Clean Energy Future

Our climate is changing

Our climate is changing, largely due to the observed increases in human produced carbon pollution. These changes we have seen over the 20th century include increases in global average air and ocean temperature, widespread melting of snow and ice and rising global sea levels. The extra heat in the climate system has other impacts, such as affecting atmospheric and ocean circulation, which influences rainfall and wind patterns.

Another serious impact of increasing carbon pollution is ocean acidification. About a quarter of human-produced carbon dioxide is absorbed by the oceans. As the carbon dioxide dissolves in sea water it forms a weak carbonic acid, making the ocean more acidic. There are early indications that some marine organisms are already being affected by ocean acidification.

For more information see Chapter 1 – The need for action.

For further information about why we need to act and what others are doing see:

• Why we need to act
• What others are doing.

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What the science tells us

The vast majority of scientists worldwide agree that the many different lines of evidence all point to the same conclusion: human activity has unintentionally turned up the global thermostat. The release of large quantities of carbon pollution is making our planet warmer.

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is a natural component of the air we breathe and circulates in large quantities through natural processes. Over the past century, the levels of this gas in the atmosphere have jumped sharply as a result of our activities, such as burning fossil fuels (like coal) and clearing forests. Pollution from these activities has resulted in there being more CO₂ in the atmosphere now than at any time in the past 800,000 years.

Climate change has been confirmed consistently by leading scientific organisations from around the world, including:

• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC peak international body)
• Australian Academy of Science – The Science of Climate Change Questions and Answers
• CSIRO – Climate Change
• Bureau of Meteorology – Climate Change
• The Royal Society – Climate Change: A Summary of the Science
• Science Academies’ Statement: Climate Change Adaptation and the Transition to a Low Carbon Society
• NASA – Vital Signs of the Planet: Carbon Dioxide Concentration
• Climate Commission – The Critical Decade [PDF 4.8 MB]

For more information about the need for action.

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Garnaut Climate Change Review

The Garnaut Review 2011

In November 2010, Professor Garnaut was commissioned by the Australian Government to update his 2008 review which concluded that it was in Australia’s national interest to do its fair share in a strong global effort to reduce the impacts of climate change. The 2011 Update examined whether significant changes had occurred which would strengthen or weaken the main findings and recommendations reached in 2008.

The Garnaut Review 2011 is the product of seven months of research, analysis, expert studies and consultation, which have examined major developments in the past two and a half years across a range of subject areas: the climate science, global emissions, international progress on climate change mitigation, the land and electricity sectors, innovation and technology, and carbon pricing. Eight Update Papers on these topics were released between February and March 2011:

1. Weighing the costs and benefits of climate change action
2. Progress towards effective global action on climate change
3. Global emissions trends
4. Transforming rural land use
5. The science of climate change
6. Carbon pricing and reducing Australia’s emissions
7. Low emissions technology and the innovation challenge
8. Transforming the electricity sector

The Final Report, the Garnaut Review 2011 Australia in the Global Response to Climate Change, was presented to the Prime Minister on 31 May 2011.

A summary of the final report with two supplementary notes, A 10-year plan for carbon pricing revenue and Governance arrangements for Australia's carbon pricing scheme, were also released on 31 May 2011.

The 2011 report highlights that since 2008, advances in climate change science have broadly confirmed that the earth is warming, that human activity is the cause and that the changes in the physical world are likely, if anything, to be more harmful than the earlier science had suggested.

The 2011 report confirms that, as in 2008, Australia's national interest in contributing our fair share to a global mitigation effort is a story of how market-based approaches to reducing greenhouse gas emissions are the best way to preserve Australian prosperity as we make the transition to a low-carbon future. The report also outlines how the revenue generated from a market-based approach which puts a price on carbon can be used to assist this transition.

For more information about the need for action.

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Climate Commission

The Climate Commission is an independent body, set up to provide an authoritative and reliable source of information for all Australians. Professor Tim Flannery, a leading scientist and former Australian of the Year, acts as the Chief Commissioner of the Climate Commission. The other Commissioners reflect a breadth of experience and expertise in economics, business and public policy, science communication and science. The Commission’s role is to provide information for all Australians in order to:

• Explain the science of climate change and the impacts on Australia.
• Report on the progress of international action dealing with climate change.
• Explain the purpose and operation of a carbon price and how it may interact with the Australian economy and communities.

Commission activities

The Commission has presented The Critical Decade, its report on about what the science is telling us about the need to act on climate change and the risks of a changing climate to Australia.

The Commission provides updated assessments to the Government and the Multi-Party Climate Change Committee on the science of climate change. Its work is supported by an expert Science Advisory Panel.

For more information about the need for action.

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