Ricky Leath, an outreach specialist with the City of Miami, distributes water and supplies to the homeless to manage high temperatures, May 15, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)
Last year was the hottest year on record,
the top 10 hottest years were all in the past decade and planet-heating
carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are at an 800,000-year high, a
report Wednesday said.
“Our
planet is issuing more distress signals,” said António Guterres, United
Nations Secretary-General.
He noted that the report says the
international goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.8
Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times is still possible.
“Leaders must
step up to make it happen — seizing the benefits of cheap, clean
renewables for their people and economies,” he said.
2024 was the first year to exceed 1.5 C in global temperature increase. Source: Copernicus Climate Change Service Graphic: M.K. Wildeman
The report attributed the heating to human activity — like the burning
of coal, oil and gas — and in a smaller part to the naturally occurring
El Nino weather phenomenon.
In 2024, the world surpassed the 1.5 C limit
for the first time — but just for a single year. Scientists measure
breaching the climate goal as Earth staying above that level of warming
over a longer time period.
The report said global heating is
contributing to more extreme weather events that have led the highest
levels of displacement for 16 years, contributed to worsening food
crises and caused massive economic losses.
There were at least 151
“unprecedented” extreme weather events in 2024 alone, it said.
“It is a wake-up call that we are increasing the risks to our lives,
economies and to the planet,” said Celeste Saulo, WMO’s
Secretary-General.
Humanitarian worker Roger Duvan Lagunes carries a fan into a shelter in Veracruz, Mexico, on June 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez, File)
The report’s warnings come as the United States President Donald Trump has issued a series of rollbacks
on climate commitments and cast doubt on climate science.
The U.S. is
the world’s second biggest polluter currently and the largest emitter of
greenhouse gases historically. It’s left some worried that other
countries will also have less ambitious targets as a result.
“The
science is indisputable. Attempts to hide climate science from the
public will not stop us from feeling the dire impacts of climate
change,” said Brenda Ekwurzel of the U.S.-based not-for-profit, Union of
Concerned Scientists.
Men deliver sacks of ice cubes as demand remains high due to hot temperatures in Quezon city, Philippines on April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, File)
Vanessa Nakate, a Ugandan climate activist also warned that “the longer we delay emissions cuts, the worse it will get.”
“Phasing out fossil fuels is not a choice—it is an emergency response to a crisis unfolding before our eyes,” she said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has reshaped Australia's climate policies with ambitious targets and legislative reforms. However, critics argue his approach contains significant weaknesses.
Policy Initiatives and Commitments
After taking office in 2022, the Albanese Government raised Australia’s emissions reduction target under the Paris Agreement to 43% by 2030, up from the previous 26-28%. This commitment became law with backing from the Greens and crossbench senators.
The government also reformed the "safeguard mechanism", requiring major carbon emitters to stay within limits or buy carbon credits. Following negotiations with the Greens, a "hard cap" on emissions was introduced—the most significant climate legislation since the 2011 Clean Energy Act.
Criticisms and Weaknesses
Support for Fossil Fuels: Despite climate commitments, the government approved coal mine expansions, expected to emit over 1.35 billion tonnes of CO₂ by 2048. Critics argue this contradicts its emissions goals and undermines Australia's credibility.
Lack of a Climate Trigger in Environmental Laws: The omission of a climate trigger in new environmental legislation has drawn criticism from advocates and crossbench senators.
Energy Costs and Economic Impact: Some claim the focus on renewables and net-zero targets has driven up energy costs and created economic instability. They argue that a more reliable power mix, potentially including nuclear energy, is necessary.
Perceived Leadership Inconsistency: Prime Minister Albanese’s rejection of a climate trigger has drawn comparisons to former Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s leadership style, with critics accusing him of "bulldozing" policies.
Key Climate Policies and Their Shortcomings
Emissions Reduction Target (43% by 2030): While an improvement, experts argue it falls short of the 50-75% reductions needed to meet Paris Agreement goals.
Powering Australia Plan: Prioritizes renewable energy investments but lacks clear implementation timelines and funding details.
National Reconstruction Fund: Allocating $3 billion to green manufacturing and low-emissions technologies, but seen as insufficient for the scale of transition required.
Climate Change Authority: Strengthened under Prime Minister Albanese, but lacks enforcement power to hold the government accountable.
Adaptation and Just Transition Gaps: No comprehensive adaptation plan for communities already experiencing climate impacts, and little planning for fossil fuel-dependent workers.
International Climate Finance: Australia's contributions remain below those of comparable developed nations, limiting its influence in climate diplomacy.
Conclusion
Prime Minister Albanese has pushed Australia’s climate policies in a more progressive direction, but gaps remain between promises and action.
The greatest weakness is the contradiction between stronger climate targets and continued fossil fuel approvals.
Without bold decisions, Australia risks falling short of its commitments while facing mounting economic and environmental pressures.
Warmer temperatures and changing rainfall patterns create ideal conditions for mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue fever, Ross River virus, and Murray Valley encephalitis to spread further south.
Donald
Trump's America is rapidly abandoning climate action with the winding
back of EPA climate protections the latest policy shift. (Reuters/Tuane Fernandes)
AUTHOR
Alan Kohler is finance presenter and columnist at ABC News. He also writes for Intelligent Investor.
While
markets and media were chasing Donald Trump’s tariff fiasco last week,
something far more important happened in East Palestine, Ohio.
The
new head of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Lee Zeldin,
chose the fire station in that tiny village between Pittsburgh and
Cleveland to announce that he was "driving a dagger through the heart of
climate change religion", as he put it.
Zeldin is rolling back 31 environmental rules
(Make America Dirty Again?) including the EPA’s 2009 finding that
greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare, which has been the
legal basis for all US action against climate change.
The
new head of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Lee Zeldin,
has portrayed concern over climate change as a "religion" and overturned
the EPA’s 2009 finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health and
welfare. (AP: John Minchillo)
Meanwhile
in Brazil, the government is clearing a swathe of the Amazon rainforest
for a road to get 50,000 delegates to the next UN climate change
conference – COP30 – to held, weirdly, in the remote city of Belem in
November.
Bulldozing the Amazon
rainforest is a fitting way to mark 30 years of failure, of annual
gabfests that have released colossal amounts of carbon dioxide from the
mouths of the well-meaning, and burned tonnes of aviation fuel to get
them there, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions not one bit.
In those three decades, human use of fossil fuels has increased 54 per cent.
The
withdrawal of America, and the influence that will have on other
countries and companies, means the COP30 delegates might as well stay
home this year.
The global
effort to prevent climate change which began with COP1 in Berlin in 1995
and peaked two years later with a burst of optimism in Kyoto, is pretty
much over; it’s dead.
There are two other reasons for this:
China
talks, and does, a big game about renewable energy, but is frantically
building coal-fired power stations. Last year it added 100GW of coal
capacity, five times Australia’s entire coal-fired capacity, another
94.5GW is under construction and 66.7GW more has been approved.
To
reach net zero, at least 2 billion tonnes of carbon, and possibly as
much as 5 billion, will have to be sequestered in new trees because
carbon emissions definitely won’t be zero in 25 years. Yet there simply
won’t be enough new trees planted. Many of those supplying emitting
companies with offset certificates are getting away with saying that a
tree not cut down is the same as a tree planted.
The cost of success
Energy scientist, Vaclav Smil
puts the total cost of achieving net zero by 2050 at $US444 trillion,
or $US17 trillion a year for 25 years, “requiring affluent economies to
spend 20 to 25 per cent of their annual GDP on the transition”.
Torres
Strait Islanders on the front line of climate change are fighting a
landmark lawsuit to save their vanishing ancestral homes. But is it too
late?
Only once before
in history has that much money been spent – in World War 2. This time
the spending would have to last three decades, not five years, and no
country is contemplating anything like that.
So
net zero by 2050 won’t happen and the increase in global temperature
will not be limited to the 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial
levels that was agreed as preferred at Paris in 2015 – nowhere near it.
Current
policies and pledges put the world on track for around 2.5–3°C of
warming, but if emissions remain high and predicted tipping points are
reached, 4°C is likely later this century.
At
that point, scientists tell us, large parts of the planet be will
uninhabitable, and the parts that aren’t uninhabitable will be more
unpleasant and dangerous.
Why have we failed to limit warming?
Before
we get on to what 3–4°C of warming means for Australia, it’s worth
reflecting on why this has happened. Why has 30 years of talking and
earnest good intentions failed to prevent global warming?
Obviously,
a big part of it is the fossil fuel industry’s success in turning
climate change into a political issue instead of a scientific one,
persuading the right side of politics that it’s all part of a left woke
conspiracy, even a “religion”, with the right-wing media facilitating
that project, led by Rupert Murdoch.
But I think the more fundamental reason is the scientific community’s failure to tell the truth.
There
has been systemic reticence on the part of scientists to spell out
what’s actually going on, first because science is inherently uncertain,
so they are always reluctant to be definitive, and second because they
worry that if the true nightmare was revealed, politicians and everybody
else would either refuse to believe it or just give up.
So
science says 1.5°C of warming and avoiding the extremes of climate
change are achievable, and the way politics and media work, that is
taken to mean it will be achieved, no problem.
In fact it is now very unlikely, and Australia should do what France is doing and refocus on adapting to reality.
The reality of a 3-4°C temperature rise
On
the same day that Lee Zeldin was stabbing climate change religion to
death with his dagger, the French minister for “ecological transition”,
Agnes Pannier-Runacher released a 377-page report titled Le Plan National d’Adaptation, designed to prepare France for 4°C of warming. Four degrees!
My
French is limited, but the plan looks quite inadequate for the
catastrophe that sort of rise in global temperature would bring. At
least they are thinking about it.
As
global temperatures climb, climate scientists say some of the things
that made Tropical Cyclone Alfred unique could be a taste of the future.
For
Australia, warming of 3-4°C would see the complete destruction of the
Great Barrier Reef, constant flooding of south-east Queensland and
northern NSW, cyclones as far south as Coffs Harbour, frequent bushfires
everywhere else, and a massive refugee flood as Bangladesh and Pacific
Islands are inundated.
Apart from the refugees, preparing for that risk is largely a matter of infrastructure and insurance – in other words, money.
About
25 per cent of Queensland households are currently uninsured, according
to the Actuaries Institute. As premiums rise, that number will
increase.
In south-east
Queensland, 70 per cent of houses were built before the 1970s. All of
them are in Region B of the National Construction Code (NCC), which
means they are not built to withstand a category 2 cyclone.
If
Cyclone Alfred had not become a tropical low before hitting the
Queensland coast, and had stayed Category 2, many thousands of families
would have been financially ruined. Their uninsured houses would have
lost their roofs or collapsed.
The next cyclone, or the one after that, will likely remain as Category 2.
Insurance reality bites
Separately,
almost all households in Australia are underinsured because of the
roughly 40-50 per cent rise in building costs since the pandemic, which
is reflected in very few replacement sums in insurance policies.
As
Cyclone Alfred was peaking in the Coral Sea in late February, the
Insurance Council of Australia released a new report titled Advancing Australia’s Resilience, directed at influencing policies for the coming federal election and reducing the cost of insurance.
It recommended $30 billion of spending on infrastructure, as follows:
Deliver new critical flood defence infrastructure ($15 billion)
The
ICA is talking mainly about floods, which it says is the second biggest
component of insurance premiums (tax is the biggest – GST and stamp
duty).
The
$30 billion would be spent building levies along river banks and around
towns, raising houses onto stilts and simply helping families move out
of flood plains by buying their unsaleable properties – that is,
reducing risk and thereby lowering premiums and get more houses insured.
Needless to say, the government has filed the report under 'M' for maybe later, with a copy under 'V' for vested interest.
But
the reality is that without that kind of spending, and probably much
more, it will be impossible to live in much of regional Australia, and
the cities are already over-crowded.
That is, of course, unless it’s all a new green woke scam religion.
Researchers say 50,000 years of healthy life lost annually in Australia to weather-linked cardiovascular disease.
Researchers have reported a link between
cardiovascular issues and hot weather, forecasting that heart disease
could double or triple in the next 25 years if current climate trends
continue.
In a report published on Monday, researchers in Australia said they had found that 49,483 years of healthy life
were lost every year to cardiovascular disease caused by hot weather.
They warned that under current climate trends, the impact of extreme
weather is set to multiply in the coming decades.
“When the weather is hot, our hearts must work harder to help us cool
down. This added pressure can be dangerous, especially for people with
cardiovascular disease,” said Professor Peng Bi from the University of
Adelaide.
The researchers calculated that 7.3 percent of the total burden due to cardiovascular disease or death could be attributed to extreme weather conditions.
Modelling suggests that the figure could
double or even triple by 2050, depending on different greenhouse gas
emission scenarios outlined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, according to the report.
The physiological pathways of human heat strain. The Lancet
‘First study of its kind’
“Although our study is focused on Australia,
the fundamental link between higher temperatures and increased
cardiovascular risk has been documented globally,” said lead author
Jingwen Liu from the University of Adelaide.
Liu noted that the research was “the first of
its kind globally”, adding that “our comprehensive approach makes the
study valuable for planning future climate change adaptation and
mitigation strategies”.
The authors also found that there was scope
for lowering the impact of high temperatures on cardiovascular disease
with strategies helping people to adapt.
“Our findings also call for urgent investment
in adaptation and mitigation strategies, including urban cooling plans,
public health campaigns and improved emergency responses during hot
weather,” said Bi.
Australia’s fossil fuel exports have doubled twice in the past three decades—from 1990 to 2005 andagain from 2005 to today.
48% of the world’s internationally traded metallurgical coal and 19% of thermal coal originate from Australia, making it the largest and second-largest exporter of each, respectively.
Australia’s liquefied gas exports have increased seven-fold since 2005, with the country now producing 20% of all internationally traded LNG.
Since 2021, despite global warnings, Australia has approved 30 new coal and gas projects under Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act with more approved under the offshore oil and gas regime.
Australia’s fossil fuel pipeline will add more still. A conservative selection of the projects currently being planned in Australia would create as much as 18.6 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions—equivalent to 6.2% of the world’s remaining 1.5°C carbon budget.
Australia’s exported fossil fuel emissions will be 3.3 times larger than its domestic emissions within five years.
Political bipartisanship across successive Australian governments has
overseen a massive expansion of oil, gas and coal production despite
promises to act on climate change over the last three decades, a new
report suggests.
The report, Exporting Harm: The Climate Toll of Australia’s Fossil fuel Expansion,
by the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, a diplomatic
and civil society campaign to create a treaty to stop fossil fuel
exploration, expansion and set up a managed phase-out of oil, gas and
coal use, to examine Australia’s track record on climate change.
It
found that despite its rhetoric, Australia has worked to establish
itself as “a fossil fuel behemoth” over the past three decades since the
International Panel on Climate Change released its First Assessment
report in 1990, with the country exporting increasing amounts of fossil
fuels even as its domestic emissions have fallen.
In the fifteen
years after the release of the First Assessment Report, the burden of
Australia’s fossil fuel exports doubled. It doubled again between 2005
and 2020, driven by a massive increase in coal and gas exports.
During this time the Australian government was variously led by both
Labor and the Coalition, in what Michael Poland, campaign manager for
the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative in Northern New South Wales said was
“a bipartisan consensus on expanding coal and gas.”
“At least
Russia is somewhat honest about being a major fossil fuel producer,”
Poland said. “I think for me that fossil fuel exports have doubled twice
in the past three decades really just shows how deeply ingrained
bipartisan support for the fossil fuel industry is.
“Both major
parties have had a bipartisan position on expanding oil and gas. In the
wake of years of cyclones and floods and heatwaves, it’s really time to
break that repetitive cycle.”
With the focus of international
agreements like the Paris Climate Agreement focussed on the domestic use
of oil, gas and coal, Poland said the US, Canada and Australia have
been able to rely on the “drug dealers defence” – idea that exporters
are just filling a demand and that if they don’t sell a particular
fossil fuel, someone else will – to justify continuing fossil fuel
expansion.
Poland, whose family live in northern New South Wales and who have
been without power since Thursday just before Tropical Cyclone Alfred
made landfall, said the findings were particularly “surreal given the
circumstances.”
“The thing I’ve been thinking about at night
while I’ve had no power is that the Albanese government has approved 19
fossil fuel projects since the 2022 Lismore floods and that the PM this
week could come back to Lismore and not take responsibility for the
impact those decisions are having on events like this and communities
like ours,” he said.
The report found 48% of the world’s
internationally-traded metallurgical coal and 19% of thermal coal
originated in Australia, making the country the second-largest exporter
of each, respectively.
Australia’s LNG exports have increased
seven-fold since 2005, with the country now producing 20% of all
internationally-traded LNG.
Meanwhile the country currently has
30 new coal and gas projects at various levels of development, with a
conservative estimate suggesting this could add 18.6bn tonnes of
greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.
The possibility that a
cyclone such as Tropical Cyclone Alfred might make landfall in South
East Queensland was previously described in 2021 as a “nightmare scenario” by the Australian insurance industry owing to high population density in the region.
Australia
has been increasingly rocked by large natural disasters likely to have
been made worse by climate change in recent months and years, including
bushfires outside Perth and in regional Victoria, a developing drought
in South Australia, widespread flooding across New South Wales in 2022
and the Black Summer Bushfires.
As of 2021, climate change was costing the country $39bn a year, with this figure expected to rise to $73bn by 2060.
Currently
16 governments have endorsed a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty
including the governments of Colombia and Pakistan, and Pacific
countries such as Fiji, Nauru, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste,
Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Tonga.
Sydney heatwave, bushfires, seawall construction, renewable energy.
Following is a review of climate change related events in Australia for the week ending 16/3/2025:
1. Heatwave and Bushfire Risks in New South Wales
New South Wales experienced a severe heatwave, prompting authorities to issue a total fire ban for Sydney due to elevated bushfire risks.
Temperatures soared, increasing concerns about potential fires across the region. Link
2. Debate Over Seawall Construction in Collaroy and Narrabeen
A seawall was constructed between Collaroy and Narrabeen, suburbs on Sydney's northern beaches, in response to significant erosion that threatened local properties.
This development has sparked debate among residents and experts regarding its long-term effectiveness and environmental impact.
Some coastal scientists and environmental groups warn that such structures might increase erosion and alter beach dynamics, while some residents feel it offers temporary security. Link
3. Criticism of the Coalition's Nuclear Energy Proposal
Dr. Jonathan Pershing, a former U.S. special envoy for climate change, criticised the Federal Coalition's proposal to adopt nuclear energy, labelling it the most expensive option compared to alternatives like solar power paired with battery storage.
He highlighted the global trend away from new nuclear projects due to high costs and lengthy implementation timelines, suggesting that renewable energy sources offer more cost-effective and reliable solutions. Link
4. Sydney's Record-Breaking Heat
Sydney faced potentially record-breaking heat, with temperatures reaching unprecedented levels for this time of year.
The city anticipated relief with an upcoming cool change, but the unusual heat underscores the increasing frequency of extreme weather events linked to climate change. Link
5. Australia's Progress Towards Climate Goals
The latest Quarterly Update of Australia's National Greenhouse Gas Inventory reported emissions at 440.6 million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent for the year up to June 2024, marking a 0.7% decrease compared to the previous year.
This reduction aligns with Australia's ongoing efforts to meet its climate commitments and transition towards a low-carbon economy. Link
