attack against the CSIRO, the weather bureau and the “myth” of anthropological climate change.
In an opinion piece written for the Australian Financial Review, Newman said much of the public service infrastructure would be resistant to change because of their “vested interests” in the status quo.
“The CSIRO, for example, has 27 scientists dedicated to climate change,” Newman wrote. “It and the weather bureau continue to propagate the myth of anthropological climate change and are likely to be background critics of the Coalition’s Direct Action policies.”
Given Newman’s dismissal of climate science, one wonders why he sees the need for Direct Action of any type. The answer possibly lies in the government’s updated policy position: Abbott has conceded that the government will no longer seek to reach even the minimum 5 per cent emission reduction target if its reduced budget of $3 billion falls short of requirements.
Newman’s comments came a day after it was revealed that Abbott’s mentor John Howard would address one of the world’s most prominent climate skeptics think tanks, and the portfolios of science and climate change had been subsumed into other ministries. Continue reading
Climate denial themes pushed by Murdoch media, in 5 stages
In Murdoch’s The Australian, Andrew Montford took a different approach to deny that we’re the cause of the problem, attacking the expert consensus on human-caused global warming. Specifically he attacked the Cook et al. (2013) study finding 97 percent consensus on this question in the peer-reviewed scientific literature.
The 5 stages of climate denial are on display ahead of the IPCC report, The Guardian, by Dana Nuccitelli Monday 16 September Climate contrarians appear to be running damage control in the media before the next IPCC report is published The fifth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report is due out on September 27th, and is expected to reaffirm with growing confidence that humans are driving global warming and climate change. In anticipation of the widespread news coverage of this esteemed report, climate contrarians appear to be in damage control mode, trying to build up skeptical spin in media climate stories. Just in the past week we’ve seen:
- The David Rose Mail on Sunday piece that treated scientific evidence in much the way bakers treat pretzel dough.
- Dr. John Christy interviewed by the Daily Mail;
- Christy’s colleague Dr. Roy Spencer in The Christian Post;
- Andrew Montford in Rupert Murdoch’s The Australian;
- Matt Ridley in Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal; and
- Bjorn Lomborg in The Washington Post.
Interestingly, these pieces spanned nearly the full spectrum of the 5 stages of global warming denial. Continue reading
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