Australia Institute webinar with Richie Merzian and Chris Barrie
Climate change is increasingly a national security issue and in this Australia Institute webinar Former head of the Australian Defence Forces Chris Barrie and Head of climate and Energy at the Australia Institute Richie Merzian discuss the implications for responding to increasing climate related disasters involving the ADF and some of the National Security implications of failure of leadership to address climate change at the Federal Government level.
Richie Merzian outlines how Australia shaped an outline that countries could adopt for climate adaptation plans. Australia is helping to fund and implement plans with countries in our Pacific region, yet have failed to draw up a National Climate Adaptation Plan for our own country.
So Australia has not worked out a risk assessment for estimates of the cost of climate change and climate driven weather disasters. "It has left us vulnerable and luching from one disaster to the next, when the majority of countries have undertaken developing these climate adaptation plans."
"It's extraordinary we are missing in action in Australia, when it is the security of our own people we should be concerned about. Worse than that, as Richie has pointed out, we have not learned anything from being involved in the processes, putting these adaptation plans together. It is almost like the leadership is absolutely vacant at the moment and I think this should concern all of us." said Chris Barrie.
So Scott Morrison and Angus Taylor announced a net zero emissions by 2050 plan that projects that things will go wonderfully and that they won't need to change anything, especially not phasing out fossil fuel! How good.
However, their supposed confidence in beating their very weak 2030 target isn't enough to actually legislate any changes or increased commitments. This one is a real bin fire, and to help us along, and in honour of COP26 beginning in Glasgow very soon, we're drinking Scotland's finest scotch. Join us as we unpack loads of spin, mistruths and discuss what Australia should actually be taking to COP. (Hint: support and protection of the fossil fuel industry doesn't make the cut)
The Australia Institute commissioned Climate of the Nation survey. This is the longest continuous survey of community attitudes to climate change in the country. The Climate Institute produced the report from 2007-2017 before the survey was taken over by the Australia Institute.
The quantitative survey was conducted by YouGov from 2-11 August 2021. The sample comprised 2,626 Australians aged 18 years and older. The overall margin of sampling error is 1.91%. The sample was distributed throughout Australia.
By the numbers:
82% of Australians are concerned climate change will result in more bushfires, more droughts and flooding, and animal and plant species extinction
82% of Australians support a phase-out of coal fired power stations
79% of Australians rank solar in their top three preferred energy sources, compared to 15% for coal and 19% for gas
75% of Australians are concerned about climate change
74% of Australians support state governments putting in place incentives for more renewable energy
71% of Australians support government subsidies to reduce the cost of purchasing an electric vehicle
70% of Australians would consider switching to electric hot water systems
69% think Australia should set targets and implement domestic action to limit global warming to 1.5-2°C and achieve net zero emissions
67% of Australians think Australia should be a world leader in finding solutions to climate change
66% of Australians think the Australian Government should stop new coal mines
64%
of Australians support
requiring all new car
sales in Australia to
be zero emissions
vehicles by 2035
61% of Australians support a levy on fossil fuel exports to help pay for climate disasters
60% of Australians support Australia following the IEA pathway and not approving new gas, coal or oil projects
55x is the factor by which Australians overestimate gas and oil industry contribution to Commonwealth revenue
23% of Australians support the current level of fossil fuel industry subsidisation, compared to 57% that oppose it
12% of Australians prefer Australia’s economic recovery to be primarily powered by gas, while 63% prefer renewables investment
Richie Merzian, Climate & Energy Program Director, The Australia Institute, sums up the survey:
Climate of the Nation 2021 reveals the extent of the hunger Australians have for leadership on climate change. Two-thirds agree that Australia should be a world leader in finding solutions to climate change. More than two-thirds want Australia to commit to net zero emissions and set targets to limit global warming to 1.5-2°C. At the very least, that requires halving Australia’s emissions this decade (approximately doubling the current 2030 emissions reduction target) and not approving new gas, coal, or oil projects. While Australians support changes at a policy level, they are also willing to make changes themselves; to electrify their homes and their vehicles and power them using sun, wind, water and batteries.
Australian diplomacy in 2021 has thus far been disappointing. Our leaders have stubbornly resisted increasingly urgent calls by the United Nations and our key allies to increase Australia’s climate ambition and decrease our reliance on fossil fuels.
I am not going to even try and summarise each section of this report but present 13 of what I consider to be the key graphs.
Watch the launch of this survey report 13 October 2021, with Labor Shadow Spokesperson for Climate Change Chris Bowen on Youtube or below.
The UK will host the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow on 31 October – 12 November 2021.
The COP26 summit will bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Where is Australia positioned? With a neglectful approach towards the short term (2030) target and a non-committal 'preference' for net-zero by 2050, Australia needs to do more and will be under pressure from its international allies over the next few months.
Does COP actually achieve much? Richie explains it's not a perfect forum but it's the best we have and they can result in incremental changes that build up over time.
[Originally aired on Ticker News 23 August 2021]
Demystifying Carbon Capture and storage as advocated by Australia Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor. Decoding the spin with The Australia Institute Polly Hemming and Richie Merzian.
Despite billions in taxpayer funding over many years, carbon capture and storage has continued to fail every target set for it. However, that hasn't stopped the fossil fuel industry, and Minister Angus Taylor from continuing to spruik the technology as the solution to reducing emissions.
Richie Merzian and Polly Hemming delve deep into what's gone wrong, and why the Government continues to support this fairytale solution on the latest episode of Spin Bin.
