Edmund Rice Justice Bulletin

Last month the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its latest report  which concluded that ‘Human influence on the climate system is clear’ and that ‘Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and since the 1950s, many of the observed changes are unprecedented over decades to millennia.’

The major predicted effects of climate change include:-
-an increase in extreme weather events
-significant biodiversity loss through species extinction
-reductions of crop productivity
-significant loss of water availability for human consumption
-more frequent coastal flooding and increased erosion from storms and sea level rise
-an increased death rate from disease associated with floods and droughts

In Australia the last month was the hottest September ever recorded following a summer which was the hottest on record and which broke 120 records. The 2013/4 summer has arrived early with already major bushfires breaking out in NSW - unprecedented for October.

Meanwhile, political leaders remain in denial when faced with the overwhelming scientific evidence about this most serious threat to the planet, and remain unwilling to implement the potentially unpopular measures needed to address the issue.

The newly elected Australian Government is already going backwards on climate change having cut the climate department, abolished the Climate Commission, and planning to repeal legislation which has put a price on pollution and provided funding for renewable energy. Alarmingly the government appears to have no credible plans to respond to this most serious threat to our planet.

Get-Up  is planning a National Day of Climate Action on 17th November in capital cities and towns across the nation. Visit the above website for details.