Climate change inevitable: Minister
July 26, 2005
AUSTRALIANS should expect higher temperatures, more droughts, severe cyclones and storm surges as a result of inevitable climate change, a new study has found.
The Climate Change, Risk and Vulnerability report findings could be considered alarming but the changes would take place over time, Environment Minister Ian Campbell said.
Even if greenhouse gas emissions could be miraculously halted tomorrow, there would still be climate change because of gases already in the environment, the government-commissioned report reveals.
With expected higher temperatures, more droughts, severe cyclones and storm surges, the agricultural sector would have to look to new crops and livestock that could handle the environment, Senator Campbell said.
And it was becoming obvious human-induced climate change was occurring through greenhouse gas emissions.
"It could be painted as alarming but the reality is that these changes will happen over time," Senator Campbell said on ABC radio.
"They are talking about a 30 to 50-year time span.
"What we need to know as a nation, what the states' governments need to know, what the emergency services need to know, town planners need to know is where are these risks the most likely to occur in the short term.
"There are a whole range of things we can learn from this report and it can help us adapt."
Senator Campbell said there were strong reasons for comprehensive global action to deal with climate change.
But he gave no indication the Government had moved closer to signing the Kyoto protocol on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
"What this report is telling us is even if we were able to stop all greenhouse gas emissions going into the atmosphere through some miraculous international agreement and inventions and so forth, and new technologies, that we are still going to have climate change because of the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere over the last 50 years," he said.
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