LATEST IPCC REPORT URGES SMART ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Media Release

Mark Butler MP.

Shadow Minister for Environment

 Climate Change and Water

Date:  31 March 2014

The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group II advises governments to take smart action to decrease the risks associated with climate change.

The report, compiled by 309 authors from 70 countries, with the assistance of 436 contributing authors and 1729 expert and government reviewers, concluded that responding to climate change involves making choices about risks in a changing world.

“Unfortunately in Australia, the Government is making the wrong choices and is not taking smart action against climate change,” Shadow Minister for Climate Change Mark Butler said.

“The Abbott Government has consistently ignored expert advice about the impending risks of climate change and is attempting to unravel the policy framework established by the previous Labor Government which was designed to address the exact risks identified in the IPCC report.”

“In its place, Tony Abbott and Greg Hunt are trying to introduce Direct Action, a deeply flawed, short-term tokenistic policy that pays big polluters to keep polluting.”

A recent Senate Inquiry into Direct Action heard from a range of experts including two of Australia’s leading economists, a number of leading climate scientists and industry representatives, most of whom provided extensive evidence of Direct Action’s inadequacies.

In a statement accompanying the release of the report the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group II noted the impacts of climate change are already widespread:

“Observed impacts of climate change have already affected agriculture, human health, ecosystems on land and in the oceans, water supplies, and some people’s livelihoods. The striking feature of observed impacts is that they are occurring from the tropics to the poles, from small islands to large continents, and from the wealthiest countries to the poorest.”

“This is why Labor introduced the Clean Energy Package to help Australia prepare for these impacts and to transition to a clean energy future,” Mr Butler said.

The report focussed on the importance of governments preparing for the health, agricultural, urban planning and economic impacts of climate change by investing in adaptation measures.

Some such measures are already in place in Australia including early warning systems for extreme weather events and community response plans for bushfires and heatwaves.

“However, the full-scale adaptation framework needed requires a government with both an inherent understanding of climate change and a willingness to take action.”

“Sadly, the Abbott administration is not that government. Since coming to power, Tony Abbott has been determined to send Australia backwards on climate change action across the board.”

“Tony Abbott has consistently questioned the legitimacy of climate science and questioned the evidence that indicates an increase in extreme weather events such as bushfires. He is not showing the leadership Australia needs to be prepared for impacts of climate change.”

“Australia needs to fall back into step with the rest of the world to make the right choices about our future,” Mr Butler said.