The reef is rapidly deteriorating

A new report reveals that under the Federal Government’s watch the long-term outlook for the Great Barrier Reef has gone from “poor” to “very poor” for the very first time.

“This report makes it abundantly clear that climate change is the major factor driving the deterioration of one of our most precious natural icons,” said the Climate Council’s CEO Amanda McKenzie.

The Government’s caretaker of the reef – the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority – releases a report every five years that provides an assessment of the reef’s health, the pressures it’s under and its likely future. 

The report states: “Climate change is escalating and is the most significant threat to the Region’s long-term outlook…The challenge to restore Reef resilience is big, but not insurmountable. However, it requires mitigation of climate change.”

Read the story from The Climate Council - “The reef is rapidly deteriorating.”

Abbott Out of Step With Reality

Abbott’s speech last night confirms he’s even more out of touch than we thought with the reality of climate change and its worsening impacts on Australians.

Climate Council CEO, Amanda McKenzie -
"Abbott even more out of touch than we thought".

The speech to the climate denying group, The Global Warming Policy Foundation included a range of ludicrous statements, denying that record-breaking temperature rises are taking place.

“Tony Abbott’s comments are out of step with the reality that Australians are experiencing, with extreme hot days having doubled in the past 50 years.” said Amanda McKenzie, Climate Council CEO.

Read the Climate Council story - “Abbott Out of Step With Reality.”

Are heatwaves ‘worsening’ and have ‘hot days’ doubled in Australia in the last 50 years?

The release of the Finkel report has refocused national attention on climate change, and how we know it’s happening.

What exactly does research say on heatwaves and hot days?

On a Q&A episode following the report’s release, Climate Council CEO Amanda McKenzie said we’ve seen:

… worsening heatwaves, hot days doubling in Australia in the last 50 years.

Her comment provides the perfect opportunity to revisit exactly what the research says on heatwaves and hot days as Australia’s climate warms.

Read the piece on The Conversation by a Climate Extremes Research Fellow from the University of Melbourne, Andrew King - “Are heatwaves ‘worsening’ and have ‘hot days’ doubled in Australia in the last 50 years?”

Climate Council comments about Finkel Review - a 'mixed bag'

Climate Council CEO, Amanda McKenzie, has written to supporters about the release today of the Finkel Review.

Climate Council CEO, Amanda McKenzie.

She wrote:

The long awaited Finkel Review into Australia’s electricity market has launched today. And it’s a mixed bag.

“Australians across the board are desperate for a policy solution, which can address climate change and tackle emissions from our ageing, inefficient and polluting electricity sector. Ultimately, it was hoped that the Finkel Review would seriously address these issues.

“But disappointingly - the Finkel plan does not pass the climate test. Ultimately if the scheme goes ahead emission reductions must be much stronger.

“What does the Finkel Review recommend?

“The Review’s “blueprint” sets out to reduce emissions in the electricity sector - 28% emissions reduction below 2005 levels by 2030. We need to slash emissions further and faster. Other sectors such as building, agriculture and transport, will need to do more if the electricity sector does less.

“The Review also proposes introducing a Clean Energy Target between 2020 to 2030, to encourage new power plants to be built. The target would be similar to the current Renewable Energy Target, except that it would allow a broader range of power plants to qualify including renewable energy, gas, and coal with carbon capture and storage.

“Additionally, the review confirms that Australia has huge opportunities in renewable power, as renewables are now our cheapest source of new power. It also highlights the importance of coupling solar and wind with battery storage and other storage technologies.

What’s the bottom line?

“Our emissions and electricity prices are going up due to a long term vacuum in Australia's climate policy. What Finkel has proposed will need to be significantly strengthened to meet the demands of climate science.

“Want to hear more? Tune in to Q&A on Monday night where I’ll be appearing as a panelist alongside Alan Finkel, Australia’s Chief Scientist and author of the Finkel Review, and Federal Environment & Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg. It’s sure to be an interesting discussion,” she wrote,

Meanwhile, the Climate Council has produced a short video aimed as exposing the myths around gas.

A letter from Climate Council CEO, Amanda McKenzie

A

 letter from Climate Council CEO, Amanda McKenzie -

 

I can hardly believe it, but today marks the Climate Council’s second birthday. Had you asked me in the flurry of those first days whether I thought we’d be reaching this milestone, I don’t know that I’d have been sure of it.



Climate Council CEO,
 Amanda McKenzie.

And yet, in just two short years, we’ve helped move the debate on from a conversation on whether the science is “real” to a growing discussion about solutions. Our work on extreme weather has directly contributed to a dramatic increase in the public understanding of the influence of climate change on extreme heat, fire and floods. And through a coordinated communications campaign, we’ve made renewable energy a household conversation.

All of this has only been possible thanks to that initial support from you and 16,000 other Founding Friends. So happy second birthday to YOU! I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved together - and you should feel proud to share in the celebration, because we wouldn’t be here without you.

The thing is, we don’t want to be here for too much longer.

You see, this year marks another important milestone - a critical point on our path to robust climate action: we’re halfway through the ‘critical decade’. For 200 years the pollution driving global warming has been going up and up and up. And this is the decade during which the science tells us we need to turn that around if we are to tackle climate change.

And that’s why my job, and Tim’s job, isn’t to build an organisation that can endure for decades. We’re genuinely not interested in donations for decades ahead. In fact, my job shouldn’t exist in 5 years time.

We’re all here for one purpose: to empower an informed Australian public that ensures that, no matter the government in power, failing to act on climate change is not an option. That can’t happen without the support of people like you, and the rest of the Climate Council community. Will you help us be so successful that we don’t have to be here in five years time?

Thanks to your support, our work is already having a huge impact. But as proud as I am of our work and what we’ve achieved, we simply can’t afford to be doing it in five years. We just don’t have that kind of time. We have big plans, but we need all the support you can give right now, so we can make the biggest impact possible in the shortest possible timeframe.

We know that bringing new voices to the debate to talk about why climate change matters and what it means to real people will makes climate change relevant to bigger and more diverse audiences. That’s why we’ll work even harder to expand the voices of climate change from policy wonks and scientists to include more farmers, emergency services workers and healthcare professionals.

Will you work with us to fundamentally change the public conversation to achieve real and lasting action?

We know that people need expert, accurate information about climate change so that they can increase pressure on policymakers for real and swift action. That’s why we plan on releasing even more reports that bring home the reality of risks to our health, agriculture, property, infrastructure and natural ecosystems. And we know that to change the public conversation, we need to get the best possible information out to as many people as we can, in as many places as possible. So that's why we’ll be sharing even more examples of credible solutions that exist now to partners and on social media to millions of people each month. And it’s also why our Climate Councillors will keep spending so much of their time doing back-to-back media interviews, alongside community outreach, research and new efforts at global collaboration.

There’s really no other way to say it, this is urgent, and it’s critical. More than ever, our voice needs to be even louder and stronger. We believe we can do it, but we can’t do this without you.

Thank you for giving this your support, it really does mean everything. And again, happy second birthday!

P.S. Two years ago Tim and I lost our jobs. Believe it or not, we hope to lose them again within the next five years - but this time because Australia will have taken strong action on climate change, and our jobs won’t be needed anymore. That’s the goal, anyway. Please make a tax deductible donation today to help us do just that!

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