Adaptation to global warming in Australia

Last updated
Koala climbing tree Koala climbing tree.jpg
Koala climbing tree

Adaptation to climate change is important because the risks are particularly severe in some regions of Australia, such as the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, the Macquarie Marshes in New South Wales. The Department of Climate Change said in its Climate Change Impacts and Costs fact sheet: "...ecologically rich sites, such as the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland Wet Tropics, Kakadu Wetlands, Australian Alpine areas, south-western Australia and sub- Antarctic islands are all at risk, with significant loss of biodiversity projected to occur by 2020". [1] [ needs update ] It also said: "Very conservatively, 90 Australian animal species have so far been identified at risk from climate change, including mammals, insects, birds, reptiles, fish, and amphibians from all parts of Australia." Australia is already the driest populated continent in the world.

Contents

Seawall in Machans Beach, Queensland Looking south along the sea wall at Machans Beach, 2018.jpg
Seawall in Machans Beach, Queensland

According to projections by the Department of Climate Change in Australia, it is expected that national average temperatures would increase[ when? ] by 0.4 to 2.0 °C . Based on some predictions for 2070, data suggests that people who are not accustomed to the warmer climate may experience as much as 45 days per year where they are unable to tolerate being outside, compared to the current 4–6 days per year. [2] Rainfall patterns and the degree of droughts and storms brought about by extreme weather conditions are likely to be affected.

Adaptation

According to the IPCC's 2001 Assessment Report, no matter how much effort is put into mitigating climate change, some amount of climate change cannot be avoided. The report shared that adaptation should complement mitigation efforts. [3]

Adaptation is the approach that focuses on alleviating current problems brought about by global warming and climate change. It is the attempt to live with the changes in the environment and the economy that global warming has generated and will continue to generate. In short, it involves taking action to deal with the problems brought about by global warming and climate change. Examples include building better flood defences and avoiding the building of residential areas near low-lying, flood-prone areas.

In contrast, mitigation focuses on steps taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is the set of preventative measures taken to curb global warming and climate change. Examples would be investing in clean fuel and using renewable energy such as wind and solar power.

Although national governments and local authorities are taking stringent mitigation measures,[ citation needed ] the need for adaptation is in the interest of dealing with climate change because carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere for decades and is trapped in oceans for centuries, thereby resulting in a change in ocean chemistry and may adversely affect ocean life. [4] No matter how much humanity cuts greenhouse gas emissions now, the emissions released now will have an impact for decades. Therefore, adaptation is crucial for cities looking towards strengthening their resistance against the climate impact that past emissions have caused – to deal with the problems caused by greenhouse gas emissions pumped out years ago.

The determinants of adaptive capacity include the availability of financial resources, technology, specialised institutions and human resources, as well as access to information and existence of laws (both social and organisational) – attributes and resources that are usually scarce in developing countries and in small cities. In cities with a proven vulnerability to climate change, investment is likely to require the strengthening of urban infrastructure, including storm drain systems, water supply and treatment plants, and protection or relocation of solid waste management and power generation facilities.

Coastal regions are likely to need large investment in physical infrastructure projects, specifically projects related to the effects of rising sea levels. Projects such as the construction of protective barriers against rising sea levels, the building of dams to retain and manage water, the redesign and development of port facilities and the improvement of the defence systems at coastal areas should be carried out.

Another measure of adaptation is the construction of new cities on higher ground,[ citation needed ] withdrawing the population away from vulnerable floodplains. This withdrawal would probably be managed over time, and may require a public-private partnership consisting of a combination of market incentives such as the differential cost of insurance and re-insurance, and investment planning.

Internalising the limitations of climate change requires proper planning for land use and the adherence to building codes. Planning for land use should channel new residential developments and productive investment towards less vulnerable areas. The inhabitants of slums and informal housing should receive assistance to regularise their properties, enabling low-income groups such as themselves to buy, build or rent homes in secure locations.

As a basis for planning, local authorities need a reliable and well-informed assessment of the risks faced by urban cities. The dissemination of such information, and establishing early warning systems and evacuation plans including warning systems for emergencies, disaster response and improved urban environmental management is crucial for adapting to the dangers of climate change.

Projects and programs in Australia

Federal, state and territory policy makers have supported a National Biodiversity and Climate Change Action Plan that works to adapt to the impacts of climatic change and manage the effects on wildlife. [5] The nation is also interested to co-ordinate the management of its coasts[ citation needed ] and strives to lessen the effects of climate change on agriculture. Federal natural resource goals, government agencies and non-government organizations established 56 regional resource management (NRM), [6] organisations beginning in the mid-1990s. NRM organisations fall under the federal government Natural Heritage Trust. NRM operate according to individual constitutions, usually by the state government and others by community associations. Their boards are appointed by either the local government or community stakeholders. NRM Planning for Climate Fund', put $13.6 million toward helping NRMs plan land use in light of climate change by building a base of detailed climatic information. [5] Part of making this included making interactive online tools for interpreting climate data: Regional Climate Change Explorer, Climate Futures Tool, and Climate Campus. Adaption NRM makes climate information easier to apply to regional planning through 5 modules. These include an NRM Adaption Checklist, adaptive weed management framework, modeling techniques for biodiversity, field options for biodiversity management, and stakeholder engagement. The World Resources Institute identifies policy uncertainty and over-reliance on international markets as the top threats to Australia's GHG mitigation. [7] Internationally, Australia is bound to reducing emissions to at least 5% by 2020  under the Copenhagen Accord and Cancun Agreements and .5% less than 1990 levels by 2020 under the Kyoto Protocol. Domestically, the Clean Energy Act 2011 addresses GHG with an emissions cap, carbon price, and subsidies. Emissions by the electric sector are addressed by Renewable Energy targets at multiple scales, Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), carbon capture and storage flagships, and feed-in tariffs on solar panels. Emissions by the industrial sector are addressed by the Energy Efficiency Opportunities (EEO) program. [8] Emissions by the building sector are addressed by building codes, minimum energy performance standards, Commercial Building Disclosure program, state energy-saving obligations, and the National Energy Saving Initiative. Emissions by the transportation sector are addressed by reduced fuel tax credits and vehicle emissions performance standards. Emissions by the agricultural sector are addressed by the Carbon Farming Initiative and state land-clearing laws. Emissions by the land use sector are addressed by the Clean Energy Future Package, [9] which consists of the Carbon Farming Futures program, Diversity Fund, Regional Natural Resources Management Planning for Climate Change Fund, Indigenous Carbon Farming Fund, and Carbon Farming Skills program.

National Climate Change Adaptation Programme

The Department of Climate Change (Australia) has come up with the National Climate Change Adaptation Programme which aims to work with industries, scientific organisations, residents and other governments to create workable solutions. According to the programme brochure, "Guidelines, planning tools and information about climate change impacts form the basis of the Programme". [10] Some A$14 million over a period of four years (2008–2012) is to be spent on this initiative . The programme has forged strong research links in at-risk areas such as the Great Barrier Reef. Research conducted in the Great Barrier Reef is focused on developing methods to deal with climate change to protect the reef. It is hoped that this work will create a universal model for sustainable, cost-effective reef development. According to the programme's brochure: "National greenhouse mitigation policies and programmes are projected to reduce emissions by 94 million tonnes by 2010 – the equivalent of removing every motor vehicle in Australia from the road! However, the greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere and the growing emissions from around the world will affect our climate. Adaptation to climate change will complement action to reduce greenhouse gases". [10]

Climate Adaptation Flagship

The Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) started the Climate Adaptation Flagship , with the aim of "enabling Australia to adapt more effectively to the impacts of climate change and variability and informing national planning, regulation and investment decisions". This is part of the National Research Flagships Program , designed to bring various stakeholders, i.e. research companies, industries, international connections, eminent scientists and CSIRO, together in hope of delivering practical solutions that address the pressing issues of Australia.

The Climate Adaptation Flagship project concerns both climate variability (or non-human causes, as defined by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) and climate change. The research budget for this Flagship for the year 2008–09 is close to A$30 million . There are four research prongs to this project:

  1. Pathways to adaptation: Concerns studies on climate science, analyses of economic and social situations and choices of adaptation, understanding the values of various affected and involved parties, effects of implementing adaption options, and the hurdles limiting adaptation.
  2. Sustainable cities and costs: Concerns research into facilities design, development of urban systems, integration of socio-economic and environmental studies to help stakeholders adjust to the effects of climate change on a regional level, and the development of high-quality urban development projects that improve the available body of information related to climate adaptation with a focus on cohesive urban construction and development.
  3. Managing species and natural ecosystems: Concerns research into forecasting nature's response to climate change, and coming up with adaptation options to improve its hardiness; minimising the threats brought about by forest fires, habitat loss and invasive species; and connecting climate change adaptation strategies into environmental protection and natural resource administration policies.
  4. Adaptive primary industries, enterprises and communities: Concerns research into providing workable adaptation solutions that will maintain the way of life of rural communities and industries adversely affected by the prospect of climate change, the use of participatory engagement to integrate policies that address the management of uncertainties brought about by climate change into administrative policies of the industries, choices of adaptation and tools to aid decision-makers and industries in lessening the impacts of climate change and to allow them to benefit from new opportunities, and the development of new techniques and technologies to enable industries to properly and effectively manage climate change.

National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility

NCCARF is hosted by Griffith University in Queensland and "leads the research community in a national interdisciplinary effort to generate the information needed by decision-makers in government and in vulnerable sectors and communities to manage the risks of climate change impacts.". [11]

The key roles of NCCARF include:

The facility is a partnership between the Australian government's Department of Climate Change and Griffith University, with a consortium of funding partners drawn from across the country:

The facility is based at Griffith University's Gold Coast campus, but works in close partnership with the wider Australian climate change adaptation research community.

The Local Adaptations Pathway Program

The Australian government is of the view that local government is critical in managing the impacts of climate change and seeks to assist local councils in studying and applying adaptation options. The programme is the Australian government's initiative to enable councils to go through climate change risk assessments and come up with action plans to prepare for the impacts the phenomenon may have on local society. Up to A$50,000 will be released. A list of councils successful in procuring the funding is provided on the programme's website .

See also

Related Research Articles

Environmental finance is a field within finance that employs market-based environmental policy instruments to improve the ecological impact of investment strategies. The primary objective of environmental finance is to regress the negative impacts of climate change through pricing and trading schemes.The field of environmental finance was established in response to the poor management of economic crises by government bodies globally. Environmental finance aims to reallocate a businesses resources to improve the sustainability of investments whilst also retaining profit margins.

Scientific consensus on climate change Evaluation of climate change by the scientific community

There is currently a strong scientific consensus that the Earth is warming and that this warming is mainly caused by human activities. This consensus is supported by various studies of scientists' opinions and by position statements of scientific organizations, many of which explicitly agree with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) synthesis reports.

Climate engineering or climate intervention, commonly referred to as geoengineering, is the deliberate and large-scale intervention in the Earth's climate system. The most prominent subcategories of climate engineering are solar radiation management and carbon dioxide removal. Solar radiation management refers to offsetting the warming effect of greenhouse gases by reflecting more solar radiation (sunlight) back into space. Carbon dioxide removal refers to removing carbon dioxide gas from the atmosphere and sequestering it for long periods of time.

Climate change mitigation Actions to limit the magnitude of climate change and its impact on human activities

Climate change mitigation consists of actions to limit the magnitude or rate of global warming and its related effects. This generally involves reductions in human emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs).

Politics of climate change

The complex politics of global warming results from numerous cofactors arising from the global economy's dependence on carbon dioxide emitting fossil fuels; and because greenhouse gases such as CO
2, methane and N
2O cause global warming.

  1. Implications to all aspects of a nation-state's economy: The vast majority of the world economy relies on energy sources or manufacturing techniques that release greenhouse gases at almost every stage of production, transportation, storage, delivery & disposal while a consensus of the world's scientists attribute global warming to the release of CO
    2     and other greenhouse gases. This intimate linkage between global warming and economic vitality implicates almost every aspect of a nation-state's economy;
  2. Industrialization of the developing world: As developing nations industrialize their energy needs increase and since conventional energy sources produce CO
    2    , the CO
    2     emissions of developing countries are beginning to rise at a time when the scientific community, global governance institutions and advocacy groups are telling the world that CO
    2     emissions should be decreasing.
  3. Metric selection (transparency) and perceived responsibility / ability to respond: Among the countries of the world, disagreements exist over which greenhouse gas emission metrics should be used like total emissions per year, per capita emissions per year, CO2 emissions only, deforestation emissions, livestock emissions or even total historical emissions. Historically, the release of CO
    2     has not been even among all nation-states, and nation-states have challenges with determining who should restrict emissions and at what point of their industrial development they should be subject to such commitments;
  4. Vulnerable developing countries and developed country legacy emissions: Some developing nations blame the developed world for having created the global warming crisis because it was the developed countries that emitted most of the CO
    2     over the twentieth century and vulnerable countries perceive that it should be the developed countries that should pay to fix the problem;
  5. Consensus-driven global governance models: The global governance institutions that evolved during the 20th century are all consensus driven deliberative forums where agreement is difficult to achieve and even when agreement is achieved it is almost impossible to enforce;
  6. Well organized and funded special-interest lobbying bodies: Special interest lobbying by well organized groups, such as the fossil fuels lobby, distort and amplify aspects of the challenge.

The economics of climate change concerns the economic aspects of climate change; this can inform policies that governments might consider in response. A number of factors make this and the politics of climate change a difficult problem: it is a long-term, intergenerational problem; benefits and costs are distributed unequally both within and across countries; and both scientific and public opinions need to be taken into account.

Climate change Current rise in Earths average temperature and its effects

Climate change includes both the global warming driven by human emissions of greenhouse gases, and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century, humans have had unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.

A low-carbon economy (LCE), low-fossil-fuel economy (LFFE), or decarbonised economy is an economy based on low-carbon power sources that therefore has a minimal output of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into the atmosphere, specifically carbon dioxide. GHG emissions due to anthropogenic (human) activity are the dominant cause of observed global warming since the mid-20th century. Continued emission of greenhouse gases may cause long-lasting changes around the world, increasing the likelihood of severe, pervasive, and irreversible effects for people and ecosystems.

Climate change in Australia Effects of climate change on Australia and adaptation to it

Climate change in Australia has been a critical issue since the beginning of the 21st century. Australia is becoming hotter, and more prone to extreme heat, bushfires, droughts, floods and longer fire seasons because of climate change. Since the beginning of the 20th century Australia has experienced an increase of nearly 1 °C in average annual temperatures, with warming occurring at twice the rate over the past 50 years than in the previous 50 years. Recent climate events such as extremely high temperatures and widespread drought have focused government and public attention on the impacts of climate change in Australia. Rainfall in southwestern Australia has decreased by 10–20% since the 1970s, while southeastern Australia has also experienced a moderate decline since the 1990s. Rainfall is expected to become heavier and more infrequent, as well as more common in summer rather than in winter. Water sources in the southeastern areas of Australia have depleted due to increasing population in urban areas coupled with persistent prolonged drought.

Garnaut Climate Change Review

Professor Ross Garnaut led two climate change reviews, the first commencing in 2007 and the second in 2010.

This is a list of climate change topics.

Climate change in Massachusetts

Climate change in Massachusetts will affect both urban and rural environments, including forestry, fisheries, agriculture, and coastal development. The Northeast is projected to warm faster than global average temperatures; by 2035, the Northeast is "projected to be more than 3.6°F (2°C) warmer on average than during the preindustrial era."

Greenhouse gas emissions by Australia Climate changing gases from Australia

Australia has one of the highest per capita emissions of greenhouse gas in the world, with its 0.3% of the world's population releasing 1.07% of the world's greenhouse gases. Emissions per capita for Australia are still well above the OECD, and developed world average, with most sources pointing to 22-25 tons. Australia uses principally coal power (70%) for electricity but this is decreasing with a growing share of renewables making up the energy supply mix. Emissions by the country have started to fall and are expected to continue to fall in coming years as more projects come online.

Australia is well placed to harness solar thermal energy. Solar thermal energy is used in three main ways: solar hot water heating, production of steam for electricity generation and space heating through building design.

Biosequestration

Biosequestration is the capture and storage of the atmospheric greenhouse gas carbon dioxide by continual or enhanced biological processes.

The Chicago Climate Action Plan (CCAP) is Chicago's climate change mitigation and adaptation strategy that was adopted in September 2008. The CCAP has an overarching goal of reducing Chicago's greenhouse gas emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, with an interim goal of 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2020.

Paris Agreement 2016 international agreement concerning global warming

The Paris Agreement is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), dealing with greenhouse-gas-emissions mitigation, adaptation, and finance, signed in 2016. The agreement's language was negotiated by representatives of 196 state parties at the 21st Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC in Le Bourget, near Paris, France, and adopted by consensus on 12 December 2015. As of December 2020, all 197 members of the UNFCCC have signed the agreement and 189 remain party to it. Of the eight countries which are not party to the law, the only significant emitters are Iran and the United States.

Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants

The Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (CCAC) was launched by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and six countries — Bangladesh, Canada, Ghana, Mexico, Sweden, and the United States — on 16 February 2012. The CCAC aims to catalyze rapid reductions in short-lived climate pollutants to protect human health, agriculture and the environment. To date, more than $47 million has been pledged to the Climate and Clean Air Coalition from Canada, Denmark, the European Commission, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United States. The program is managed out of the United Nations Environmental Programme through a Secretariat in Paris, France.

Technological Innovation for Climate Change Mitigation

Climate change has worsened at the hands of human activity for centuries, and many scientific efforts have been made since the first political acknowledgment. In order to avoid the ongoing and potential impacts of climate change, mitigation technologies have been developed in order to adapt to the issue, each invention belonging to one of four specific groups of effort. These groups include energy efficiency improvements, renewable energy (RE), nuclear power/energy (NE), and carbon capture storage (CCS). However, concerns regarding mitigating and adapting to climate change commonly have a priority focus on the groups of carbon capture storage and renewable energy efforts.

The history of climate change policy and politics refers to the continuing history of political actions, policies, trends, controversies and activist efforts as they pertain to the issue of global warming and other environmental anomalies. Dryzek, Norgaard, and Schlosberg suggest that critical reflection on the history of climate policy is necessary because it provides 'ways to think about one of the most difficult issues we human beings have brought upon ourselves in our short life on the planet’.

References

  1. ↑ Climate Change – Potential impacts and costs Archived 22 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2008-08-01
  2. ↑ Maloney, Shane K.; Forbes, Cecil F. (2011). "What effect will a few degrees of climate change have on human heat balance? Implications for human activity". International Journal of Biometeorology. 55 (2): 147–160. Bibcode:2011IJBm...55..147M. doi:10.1007/s00484-010-0320-6. ISSN   0020-7128. PMID   20461416. S2CID   19894521.
  3. ↑ Climate Change 2001: Synthesis Report Archived 9 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2008-07-30
  4. ↑ Oceans Found to Absorb Half of All Man-Made Carbon Dioxide Retrieved 2008-07-29
  5. 1 2 "Department of the Environment and Energy". Department of the Environment and Energy. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  6. ↑ "The NRM Regional Model – NRM Regions Australia". nrmregionsaustralia.com.au. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  7. ↑ "Greenhouse Gas Mitigation in Australia | World Resources Institute". www.wri.org. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  8. ↑ "IEA - Australia". www.iea.org. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  9. ↑ "A clean energy future | Treasury.gov.au". treasury.gov.au. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  10. 1 2 National Climate Change Adaptation Programme Retrieved 2008-07-31
  11. ↑ National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility Retrieved 2011-07-06
    This page is based on this Wikipedia article
    Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
    Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.