World’s oceans at a tipping point, indicates UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report

Australia's affinity for the ocean is renowned, but it is likely to be dramatically disrupted, according to the latest report from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Most Australians live within 50 kilometres of the coast.

Eighty-five per cent of the population lives within 50 kilometres of the ocean — we fish, surf, swim and bask in coastal life, but beneath the sea's surface, the story is far from idyllic. 

Oceans cover more than 70 per cent of Earth's surface and are made up of a mixture of water, salt, organic materials, particulates and atmospheric gasses. 

They help to produce half of the planet's oxygen and contain important food sources. 

So, what happens in the oceans has ramifications for life on Earth — specifically what we breathe and what we eat. 

Read the ABC News story by Penny Timms - “World’s oceans at a tipping point, indicates UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report.”

Climate Change is a Class Issue

On October 8, 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change put out its latest report, outlining the climate effects of 1.5ºC and 2ºC warming, the efforts that will have to be taken for us to hit those targets, and how current emissions-reduction pledges get us nowhere near where we need to be. But it also woke the world up to the need to act — at least for a week or two.

The report outlined how our transportation, land-use, building, energy, food, and other systems need to be redesigned from the ground up to reduce emissions and prepare for a warmer world. We have just 12 years to slash emissions by 45 per cent below 2010 levels and hit net zero by 2050 if we’re to have a chance at keeping warming below 1.5ºC. An infographic from the World Resources Institute effectively outlines the difference between 1.5ºC and 2ºC, and, quite honestly, the 1.5ºC scenario looks scary enough — I don’t know why we’d want to risk hitting 2ºC or higher. Yet, the reaction to the report makes it seem like that’s exactly where we’re headed.

Read the story from Radical Urbanist by Paris Marx - “Climate Change is a Class Issue.”

Don’t despair: the climate fight is only over if you think it is

In response to Monday’s release of the IPCC report on the climate crisis – which warned that “unprecedented” changes were needed if global warming increases 1.5C beyond the pre-industrial period – a standup comic I know posted this plaintive request on her Facebook: “Damn this latest report about climate change is just terrifying. People that know a lot about this stuff, is there anything to be potentially optimistic about? I think this week I feel even worse than Nov 2016 and I’m really trying to find some hope here.”

‘Climate change is an inescapable present and future
reality, but the point of the IPCC report is that there is
still a chance to seize the best-case scenario rather than
 surrender to the worst.’

A bunch of her friends posted variations on “we’re doomed” and “it’s hopeless”, which perhaps made them feel that they were in charge of one thing in this overwhelming situation, the facts. They weren’t, of course. They were letting understandable grief at the news morph into an assumption that they know just how the future is going to turn out. They don’t.

Read the story from The Guardian by Rebecca Solnit - “Don’t despair: the climate fight is only over if you think it is.”

Deluge and drought: water security in a changing climate

Warragamba Dam in NSW is currently at 64.9%.

Our latest report, “Deluge & Drought: Water Security in a Changing Climate”, has found the severe drought gripping much of Australia has been exacerbated by climate change.

Water is essential for life. It shapes where and how we live, determines the availability of food and other services that underpin human well-being and is crucial for healthy natural ecosystems. Yet in Australia and globally the water cycle has been significantly influenced by climate change, leading to more extreme droughts and floods.

Read the Climate Council report: “Deluge and drought: water security in a changing climate.”