Tackling Climate Change

Climate change is caused by human activity. It is the worst environmental and economic problem we face today. Human activity is disrupting the climate's natural balance and increasing greenhouse warming. Australia must commit to urgent action to cut greenhouse pollution and provide greater support to prepare poor countries for the impacts of climate change.

Reiterating a well-accepted point, the Stern Review Report on The Economics of Climate Change states that, “The most vulnerable - the poorest countries and populations - will suffer earliest and most, even though they have contributed least to the causes of climate change.” This will occur through the influence of global warming on the water cycle, its impact on agriculture and a reduction in food security in many places, the changing distribution and intensity of disease burdens and the increased likelihood and intensity of extreme weather events and natural disasters.

According to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, by 2080;

• 1.1 billion to 3.2 billion people would be experiencing water scarcity,
• 200 million to 600 million would suffer from hunger and
• 2 million to 7 million would experience annual coastal flooding.

In becoming a signatory to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Australia has recognised that industrial economies have an historic responsibility for climate change and need to take the lead in avoiding dangerous climate change. Despite this, Australia has one of the highest per capita greenhouse emissions in the world and is the worlds 17th largest greenhouse polluter.

The recent White Paper on Australia’s Aid Program outlines the need for an environmental strategy, including a focus on climate change, as an integral part of the aid program. This is fundamental and urgent, as the impacts of climate change have the potential to undermine the value and long-term effectiveness of current aid spending.

In order to effectively contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation, Australia should reduce its own emissions and increase its direct environmental spending in Official Development Assistance. Specifically, Make Poverty History is calling on the federal government to:

• fully participate in international efforts seeking to address climate change, starting by ratifying the Kyoto Protocol.
• agree to significant reductions in Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions.
• create strategies to help coal-reliant communities make the shift to clean energy
• Increase our support to help poor countries to adapt to the impacts of climate change (and make sure this extra support is on top of meeting our 0.7% commitment). Find out more.
• make sure we support renewable energy, demand management and energy efficiency through our aid program, particularly focusing on increasing local use and management of small-scale, culturally-appropriate technologies.