Australian Government must heed Attenborough climate warning says Bandt

Australian Greens climate and energy spokesperson, Adam Bandt MP, says the Australian government must heed Sir David Attenborough’s warning that climate change is a threat to human civilisation.

Mr Bandt also called on the Australian government to avoid being a wrecker at the climate conference.

Attenborough’s warning came in the opening sessions of the UN global climate summit in Katowice, Poland. The representatives of the world’s countries are seeking agreement on the ‘rulebook’ that will implement the Paris Agreement to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees.

BBC: Climate change: 'World at crossroads' warning as key talks begin

Four senior figures behind efforts to limit climate change have warned that the planet "is at a crossroads" as key talks opened a day early in Poland. 

"In a rare move, four former presidents of the United Nations-sponsored talks called for decisive action.

The meeting in Katowice is the most critical on climate change since the 2015 Paris agreement. 

Experts say that drastic cuts in emissions will be needed if the world is to reach targets agreed in Paris."

Go to BBC site

Mother Jones: 19 of 20 World Leaders Just Pledged to Fight Climate Change. Trump Was the Lone Holdout.

“The United States reiterates its decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement.”

It is telling that on two of the most contentious topics at the Buenos Aires Group of 20 meeting, the United States eventually joined 19 other world leaders on trade, but when it comes to climate change, President Donald Trump remained firmly alone in his belief that it is a hoax. 

Read the Mother Jones article

Geoengineering is a last-ditch option to stall global warming

Geoengineering is a last-ditch option to stall global warming — and it’s getting a first test

Harvard researchers want to see what adding calcium carbonate could do to the stratosphere.

"And while solar geoengineering helps address the temperature issues related to global warming, that’s hardly the only concern with climate change. As Irfan notes, geoengineering could threaten crop yields by reducing crops’ access to sunlight, and it does not address ocean acidification, a significant environmental threat associated with climate change.

But if the world continues on its current emissions path, we might have to choose, in 2030 or 2040 or 2050, between the (quite bad) option of geoengineering and the (also quite bad) option of enduring and adapting to the effects of large-scale global warming. And the Harvard experiment could help us understand which of those two bad options would be worse."

Read full Vox article 

Vox: Here are 10 ways to accelerate progress against climate change and a simple guide to the climate policies that work.

EJA: Response to ASIC report on climate risk disclosure

By Madeleine Egan    September 20, 2018

"Today ASIC released its report Climate risk disclosure by Australia’s listed companies. ASIC reiterated that the law requires the directors of a listed entity to publish an Operating and Financial Review in an annual report that includes a discussion of climate risk when it could affect the entity’s achievement of its financial performance or disclosed outcomes."

Read full EJA article 

NYT: How Wildfires Are Making Some California Homes Uninsurable

"California’s wildfires keep growing bigger, more frequent and more destructive. Of the 20 worst wildfires in state history, four were just last year, giving rise to a record $12.6 billion of insurance claims.

It hasn’t gotten any better this year. The Mendocino Complex Fire in August was the biggest in state history, and the Camp Fire that wiped out the town of Paradise is the deadliest. It had destroyed nearly 12,000 homes as of Monday morning.

This has put pressure on property insurers, some of which have been declining to renew homeowners’ policies in fire-prone areas. When the houses that burned this year are rebuilt, their owners may find that no one is writing insurance there — at least not at affordable prices."

Nov. 20, 2018

Read the NYT article

The Guardian: Climate change is the biggest threat to our futures, not striking from school

"We are walking out for a day to send the Australian government a message: you can no longer pretend we are not here

"This month, hundreds of children are going on strike from school to demand urgent action on climate change. From rural Victoria to Townsville, we are walking out of school for a day or more to tell our politicians to listen to us and protect our futures."


Read The Guardian article

Students strike for climate change protests, defying calls to stay in school

 

Australian Students Stage School Strikes Over Climate Change Inaction

 

Protest in Melbourne - From NY Times