Is the Australian Public Service fit-for-purpose to handle existential climate risk?

The first duty of a government is to “protect the people”, their safety and well-being. Nowhere is this duty more important than in addressing climate change, which now constitutes a near-term existential threat to human civilisation. It is an open, and pressing, question whether the Australian Public Service (APS), and particularly the intelligence services, currently have the capacity to properly consider and assess the climate threat to the people of Australia, and to offer sound advice on action to minimise that threat.

Credit: One World House

 Recently, UN Secretary General António Guterres noted that “We face a direct existential threat” from climate change as “we career towards the edge of the abyss”. A recent research paper is typical of concerns which have been expressed by scientists for years, yet ignored by incumbent leaders:

Only a drastic, economy-wide makeover within the next decade, consistent with limiting warming to 1.5°C, would avoid the transition of the Earth System to the Pliocene-like conditions that prevailed 3-3.3 million years ago, when temperatures were ~3°C and sea levels 25 metres higher. Unmitigated scenarios of greenhouse gas emissions produce climates like those of the Eocene, which suggests that we are effectively rewinding the climate clock to approximately 50 million years ago, reversing a multimillion-year cooling trend in less than two centuries.

Read the Climate Code Red by David Spratt and Ian Dunlop - “Is the Australian Public Service fit-for-purpose to handle existential climate risk?”

The Power of Beauty - On the essential role of art in the fight against climate change

Alexis Frasz believes we use art to create meaning, and to define what we think is possible — or impossible. This is one of the reasons she’s exploring its role in addressing climate change.

A design for a solar-powered water distillation apparatus
submitted to the 2016 Land Art Generator Initiative competition
in Santa Monica.

Frasz, a writer and researcher, wants to build public support for tackling environmental challenges using art. She thinks that art can help people cope with the emotional toll of climate change, giving them a way to deal with their fear, grief and anger. It can also help people imagine a healthier, more sustainable world. “Arts and culture reminds us that we are makers and, in fact, we made all this,” she said.

When she first began thinking about climate change, she found that only a few others were looking at the problem through a cultural lens, so she and her colleagues set about conducting research to learn more about how art helps communities face environmental issues. Now, she and her team at Helicon, a consulting company she co-directs, are working with advocates to apply their research in the real world.

Read the NexusMedia story by Marlene Cimons - “The Power of Beauty - On the essential role of art in the fight against climate change.”

Wrecking ball not needed to tackle climate change

No sole political or special interest group is the cradle of compassion for our environment. Our government acknowledges and accepts the challenge of addressing climate change. However, we do so not just with impassioned hearts – but also cool heads. We do not believe we have to choose between preserving our environment and keeping our economy strong.

Scott Morrison announces the government's climate
package at a function in Melbourne.

The Liberals and Nationals have a strong record of environmental vision and achievement. From the Menzies government that signed the Antarctic Treaty to the Howard government’s founding of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, we understand that protecting and conserving our environment is a matter of intergenerational stewardship. Our land, air, oceans, reefs, fisheries and biodiversity are all vital parts of our inheritance. 

We hold them in trust today for Australians who will come after us. And reducing carbon emissions to address the real challenge of climate change requires practical policies.

We’re absolutely on track to meet our 2020 Kyoto emissions reduction target and that’s no small feat. In 2013, we inherited from Labor a 755 million tonne projected deficit on our Kyoto 2020 goal. We are now expecting to over-achieve on the target by 367 million tonnes – a 1.1 billion tonne turn around. We are one of a very small club that will exceed our 2020 target and we’ve done it through a combination of successful policies.

Read the story from The Age by Scott Morrison - “Wrecking ball not needed to tackle climate change.”

Australian headlines are designed to scare people into not acting on climate change

Whenever Australia starts to have a serious conversation about addressing climate change, headlines appear in newspapers of an economic apocalypse. This happened again in the Australian this week based on work by a long-standing economic modeller of climate policy, Brian Fisher.

 Whenever Australia starts to have a serious conversation
about addressing climate change headlines appear in
newspapers of an economic apocalypse. 

So, what do economic modelling exercises tell us of the impact of reducing Australia’s contribution to global warming, and more importantly, what do they not? Should we cower in fear of action or embrace the inevitable change and manage the human and economic costs of transition?

Firstly, economic modelling results are not predictions. They are based on hypothetical future worlds. Economists try to capture the dynamics of economic systems in their models to understand the relative impact of different policy options. This means they are always wrong because economists can’t predict the future. Economic modellers are not the crystal ball gazers we read about in fantasy books.

Read the story from The Guardian by Erwin Jackson - “Australian headlines are designed to scare people into not acting on climate change.”