Forty leading Australian scientists have issued an urgent call for action on climate change. Drafted by Barrie Pittock and Andrew Glickson, the statement says that there is a “window of opportunity to halt a climate crisis”, if Australia begins:
Urgently cutting carbon emissions.
Seizing the opportunity to fast-track utilisation of established and new clean energy technologies thus creating new business opportunities.
An urgent tree-planting campaign in Australia and its neighbors.
Attempts at CO2 capture through soil-carbon enrichment and preservation.
The statement has a list of nine suggested policies, including committing (and urging others to commit to) a peak greenhouse gas level of 450 ppm CO2e. Barry Brook at Brave New Climate, one of the signatories, suggests we may need to go further:
We need CO2-e to be 300-325 ppm, and >100% emissions reductions (with active geo-bio-sequestration) as soon as possible. Nothing less is going to pull out out of the sticky mire into which we are now rapidly sinking.
It would be useful if our science community could issue an equivalent statement in the run up to the election, to provide voters with guidance on what can and should be done here – and a yardstick against which to measure policy proposals (or the lack of them). Consider it the scientific equivalent of Treasury’s opening of the national books…
nice to see Pittock back into the media mix.. adding weight to his earlier and well-received analyses stateside and aussie-wide.
Good stuff from the Australians – much more urgent than our version from the Royal Society in July.
Gee, all this when GISTEMP has showed no warming for 7 years and an acelerating downward trend for cooling. I am not a statistian but I reckon the later cooling trend is more relavent than the 10 yr average, which I do admit shows warming via GISTEMP. Also CO2 has increased 5% in the last 10 years.
Ironic for the Aussies to be saying this action is required when Sydney has had it’s coldest October day for 30 years, http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/coldest-october-day-since-1978–a-hrefhttpisgd4wjwbphotosba–a-hrefhttpisgd4azgbvideoba/2008/10/23/1224351393939.html
Irony of it all.
The worldwide economic slowdown will help, that should please the greenies, lower standard of living, but lower CO2 output.
One cold day eh Peter… must mean AGW is a lie!
You can’t imagine the parties us greenies are having over the down turn of the economy!
Jonno – I knew i would get the weather answer, I suppose the trend over the past 7 years is weather as well?
Greens are just a bunch of fuckwits, still think Mother Russia is a utopia.
“Greens are just a bunch of fuckwits, still think Mother Russia is a utopia.”
Good point, guess Gareth should just close the whole site down.
Peter: yes, the trend over the last seven years is still “weather”.
Stephen: And then where would the trolls go? No – I provide a public service. 😉
Peter
global warming brings with it extreme weather events. That Sydney had its coldest day in 30 years is consistent with this. Record highs – and lows…
“mother russia is utopia” ? Do you have a reference for that?
“No – I provide a public service. 😉 ”
Indeed you do.
Peter Bickle, you’re seeming a bit short sighted, how are greens ‘fuckwits’ as you so eloquently put it?
could we see some facts to back this up? or are you just speculating due to your lack of available brain cells?
Peter Bickle, perhaps you can answer my question. If its actually cold and getting colder- why is the Arctic melting? (I’ve asked this question before of your colleagues, but I didn’t get a direct answer. FYI they said its getting warmer but that was not due to AGW, and that it was getting colder due to the moon.)
“Jonno – I knew i would get the weather answer, I suppose the trend over the past 7 years is weather as well?”
Of course you would, cause you don’t undertsand the differnce between weather and climate.
“Greens are just a bunch of fuckwits, still think Mother Russia is a utopia”
Yes, hail Russia; you might not be able to understand science, but you do understand us ‘greenies’… spot on!