Extract from The Guardian Website:
Site contradicts Tony Abbott's statement that link is 'hogwash', pointing to 'growing and robust body of evidence'
Tony Abbott’s insistence that any link between climate change and
bushfires is “complete hogwash” is contradicted by information published
on the Department of Environment’s own website, it has emerged.
In an interview with News Corporation columnist Andrew Bolt, Abbott rubbished claims that climate change was influencing the New South Wales bushfires, adding that people who make such claims are “desperate to find anything that they think might pass as ammunition for their cause”.
Earlier this week, Abbott said that Christiana Figueres, the UN’s climate chief, was “talking out of her hat” for linking rising temperatures to increased bushfires.
Meanwhile, the environment minister, Greg Hunt, said Bureau of Meteorology staff have told him that no single event can be linked to climate change, citing a Wikipedia article as proof of Australia’s long history of repeated bushfires.
However, information on a website hosted by Hunt’s own department makes it clear that there is a heightened risk of more frequent and severe bushfires due to global warming.
A climatechange.gov.au document on the indicators of climate change states there is a “growing and robust body of evidence that climate change will increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events”.
“Australia has experienced an increasing number and intensity of heatwaves, bushfires, flooding and droughts in recent decades. For example, weather associated with high fire danger has shown a rapid increase in the late 1990s to early 2000s at many locations in south-eastern Australia.”
The document adds that while it is “difficult to isolate” the role of climate change in any given event, “long-term records demonstrate that we are now experiencing changes in the frequency and intensity of extreme events.”
A separate document on “extreme climate events” states: “Impacts of climate change will mostly be felt through extreme events.
“A changing climate leads to changes in the frequency, duration and intensity of droughts, floods, storms, heatwaves and fire and will test the resilience of natural and human coping abilities.
“The impact of extreme events has significant cost to the economy, society and the environment.”
It adds: “The ACCSP (Australian Climate Change Science Program) investigates extreme events to determine likely changes in their behaviour. For example, fire weather displayed a rapid increase in the late-1990s to early-2000s at many locations in south-eastern Australia.”
The climatechange.gov.au website was used by the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, which was wound up by the previous Labor government in March.
The functions and information held by the former department are being transferred over to a revamped Department of Industry, although the website is still branded with Department of Environment insignia.
The government’s own publicly available advice echoes findings released on Friday by the Climate Council, which states there is a “clear link” between bushfires and climate change.
The independent body, which was resurrected as a privately funded institution after the Coalition abolished the Climate Commission in September, said the NSW fires are being “influenced” by a long-term drying trend in south-east Australia.
According to Hunt at the time, the Climate Commission was dismantled due to the plentiful climate advice coming from the Department of Environment and government agencies such as the CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology.
Kevin Hennessy, principal research scientist at CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, said that fire risks are set to increase in the coming years due to climate change.
“While it’s almost impossible to attribute an individual extreme weather event to climate change, the risk of fire has increased in south-east Australia due to a warming and drying trend that is partly due to increases in greenhouse gases,” he said.
“An increase in fire-weather risk is very likely over future decades. The rate of increase depends on whether global greenhouse gases follow a low or high emission scenario. Carbon dioxide emissions have been tracking the high scenario over the past decade.”
Abbott’s stance on the link between bushfires and climate change has angered Australia’s Pacific island neighbours, as well as domestic political opponents.
“Tony Abbott is making Australia an international laughing stock by continuing to deny the link between climate change and the probability of extreme bushfire conditions,” said Christine Milne, leader of the Greens.
“The biggest sources of climate hogwash in Australia are our prime minister and environment minister. They are an embarrassment. It would be laughable if it were not so serious.
“Continuing to deny that the ferocious bushfires that have resulted in deaths and heartache for thousands have anything to do with global warming is foolish, but tearing down action to address it is negligent.
“The weight of scientific evidence is immense, paralleled only by the climate hogwash of our prime minister in conversation with Andrew Bolt.”
Hunt’s office has been contacted for a response.
In an interview with News Corporation columnist Andrew Bolt, Abbott rubbished claims that climate change was influencing the New South Wales bushfires, adding that people who make such claims are “desperate to find anything that they think might pass as ammunition for their cause”.
Earlier this week, Abbott said that Christiana Figueres, the UN’s climate chief, was “talking out of her hat” for linking rising temperatures to increased bushfires.
Meanwhile, the environment minister, Greg Hunt, said Bureau of Meteorology staff have told him that no single event can be linked to climate change, citing a Wikipedia article as proof of Australia’s long history of repeated bushfires.
However, information on a website hosted by Hunt’s own department makes it clear that there is a heightened risk of more frequent and severe bushfires due to global warming.
A climatechange.gov.au document on the indicators of climate change states there is a “growing and robust body of evidence that climate change will increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events”.
“Australia has experienced an increasing number and intensity of heatwaves, bushfires, flooding and droughts in recent decades. For example, weather associated with high fire danger has shown a rapid increase in the late 1990s to early 2000s at many locations in south-eastern Australia.”
The document adds that while it is “difficult to isolate” the role of climate change in any given event, “long-term records demonstrate that we are now experiencing changes in the frequency and intensity of extreme events.”
A separate document on “extreme climate events” states: “Impacts of climate change will mostly be felt through extreme events.
“A changing climate leads to changes in the frequency, duration and intensity of droughts, floods, storms, heatwaves and fire and will test the resilience of natural and human coping abilities.
“The impact of extreme events has significant cost to the economy, society and the environment.”
It adds: “The ACCSP (Australian Climate Change Science Program) investigates extreme events to determine likely changes in their behaviour. For example, fire weather displayed a rapid increase in the late-1990s to early-2000s at many locations in south-eastern Australia.”
The climatechange.gov.au website was used by the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, which was wound up by the previous Labor government in March.
The functions and information held by the former department are being transferred over to a revamped Department of Industry, although the website is still branded with Department of Environment insignia.
The government’s own publicly available advice echoes findings released on Friday by the Climate Council, which states there is a “clear link” between bushfires and climate change.
The independent body, which was resurrected as a privately funded institution after the Coalition abolished the Climate Commission in September, said the NSW fires are being “influenced” by a long-term drying trend in south-east Australia.
According to Hunt at the time, the Climate Commission was dismantled due to the plentiful climate advice coming from the Department of Environment and government agencies such as the CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology.
Kevin Hennessy, principal research scientist at CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, said that fire risks are set to increase in the coming years due to climate change.
“While it’s almost impossible to attribute an individual extreme weather event to climate change, the risk of fire has increased in south-east Australia due to a warming and drying trend that is partly due to increases in greenhouse gases,” he said.
“An increase in fire-weather risk is very likely over future decades. The rate of increase depends on whether global greenhouse gases follow a low or high emission scenario. Carbon dioxide emissions have been tracking the high scenario over the past decade.”
Abbott’s stance on the link between bushfires and climate change has angered Australia’s Pacific island neighbours, as well as domestic political opponents.
“Tony Abbott is making Australia an international laughing stock by continuing to deny the link between climate change and the probability of extreme bushfire conditions,” said Christine Milne, leader of the Greens.
“The biggest sources of climate hogwash in Australia are our prime minister and environment minister. They are an embarrassment. It would be laughable if it were not so serious.
“Continuing to deny that the ferocious bushfires that have resulted in deaths and heartache for thousands have anything to do with global warming is foolish, but tearing down action to address it is negligent.
“The weight of scientific evidence is immense, paralleled only by the climate hogwash of our prime minister in conversation with Andrew Bolt.”
Hunt’s office has been contacted for a response.
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