As someone with disability and mental illness I worry a lot about climate change. I have been involved in climate activism since around 2008 with the Mount Alexander Sustainability Group.
As we have seen with COVID19 disabled people are at high risk during emergencies, and often our needs are forgotten in the face of panic by the non-disabled community who politicians pay more heed to.
If climate change is allowed to get worse, it is us who will suffer more from things like food insecurity, high costs for heating and cooling, floods and fires, and social conflict.
Australia’s climate policy settings do not look at disabled people’s specific needs in the context of climate change, and instead national debate is still focusing on whether climate change is real (of course it is) and what slow minor changes we can make. We need to act fast and act now if we are to avoid dangerous climate change.
The idea that climate science is a scam by socialist scientists is palpably ridiculous.
Modern climate science began in the 19th Century when scientists became interested in the question of how the Earth’s climate worked.
The scientists recognised the role of the Sun as primary, and next after that the role of the Atmosphere. The Atmosphere helped keep the Earth warmer than the Sun alone would have done.
The scientists wanted to find out which components of the atmosphere were responsible for this. Initially it was thought that water could be the key component, but that idea was discarded as the water cycle was too fast. Scientists then realised that the Carbon cycle played the major role.
Around the turn of the Century — over 100 years ago — scientists realised that digging up and burning fossil fuels like coal could increase the Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere and that this could result in changing the Earth’s climate to be warmer. However they assumed this would take a very long time, as the rate of burning fossil fuels was not as high then as it became over the 20th Century, particularly after WW2.
NASA started monitoriing the levels of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere in 1958.
There are other Greenhouse Gasses, including Methane and Nitrous Oxide.
How the Carbon Cycle works can take a very long time, as plants depend on Carbon to live. The Earth once had a lot more Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere, but this was before humans had civilisations. The plants of that period were suited to a high Carbon Dioxide environment. But as they decomposed some of them became fossilised, and over time this reduced the amount of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere to the levels that existed when human civilisations began to flourish. Fossil fuels are those ancient fossilised plants from a more high carbon time on Earth.
However when humans began to dig up and use fossil fuels, this stored Carbon Dioxide was released back into the atmosphere. So we are now increasing the levels of Carbon Dioxide again, to levels not seen since before human civiilisation.
This is warming the Earth, and we have seen an increase in average global temperature of 1.2C to date.
There is a lag however between the time we use fossil fuels and how fast the Earth warms. It takes about a decade before most of the warming caused by emissions are felt. And actually longer for some of the warming because the Ocean absorbs some emissions but takes a longer time to warm, probably around 40 years scientists think. So emissions from today won’t be fully realised as warming until 2062.
The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change, adopted by 196 parties at COP 21. Its goal is to limit climate change to below 2C, preferably 1.5C.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott committed Australia to the Paris Agreement.
Australia has reduced emissions by around 19% on 2005 levels, however this reduction is mainly caused by landuse changes and deforestation changes.
Australia is extremely behind on transitioning our energy systems to renewable energy.
Both major parties do not have strong policy in this area, with the LNP having a goal of a 35% reduction (which they say they will exceed) and the ALP having a goal of a 43% reduction. Both of these figures include the existing 19% reduction from landuse and deforestation changes, meaning the goals are actually a very modest 16% and 24% if we focus on energy usage.
Australia could be a world leader in the Climate Change Mobilisation, and reduce emissions by 82% on current levels if we decarbonised our energy sector by 2035. This would require building renewable energy generation faciltiies, upgrading the electricity grid, moving from gas stoves and heaters and hot water systems to electric, and transititoning the transport sector to electric.
It would cost money, but this could be financed via a Green Bank like France has, and a Green Bonds program.
Zoe Emily Mithen 