Just down the coast from Donald Trump's weekend retreat, the residents and businesses of south Florida are experiencing regular episodes of water in the streets. In the battle against rising seas, the region – which has more to lose than almost anywhere else in the world – is becoming ground zero.
Age of Consequences Speaking Tour - Sherri Goodman
The Buzzfeed story lead says it all: “Meet the woman whose two-word catchphrase made the military care about climate” . That woman is Sherri Goodman, and she will be in Australia in early April.
The national security dimension of climate change receives little attention in Australia, but is the subject of intense focus overseas, particularly in the United States. Climate change interacts with other pre-existing problems to become an accelerant to instability in unexpected ways. Scarce resources, growing water scarcity, declining crop yields, rising food prices, extreme weather events and health impacts become catalysts for instability and conflict, especially in Asia. This has profound implications for Australia, economically and socially, quite apart from the climate change impact on Australia itself.
The Age of Consequences is a gripping documentary film investigating the impacts of climate change on increased resource scarcity, migration and conflict through the lens of US national security and global stability.
Critically acclaimed and recently shown on ABC Four Corners, this showing is also a chance to hear Sherri Goodman, a member of the cast, and a panel of experts discuss the issues in person.
Through an unflinching case-study analysis, an insider group of distinguished admirals, generals and military veterans take us beyond the headlines. From the conflict in Syria and the European refugee crisis, to the social unrest of the Arab Spring and the rise of ISIS, The Age of Consequences lays bare how climate change stressors interact with societal tensions and spark conflict.
It makes the compelling case that if we go on with business as usual, the consequences of climate change will continue to grow in scale and frequency, with grave implications for peace and security in the 21st century.
“Age of Consequences” speaking tour with Sherri Goodman.
SYDNEY - Tuesday 4 April, Tickets and more info here
CANBERRA - Wednesday 5 April, Tickets and more info here
MELBOURNE - Thursday 6 April, Tickets and more info here
Cyclone the size of Debbie could be catastrophic for Gold Coast, modelling shows | SMH
A cyclone the size of Debbie could have catastrophic consequences on the Gold Coast, new modelling has shown, as climate change pushes cyclones further south and puts tens of billions of dollars worth of infrastructure at risk.
Actuaries, who predict and model scenarios for banks and insurers, have warned properties could become "uninsurable" as premiums rise to meet environmental challenges. Debbie devastated northern Queensland and swept floods into NSW which caused $1 billion in damage, forced 30,000 people to evacuate and took two lives. More
New trailer for Al Gore’s ‘Inconvenient Truth’ sequel shows President Trump as climate change villain | Washington Post
The trailer for “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power,” the second film in Al Gore’s franchise of climate change documentaries, depicts President Trump as an antagonist. The clip that Gore shared via Twitter on Wednesday shows the president at an airport rally held last April in Rochester, N.Y., where then-candidate Trump mocks the climate science consensus.
“It’s supposed to be 70 degrees today,” Trump says. “It’s freezing here! Speaking of global warming, where is — we need some global warming!” More
Need for transparency as 'slush fund' allegations get bandied about | Lenore Taylor
We don’t yet know whether the $5bn Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) will be – as was alleged in parliament this week – a “slush fund” used to pursue the government’s “pro-coal agenda”. But we do know some government ministers are absolutely determined to promote coal mining and generation – in particular the Indian conglomerate Adani’s $21bn Carmichael coal mine in Queensland – without a thought for how it will contribute to the global warming that is bleaching the Great Barrier Reef up and down the Queensland coastline and increasing the intensity of cyclones.
More
It's Time for Asset Managers to Step Up on Climate Change | Morningstar
Asset managers have a huge role to play in making this happen (transitioning to a low-carbon economy). Not just as corporate citizens themselves but as long-term stewards of trillions of dollars of investor capital, they have a huge stake in maintaining long-term political and economic system stability, especially in a globalized economy in which large public companies do business all over the world while the reach of sovereign governments is limited. If the global financial system itself isn't sustainable over the long run, neither will be their investments.
How AEMO’s new boss will reform Australia’s energy vision | Renew Economy
Audrey Zibelman, the new chief executive of the Australian Energy Market Operator, has been in the job for little over a week, but is already making her mark, signalling the biggest shift in energy management philosophy in a generation.
Keeping lights on can't be guaranteed | AFR
There is no sense in spending billions of dollars trying to guarantee the impossible – that the lights will always stay on. But this has not stopped government ministers, corporate executives and numerous commentators from pretending a particular source of power will always keep the lights on. Nor has it stopped journalists from repeatedly asking ministers to guarantee "the lights will stay on" in future. It might be tempting to claim that everyone understands it is impossible to deliver these promises, but much of the current debate is conducted on the premise that they don't.
The gas industry's power play | The Saturday Paper
Long-term mismanagement of Australia’s gas industry has seen price gouging by cartels and the possible need for imports. Even if the government can put things to right, natural gas will never again be a cheap alternative fossil fuel. By Mike Seccombe.
Scientists made a detailed "roadmap" for meeting the Paris climate goals. | Vox
The Pears Report - Don't mention the war | Alan Pears, ReNew
TONY Abbott did his best to kill off renewable energy when he was PM—and he’s still trying it seems. But it is interesting to look back at the consequences of his efforts. The war on renewables was meant to reduce electricity prices. But it has done the opposite—and a lot more......
Gas crisis? Energy crisis? The real problem is lack of long-term planning | The Conversation, Alan Pears
If you’ve been watching the news in recent days, you’ll know we have an energy crisis, partly due to a gas crisis, which in turn has triggered a political crisis.
That’s a lot of crises to handle at once, so lots of solutions are being put forward. But what do people and businesses actually need? Do they need more gas, or cheaper prices, or more investment certainty, or all or none of the above? How do we cut through to what is really important, rather than side details?
Stop the Adani mega mine - Move Australia beyond coal | 350.org
The Age of Consequences | ABC Four Corners
"We are not your traditional environmentalists." Gen. Gordon Sullivan (Retd), Fmr. Chief of Staff, U.S. Army
Four Corners brings you the views of distinguished former members of the US military and senior policy makers who warn that climate change is not only real, it's a threat to global security.
"I'm here today not only representing my views on security implications of climate change, but on the collective wisdom of 16 admirals and generals." Rear Admiral David Titley (Retd), U.S. Navy
They say climate change is impacting on vital resources, migration patterns and conflict zones.
"Climate change is one of the variables that must be considered when thinking about instability in the world." Gen. Gordon Sullivan (Retd), Fmr. Chief of Staff, U.S. Army
Rear Admiral David Titley spent 32 years in the US military. He was the US Navy's chief oceanographer and led the Navy's Task Force on Climate Change. He argues climate change must be acknowledged.
"Our collective bottom line judgement is that climate change is an accelerating risk to our nation's future." Rear Admiral David Titley (Retd), U.S. Navy
The film analyses the conflict in Syria, the social unrest of the Arab Spring, and the rise of groups like ISIS and how these experts believe climate change is already acting as a catalyst for conflict.
"This is the heart of the problem in many ways. Climate change arrives in a world that has already been destabilised." Dr Christian Parenti
Director Jared P Scott explores how water and food shortages, drought, extreme weather and rising sea-levels can act as accelerants of instability.
"We realised that climate change would be a threat multiplier for instability as people become desperate, because they have extreme weather and the seas are rising, and there are floods in one area and droughts in another, fragile states become more unpredictable." Sherri Goodman, Fmr. Dept Undersecretary of Defense
These Pentagon insiders say a failure to tackle climate change, conducting 'business as usual', would lead to profound consequences.
"It's a very dangerous thing to decide that there is one and only one line of events heading into the future and one and only one best response for dealing with that." Leon Fuerth, Fmr. National Security Adviser, White House '93-'01
The Age of Consequences, from PBS International, directed by Jared P Scott and presented by Sarah Ferguson, went to air on Monday 20th March at 8.30pm EDT. It was replayed on Tuesday 21st March at 10.00am and Wednesday 22nd at 11pm. It can also be seen on ABC News 24 on Saturday at 8.00pm AEST, and at ABC iview.
How the free market failed Australia and priced us out of our own gas supply | ABC
Within the next four years, Australia will overtake Qatar as the world's biggest supplier of gas. We are sitting on vast gas reserves. In fact, we're swimming in the stuff.
And yet, we face critical shortages at home which could starve manufacturers of fuel, see power outages across the eastern states and force energy prices through the roof while any profits that are made will be shipped offshore.
This is a public policy fail of epic proportions.
And it's worth getting a handle on how it all came about and the shenanigans employed by the gas majors that have deliberately created this crisis and the supposed shortage which is a total con.
Clarke and Dawe: The energy market explained
The heat is now on Directors when it comes to climate change | Lexology
In a recent ASIC liaison meeting, a number of corporate governance items were flagged as being a current focus of ASIC. Of particular interest is the emerging focus on climate change risk management by directors and implications for directors’ duties.
The opinion ‘Climate change and directors’ duties’ published by the Centre for Policy Development in October 2016 (download here) promoted wide spread discussion about the implications of climate change risk for directors. It argues that Australian company directors who fail to consider such risks now could be found liable for breaching their duty of care and diligence under section 180 of the Corporations Act in the future.
Climate Council: without action, rising seas will cost us billions | The Conversation
Rising sea levels pose huge financial, economic and humanitarian risks, as shown by the Climate Council’s latest report, Counting the Costs: Climate Change and Coastal Flooding. If the world ignores the problem, by mid-century rising seas could cost the world more than a trillion dollars a year as floods and storm surges hit.
Hurt by sea: how storm surges and sea-level rise make coastal life risky | The Conversation
The journal Climatic Change has published a special edition of review papers discussing major natural hazards in Australia. This article by The Conversation, which was written in November 2016, is one of a series looking at those threats.
Australia is a huge continent, but a coastal nation. About 80% of Australians live within 50km of the coast, and a sea-level rise of 1.1 metres (a high-end scenario for 2100) would put about A$63 billion (in 2008 dollars) worth of residential buildings at risk.
Anyone who lives along Sydney’s northern beaches, especially in Collaroy, saw at first hand the damage the ocean can wreak on coastal properties when the coastline was hit by a severe east coast low during a king tide in June.
Carbon Dioxide Is Rising at Record Rates | Carbon Central
For the second year in a row, carbon dioxide concentrations as measured at Mauna Loa Observatory rose at a record-fast clip, according to new data released by the Environmental System Research Laboratory (ESRL). The annual growth of 3 parts per million in 2016 is the slightest shade below the jump in 2015 of 3.03 ppm. Both years mark the first time carbon dioxide has risen more than 3 ppm in a single year in ESRL’s 59 years of monitoring.
An exceptionally strong El Niño helped kick the numbers up a bit, but ever-increasing carbon pollution is the main driver behind the uptick. The annual growth rate has increased since record keeping began in 1960 from just under 1 ppm in the 1960s to more than 2.4 ppm through the first half of the 2010s. The past two years have set a record for the fastest annual growth rate on record.