CLIMATE CHANGE - The mother of all environmental problems.

Human activities are now playing a major part in influencing the global climate. The burning of fossil fuels is the principal contributor to the generation of green house gases, followed by changes in land use and land use practices such as tree clearing.

Australia is one of the biggest polluters in the world when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions per year. There are 24 coal power stations in Australia that release more than 170 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year. These coal driven power stations generate 84 percent of all the electricity produced in the country.

Climate change is a particularly significant threat for Far North Queensland. There are numerous potential environmental and humanitarian risks associated with global warming and climate change. The local scientific community, who have conducted some of the worlds foremost research into climate change impacts, recognise that Far North Queensland is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

The predicted changes for this region include the following:

• Loss of high-altitude tropical rainforests with a 2oC increase in average temperatures - many of the plants and animals that live in our high-altitude forests are endemic to these forests i.e. they occur no where else. The mountains that support these systems are not very high, which means there is no where for these forests to retreat to. Many wonderful and unique birds, possums and other animals and plants will face extinction.
• Significant impacts to the Great Barrier Reef. Coral bleaching events are set to increase and it is predicted that up to half the corals of the GBR could be killed by the end of this century. The corals are the basis of much of this marine ecosystem - their death will have huge ripple effects throughout the marine environment.
• More extensive storm tide flooding and erosion of coastal areas and infrastructure associated with sea-level rise and more intense tropical cyclones.
• Changes in the characteristics of surface and ground-water resources due to reductions in annual rainfall and increased rainfall intensity.
• Increased vulnerability to land degradation, i.e. salinity, soil erosion and accompanying nutrient loss, associated with increased rainfall intensity. Alterations to crop seasons and the ability for some regions to sustain current agricultural practises in response to variations in maximum and minimum temperature and water availability.
• Increased flood risks and damage to transport infrastructure and low-lying human settlements.
• Increased risks of wildfires.
• Changes in energy demand and peak load associated with increased maximum temperatures in summer and higher minimum temperatures in winter.
• Changes in human and animal health resulting from heat stress and changes in the location of current vector borne diseases, pests and weed populations.

Despite being one of the largest coal burning nations in the world, the Australian Commonwealth Government refused to sign the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions in participating countries. Because we are not a party to the Kyoto Protocol, there are no disincentives against further production of electricity by coal-driven power stations. Not only is the use of coal and fossil fuels to produce electricity one of the greatest sources of greenhouse gas emissions, it is also extremely inefficient. Only about 25-35 % of the energy actually stored in the coal is transformed into electrical energy. Although methods have been suggested to reduce carbon dioxide emissions without changing from coal to other energy sources, none of these are practically, economically or environmentally viable at present, or will provide an adequate solution to the problem. The remaining greenhouse gas emissions in Australia mainly come from transport, changes in land use and forestry.

What CAFNEC is doing:

CAFNEC has been instrumental in the formation of the NORTH QUEENSLAND CLIMATE ALLIANCE, who's mission is: "To facilitate positive actions across all sectors of our community to reduce our regions contribution to climate change and to assist our community and environment to adapt to climate change impacts".

Involvement in WALK AGAINST WARMING, COOL COMMUNITIES and other national and international collaborations occur from time to time.

CAFNEC has also provided input into policy development for the State Government Greenhouse Strategy and the Federal Government Mandatory Renewable Energy Targets (MRET). We are also pushing to highlight the impact of fluorocarbon based refrigerants still widely used in Australia and which are far more potent greenhouse gases than CO2 or Methane, and for which cheaper suitable alternatives are available.

What can you do?

Write to your local state and federal MP

Join your local environment group working on Climate Change

Reduce the amount of energy you consume

Recent Happenings

Walk Against Warming - Nov 11

In 60 cities and towns across Australia, 150,000 people took part in Walk Against Warming events across the country to send a clear message to all political parties that not enough has been done to tackle climate change and that delaying further action until the next election will be too late to prevent its dangerous impacts.

Melbourne put in a great effort with 50 000 people on the streets. Cairns managed 350-400 people, an increase on last year. Polling in this region continually shows a high rate of concern for climate change. But what do the relatively low numbers in the Cairns march show? Is it that many in the far north feel either that their voices don't count, or that concern in our vulnerable region remains lower than many other regions? Perhaps marches are not part of how many do things up here? Regardless, those that showed their concern made it a great morning out and helped add weight to this most-important debate. Thanks to all those who helped organise and promote this years walk.

CAFNEC Joins APEC Global Climate Action Day

MORE INFO HERE