Are we running out of time?
Teresa Romanovsky • September 3, 2021
Last year saw some of the worst out-of-control fires ever seen in the history of Australia. Over the last century, Australia's climate has increased by more than one degree Celsius, causing searing heatwaves and droughts.
The Australian summer of 2019 was a record-breaker; not only was it the hottest year on record, but the driest with 40 per cent less rainfall than average years. Australia was centre stage in world media with images of perilous black and orange skies as firefighters and wildlife rescuers worked around the clock to protect animals, lives, ancient forests and homes.
The terrifying bushfires have caused irreparable damage to the landscape and the environment. The 2019 – 2020 fires released over 350 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, an additional two-thirds of the country's annual emissions into the atmosphere. Professors at the University of Tasmania have cautioned that so much damage has been done, Australian forests may take over a century to re-absorb the carbon dioxide released. Climate studies show that as more greenhouse gases add to the atmosphere, the conditions promoting extreme bushfires in Australia will only worsen.
Australia needs to act expeditiously. The country has incomparable potential for clean jobs in renewable energy and new clean industries. It is time for the federal government to work with industry and communities to escalate the pressures and drastically reduce emissions in the agriculture and transportation sectors. Scientists from the University of Tasmania make it clear that not only is immediate decarbonisation essential, but it will provide clean cities, cheaper power and regional jobs. Australia has numerous natural advantages, and continuous delays will result in catastrophic outcomes for the climate challenge, humanity and the prosperity of your children and grandchildren.
The entire world, governments, industries and businesses need to quicken their pace from worsening the effects of climate change this decade. The longer the efforts take to achieve net-zero emissions, the more challenging it will be. World entities that suggest the commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 will be too late; this will lead to the creation of perpetual dysfunctional human societies.
Australia is already vulnerable to escalating extreme weather conditions that contribute to the fires, which rapidly add to already high emissions. Australia must reduce emissions below 2005 levels before 2035. Australian's must join forces and wholly understand the scale and urgency of this rapidly worsening situation.
There is no safe level of global warming. The world has already seen an average temperature rise of 1.1 degrees Celsius and is on target to rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius in the 2030s. That's in nine years. Evidence suggests that if we maintain these excessive temperatures for considerable periods, vital ecosystems will face irreparable damage or complete destruction resulting in immense loss of life and species. There is very little time left to prevent global warming from triggering irreversible changes.
"Australia, as an advanced economy and major emitter, and one with unrivalled potential for renewable energy and other climate solutions, should be a leader not a laggard, and reduce its emissions even faster than the required global average. Every tonne of emissions avoided matters, and every delay has an escalating cost. We urge you all to take this report seriously and respond accordingly." — Professor Christopher Field and Dr Kevin Trenberth.
Note* Professor Christopher Field is the Perry L. McCarty Director of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and the Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies at Stanford University, USA. Dr Kevin Trenberth is a Distinguished Scholar at the National Center of Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder and an Honorary Academic in the Department of Physics, Auckland University, New Zealand.
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