[Peakoil] Fwd: May Be Too Late To Save Australia's FragileEcosystems

[Trent Smith]

Allen Consulting is a favourite gun for hire by the Howard Government - the 
reports are always editored by the bureacracy - I worked on their US FTA 
Report for example.  I know many of the authors - not bad folk, but who pays 
the piper......!

What they say may well be true - but it appears that the Government spin now 
is that  "Climate Change is a fait accompai (sp??) therefore let's just live 
with it".  In other words Australia does not need to do anything, let's just 
adapt.

The danger with this thinking is obvious - by the time we see the full 
extend of the problem - the Earth could be well and truly fried, and we 
won't have any options left.

Trent




>From: "Alex P" <alex-po at trevbus.org>
>To: peakoil at act-peakoil.org
>Subject: [Peakoil] Fwd: May Be Too Late To Save Australia's 
>FragileEcosystems
>Date: 27 Jul 2005 13:53:33 -0000
>
>The gist of the report seems to be a fatalistic attitude to action on
>climate change. Anyone know anything about the authors, Allen Consulting?
>
>Alex
>O4O4873828
>
>ACT Peak Oil discussion list
>http://www.act-peakoil.org
>
>
>
>------------- Forwarded message follows -------------
>
>'TOO LATE TO SAVE FRAGILE ECOSYSTEMS'
>By Wendy Frew
>SMH
>July 26, 2005
>
>http://tinyurl.com/b7lbg
>
>It could be too late to protect some of Australia's most unique ecosystems,
>such as the Great Barrier reef and the Daintree Rainforest, from the
>destructive effects of climate change, according to a report released by
>the
>Federal Government today.
>
>Australian ecosystems most vulnerable to greenhouse gas induced climate
>change include alpine regions, reefs, tropical rainforests and coastal
>wetlands, according to a report commissioned by the Australian Greenhouse
>Office.
>
>Allen Consulting, which wrote the report, said particular priority should
>be
>given to World Heritage listed systems.
>
>"However, there is a need to face the prospect that, in some cases, there
>may be little that can be done," said the report.
>
>"Climate change might overwhelm some fragile species and remnant habitats
>(such as those in alpine regions) that literally have nowhere else to go,
>or
>for which effective options for supplementing their natural adaptive and
>coping capacities ... are extremely limited," it said.
>
>The 159-page report said there was little doubt Australia faced some degree
>of climate change over the next 30 to 50 years irrespective of
>international
>or Australian efforts to reduce greenhouse gases.
>
>"Much of the climate change likely to be observed over the next few decades
>will be driven by the action of greenhouse gases already accumulated in the
>atmosphere," it said.
>
>Figures released by the Federal Government earlier this year showed more
>greenhouse gases were being produced in Australia as people consumed
>increasing amounts of energy.
>
>Australia, along with the US, has refused to ratify the international
>climate change agreement, the Kyoto Protocol, which sets limits on
>greenhouse gas emissions.
>
>The Government has also refused to extend support to the struggling
>renewable energy industry, which has found it difficult to compete against
>coal. The coal industry is not penalised for being a major contributor to
>greenhouse gas emissions.
>
>Australia is the world's biggest exporter of coal, and the country's
>coal-intensive electricity sector makes Australia among the world's highest
>per capita emissions producers.
>
>Environment Minister Senator Ian Campbell said Australia needed to look no
>further than the economic and social impacts of prolonged periods of
>drought
>to understand the importance of climate.
>
>"What governments, industry and communities need to do now is think more
>strategically about how to respond to the changes in climate that are
>likely
>over the next 20 to 30 years. This report is an important part of that
>process," he said.
>
>Senator Campbell said the next step was to begin adaptation planning in key
>sectors and regions.
>
>Senator Campbell told ABC Radio Australians should not panic about climate
>change.
>
>"It could be painted as alarming but the reality is that these changes will
>happen over time," he said.
>
>However, Opposition environment spokesman Anthony Albanese said the Howard
>Government had been complacent about climate change and said it had to
>ratify the Kyoto Protocol or risk being responsible for an "environmental
>tsunami".
>
>"It's one thing to say it's not a cause for alarm, it is another thing to
>say it's not a cause for action," AAP quoted Mr Albanese as saying.
>
>"Australia needs to be part of the international efforts to combat
>dangerous
>climate change, we need to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, we need to increase
>our mandatory renewable energy targets and we should have a national
>emissions trading scheme."
>
>Greenpeace said there was little point in the Government publishing a
>report
>about the seriousness of climate change but doing nothing to cut emissions.
>
>"We challenge the Federal Government to show us what serious action they
>are
>taking to avoid dangerous climate change," said Greenpeace energy
>campaigner
>Catherine Fitzpatrick.
>
>"They haven't ratified the Kyoto Protocol, there is virtually no federal
>funding for research into clean, renewable energy, and there are no signals
>to industry that we need to constrain greenhouse pollution," she said.
>
>"This is why we see energy and transport sector emissions rising so
>dramatically."
>
>
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>Peakoil mailing list
>You are subscribed as trentsmith67 at hotmail.com
>http://act-peakoil.org/cgi-bin/mailman/options/peakoil/trentsmith67%40hotmail.com