We Want Climate Action Now: Sir David Attenborough

Showing posts with label Sir David Attenborough. Show all posts

Saturday, 20 April 2019

Climate change: Sir David Attenborough warns of 'catastrophe': BBC

"Sir David Attenborough has issued his strongest statement yet on the threat posed to the world by climate change.

In the BBC programme Climate Change - The Facts, the veteran broadcaster outlined the scale of the crisis facing the planet.

Sir David said we face "irreversible damage to the natural world and the collapse of our societies".

But there is still hope, he said, if dramatic action to limit the effects is taken over the next decade.

Sir David's new programme laid out the science behind climate change, the impact it is having right now and the steps that can be taken to fight it.

"In the 20 years since I first started talking about the impact of climate change on our world, conditions have changed far faster than I ever imagined," Sir David stated in the film."

Read the full article and see BBC video

Related: Burning trees as climate mitigation: A resort to the Court: Euractive

Friday, 25 January 2019

This is what happens to Australia if we don’t act: NEWS.com.au

"World leaders have been warned that civilisation could collapse

This year Australians have suffered through one of the worst droughts in living memory, bushfires and a heatwave that saw hundreds of flying foxes “boiled alive”. It also saw the publication of one of the most comprehensive reviews of climate science which delivered a “wildly alarming” report about where the world was headed.

Go to video

Yet Australia still does not have a climate change or energy policy.

This week there was an extraordinary act of rebellion from NSW Liberal Energy Minister Don Harwin, who used an opinion piece in the Australian Financial Review to accuse the Morrison Government of being “out of touch” on climate and energy policy.

Perhaps some of the doom and gloom from recent reports into the world’s changing climate is finally starting to filter through?

Climate change is certainly being taken seriously by many Australians, with the Climate of the Nation report this year showing the number of Australians concerned about it had reached a five-year high.

The report produced by The Australia Institute found 73 per cent of 1756 Australians surveyed were concerned about climate change, up from 66 per cent in 2017.

But Federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor has hit back at pressure from Mr Harwin and other states and territories who want higher emissions reduction targets, suggesting they need to “get back to reality”.

So what is the reality on climate change? Here are some facts.

AUSTRALIA HAS WARMED BY 1 DEGREE

On Thursday a new report was released that confirmed Australia had already warmed by 1C since records were first kept in 1910, according to the State of the Climate, a joint analysis released by Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO.

As well as a spike in the number of extreme heat days, oceans around Australia seem to be warning and this is contributing to a rise in sea levels, CSIRO director of the Climate Science Centre Helen Cleugh said.

The report confirms the findings of the “wildly alarming” Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, which also noted the world had warmed by 1C.

WE’RE ON TRACK FOR 3 DEGREES

The IPCC report has been hugely influential because it looked at 6000 peer-reviewed studies and involved 91 authors and review editors from 40 countries.

It found current pledges made by countries around the world — including Australia’s target to reduce emissions by 26 to 28 per cent on 2005 levels by 2030 — would see temperatures rise by 3C by the end of the century.

Scientists and climate activists have called on countries to ratchet up their carbon-cutting pledges as soon as possible.
Actions taken in the next 12 years until 2030 will be critical in order to have a chance of keeping global warming to 1.5C.
Temperatures are likely to rise by 1.5C between 2030 and 2052 if they continue to increase at the current rate.

WE’LL LOSE THE GREAT BARRIER REEF

The future is bleak for one of Australia’s biggest tourist attractions, which is estimated to be worth $56 billion to the country."

Read the complete News.com.au article and see the video

New Zealand's Prime Minister discusses climate change: ABC

The World Economic Forum discusses climate heating.

Gore, Attenborough and Ardern

New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern discusses climate change alongside David Attenborough at a World Economic Forum in Switzerland.

'being on the right side of history'

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and naturalist David Attenborough have issued a strong message to world leaders who do not believe in climate change while appearing together at the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos.

Key points:

Ms Ardern said combating climate change is "about being on the right side of history'
Attenborough said "it's difficult to overstate the climate change crisis"

Joining a panel hosted by former US vice president Al Gore, Ms Ardern, a long-time supporter of efforts to combat climate change, said leaders do not have to cede power by acting on the matter.

"There's nothing to fear about your individual political status," she said.

"Actually, this is about being on the right side of history.

"Do you want to be a leader that you look back in time and say that you were on the wrong side of the argument when the world was crying out for a solution?

"It's as simple as that, I think."

ABC article

#newzealand #Davos #climateheating #climatechange #worldeconomicforum #DavidAttenborough

Wednesday, 23 January 2019

David Attenborough tells Davos: ‘The Garden of Eden is no more’ : The Guardian

David Attenborough

"Human activity has created a new era yet climate change can be stopped, says naturalist

Sir David Attenborough has warned that “the Garden of Eden is no more”, as he urged political and business leaders from around the world to make a renewed push to tackle climate change before the damage is irreparable.

Speaking at the start of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, the 92-year-old naturalist and broadcaster warned that human activity has taken the world into a new era, threatening to undermine civilisation."

Read The Guardian

#sirdavidattenborough #anthropocene #capitalism #economicconsumption