climate change. However, as a phrase, climate change offers
a more expansive description of what a warming Earth will actually
involve. While many parts of the Earth will, in fact, get hotter and
drier, the mechanics of our climate are sufficiently complex that
other places will become much colder and more prone to extreme
weather events, like hurricanes, typhoons and snow storms. These
effects are already being seen. Australia's fire season is starting
earlier; the Eastern seaboard of America is getting snowier; the
Middle East is getting drier; South-East Asia is getting wetter;
and recently, the North Pole hit a balmy 6°C. You can't make
glaciers with that.
............... ....
What does this mean for the planet? In 2015, 196 of the world's
nations came together in Paris and hashed out a plan to try to
keep the increase in global temperatures this century to 1.5°C
or less (this was known as the Paris Agreement). To achieve
this, greenhouse gas emissions could peak no later than 2030.
It was hoped that if this goal could be met, some of the more
drastic consequences of climate change might be avoided –
the disappearance of the ice caps; large-scale desertification
and drought; dramatic rises in sea level; permanent flooding
of coastal areas; ocean acidification; mass extinctions; the
wholesale disappearance of rainforests and coral reefs; and the
displacement of hundreds of millions of people. More specifically,
in Australia, we could face hotter and drier weather conditions
resulting in more bushfires; dwindling coastlines; intense
cyclones; and extreme rainfall and thunderstorm events.
But even if the Paris goals are met, conditions on our planet
are changing rapidly, and not for the better: a recent UN report
estimated the global cost of adapting to climate change at
$300 billion a year by 2030.
Why are people denying that global warming is an issue?
Basically, the world as we know it – every comfort and convenience
that we enjoy on a day-to-day basis – was built on the burning of
coal and oil. These two resources form the backbone of the global
economy, which also means they represent powerful and deeply
entrenched political interests. Countries and companies that have
made trillions of dollars from the ‘carbon economy’ are leery of
change, and in no particular rush to give up the system that made
them rich and powerful. So, much like cigarette companies in the
1970s, they’ve staged long-running PR and lobbying campaigns
designed to sow misinformation and doubt among the public
as to the causes and extent of man-made global warming. This
is why we now face a situation where 97 per cent of the world's
climate scientists agree global warming is happening and we're
responsible for it, yet our political debate is often run as if it's
a 50-50 question....................Where do we find hope? It's easy to despair when you see the ice
caps melting and forests burning at the same time Donald Trump
pulls out of the Paris Agreement and Australia dumps its climate
change policy entirely. However, there's reason for cautious
optimism. Firstly, carbon abatement technologies (which enable
fossil fuels to be used with reduced carbon dioxide emissions)
are increasingly popular. As the effects of climate change become
more palpable, more and more people are becoming convinced
we need to do something about it. This leads to electoral pressure
on our politicians, as well as pressure on corporations to change
their polluting behaviours. Second, the Paris Agreement is moving
forward and most nations – Australia and America notwithstanding- appear to be taking their commitments seriously. Third, and
perhaps most importantly, technological advances are making
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