I posted this to the Climate Change Authority in Australia ... just before deadline, which is today. “Dear Climate Change Authority, Thank you for doing this extremely important work and for allowing us to comment on the Draft Report of your Targets and Progress Review. Along with the majority of Australians I and my family would like to see much stronger action on climate change than what the current government has proposed. Sydney has set a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent (below 2006-levels) by 2030. London’s target is 60 percent cuts by 2025, by which year Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, intends to have become the first carbon neutral capital in the world. Australia as a nation need to set an example to the world and lead the way with a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions at this kind of rate. The American climate scientist and activist James Hansen pinpointed our current problem with our elected leaders when he explained that, “people profiting from business-as-usual fossil fuel use are waging a campaign to discredit the science. Their campaign is effective because the profiteers have learned how to manipulate democracies for their advantage.” The age of these “fossil dinosaurs” has got to be over now. The stakes are high, and more and more Australians are prepared to take action on climate change. The majority of Australians support to stronger action has continually been reaffirmed in polls and research, including ABCs Vote Compass that showed that 61 percent of Australians believe the government should do more to tackle climate change, and a Fairfax-Nielsen poll of 1,400 voters, released 25 November 2013, which showed that 87 percent of Australians want to see Australia take stronger action on climate change than the target being proposed by the Coalition. Emissions must be reduced to zero by 2050 at the very latest. The Climate Authority should make this explicit in its recommendations to the Australian Government. As such, the government’s proposal to reduce emissions by 5 percent or less by 2020 compared with 2000 levels is absolutely ridiculous – and dangerous. I recommend that the Climate Change Authority adopt a 25 percent emission reduction target by 2020 as a minimum short-term target. The latest report from the IPCC, released in September 2013, tells us that currently we are on the wrong track, heading for a 4 to 6°C degrees warmer world with catastrophic consequences to life on this planet. The IPCC report made clear, yet again, that the world is warming rapidly, humans are the primary cause, and very substantial action is immediately required. In particular, the IPCC report found that a hotter climate is already increasing the frequency and severity of many extreme weather events, and is changing rainfall patterns, creating risks for human well being, the global economy and the environment. Australia is on track for its warmest ever year, according to a recent study, which showed that the past 12 months have been 0.22°C warmer than any other equivalent period prior to 2013. This is of great concern to us, and it is very worrying to observe that the government – solely because of its ties to a rich and powerful fossil fuel industry – is not taking this threat seriously at all. It is clear that the risks of a +2°C world for Australia are significant, putting Australians, our natural environment and key industries, like agriculture, at risk. Climate change represents by far the greatest threat to Australias future economic prosperity. Unlike the Australian government, I am not prepared to take that kind of risks with the future and prosperity of my children, grandchildren and coming generations. If we dont find a way to tackle this problem, then anything else we might be doing and aiming for to improve our lives and protect our families’ health and livelihood, to create jobs and prosperity in our society, will turn out to be a complete waste of time, money and energy. This is also about restoring Australias role as a respectable playing in the international community – as a country of wise, responsible, caring and civilized people with a good heart and love for our children. In short: Australia needs an ambitious plan to cut carbon emissions – not some time in a distant future, but starting now, with strong action, including lots of policy and taxation changes, so that we begin heading for a 70-80 percent cut in carbon emissions within the next two decades. Sincerely yours, Mik Aidt Geelong - climatesafety.info”
Posted on: Fri, 29 Nov 2013 03:14:04 +0000
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