Oz climate report: 250,000 coastal homes at risk of flooding

The federal government’s own report from November on the threat of climate change, “Climate Change Risks to Australia”, finds disturbing results.

Unfortunately, the government’s response is to seek to introduce an emissions trading scheme that gives hand outs to big business and lets them continue polluting — while increasing the power bills for ordinary people. (See the history of cap and trade below)

The ABC.net.au report on the finds including the following points.

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ELIZABETH JACKSON: Up to 250,000 homes around Australia will be inundated by the end of this century. Ports will disappear, airports will be submerged, and up to $63 billion worth of residential property will go.

That's the alarming finding of the most comprehensive climate report card to date.

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SARAH CLARKE: By using the latest projections on rising sea levels of up to 1.1 metres by the turn of the century, combined with increasing number of extreme weather events, scientists say no property by the sea is safe.

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SARAH CLARKE: The cost of losing these homes by the sea is estimated at between $40 and $63 billion.

And those properties within 110 metres of the soft shorelines don't escape either. This report warns they'll be exposed to flooding, wild wind events, higher storm surges and erosion, all of which put them at risk. And 39,000 homes have been identified.

...

One hundred and twenty ports are within 200 metres of the Australian coastline, as well as five power stations, three water treatment plants and 1,800 bridges.

Sydney and Brisbane airports are built on low-lying areas and if this report is correct, they'll be more like ports.

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Somewhat serious.

Too serious to be left to the likes of climate denier Tony Abbott, or, for that matter, climate pretender Kevin Rudd — for whom the entire emissions trading bill is just a clever way to seek to split the Liberals, while putting on a face of taking the climate seriously.

Yet more and more people want proper action — even in the blue-ribbon seat of Higgins, as safe Liberal as can be, climate activist and academic Clive Hamilton won more than 35% of the vote running for the Greens.

The media spun this as ringing endorsement for Abbott as new Liberal leader, yet in both Higgins and Bradfield (safe Liberal seats), the Greens outdid Labor’s vote in those seats in 200.7

The story of cap and trade: a short video on the reality of emissions trading

Some strange, disturbing and frankly ridiculous political games and fights that have dominated Oz politics over the last couple of weeks or so.

The debate in the Liberal Party over climate change and the Rudd government’s emissions trading bill was accurately described by Green Left Weekly’s Simon Butler as a fight between the climate deniers and the climate pretenders.

Therefore I am glad that the first post on my blog is this short video explaining why emissions trading is not serious climate action.

Here is the spiel, followed by the video:

“The Story of Cap & Trade is a fast-paced, fact-filled look at the leading climate solution being discussed at Copenhagen and on Capitol Hill.

“Host Annie Leonard introduces the energy traders and Wall Street financiers at the heart of this scheme and reveals the ‘devils in the details’ in current cap and trade proposals: free permits to big polluters, fake offsets and distraction from what’s really required to tackle the climate crisis.

“If you’ve heard about Cap & Trade, but aren’t sure how it works (or who benefits), this is the film is for you.”

The Story of Cap & Trade from Story of Stuff Project on Vimeo.

For more information, and to see Leonard’s earlier, great short video The Story of Stuff, click here.