02/04/2019

Al Gore To Head Climate Change Week In Queensland In June

FairfaxTony Moore

An Inconvenient Truth presenter and former US vice-president Al Gore will run a three-day climate change training session in Brisbane during Queensland's first Climate Change Week.
Governments from around the Asia-Pacific region will travel to Brisbane for the week starting June 2 for discussion on climate change. World Environment Day is marked on June 5.
Former US vice-president Al Gore will be in Brisbane to present climate-change training sessions in June.
Credit: Bloomberg





Summary
  • Queensland's inaugural Climate Change Week will be held from June 2 to June 8. 
  • Environmentalist Al Gore will run a three-day strategy development session in Brisbane during the week.
  • State and local government from Australia and the Asia Pacific region will be invited to Climate Change Week.
  • Observers believe Queensland is experiencing the first impacts of a warming climate with unusual bushfire and cyclone behaviour as well as a string of coral bleaching episodes in the past five years.
Political, business and community groups will also meet to debate issues to develop a strategy to minimise the effects of a changing climate.
After he left politics, Mr Gore developed an international reputation when his grassroots campaign to educate people about climate change became a 2006 documentary, An Inconvenient Truth.
He was a joint-winner of a Nobel prize the following year.
An Inconvenient Sequel came in 2017, while Mr Gore runs and lectures at The Climate Reality Project.
In Brisbane, Mr Gore and The Climate Reality will host climate-change training for between 800-1000 business and community leaders.
Professor Don Henry, chair of The Climate Reality in Australia and the Pacific, said this was the first time Mr Gore would train others on climate issues in Queensland.
“It is a good opportunity for people from all walks of life to be better informed and act on the solutions needed to tackle climate change,” Professor Henry said.
“With the Great Barrier Reef threatened by climate change and action needed across the Asia Pacific region, the training will be of global significance.”
The Queensland government is developing a green paper on climate-change strategies, which it planned to release in either June or July, the state's new chief scientist Professor Paul Bertsch told Brisbane Times in February.

Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch announces Queensland's Climate Change Week
will include planning sessions from An Inconvenient Truth speaker Al Gore.
Credit: AAP Image/ Darren England
The Queensland government has set an ambitious target of meeting 50 per cent of its energy needs from renewable energy by 2030 and have zero net emissions by 2050.
“Climate change is the greatest challenge facing our planet today and it is critical that we unite to take urgent action,” Queensland Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch said.
Ms Enoch in February said Queensland "was on track" to provide 20 per cent of its electricity needs by renewable energy by 2020, in response to criticism by Queensland Climate Advisory Council senior scientist, Professor Ian Lowe.
The Queensland government is one of 220 members of The Climate Group's Under2 Coalition, a  group of "smaller than national governments" committed to keep the change in the world's temperature to below 2 degrees.
Ms Enoch said the Great Barrier Reef was still threatened by the warming climate.
“During Climate Week Queensland, we will bring together sub-national governments from across Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.
“In addition, we will host a First Nations Summit to ensure that these communities, many of which are also experiencing the impacts of climate change, are part of these important discussions.”
Climate Week Queensland will include business forums and a public program of arts, music, and panel discussions involving students.
Ms Enoch said that as part of the Minister’s Climate Challenge, students would be invited to identify a local climate problem and brainstorm an idea to solve it.
“The students who put forward the most innovative ideas will have the opportunity to be mentored by and have their solutions judged by world-class business leaders during Climate Week Queensland.”

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