Climate change - what are we currently doing about it?

The United Nations Climate Change Conference was held in Bali, in December 2007.
Source: http://www.iisd.ca/climate/cop13/12december.htm

 
 

Kyoto Protocol

In December 2007, Australia signed the Kyoto Protocol, an international environmental agreement for all countries who sign, committing to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in the future.

 

In signing the agreement, Australia has committed to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, by the year 2050, to 60% of the levels we experienced in the year 2000.

 

Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme

In December 2008, a Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme was announced by the Australian Government. This is the plan by which the Government aims to reduce Australia's greenhouse gas emissions. The strategy is built around three themes:

1. reducing Australia's carbon pollution;
2. adapting to unavoidable climate change;
3. helping to shape a global solution.

More information about the detail in the plan can be found on the Department of Climate Change website.

 

Copenhagen 2009  

The United Nations Climate Change Conference took place in Copenhagen, Denmark in December 2009.  It marked the culmination of a two-year negotiating process to enhance international climate change cooperation under the Bali Road Map, launched two years earlier.

About 115 world leaders attended high-level talks in one of the largest gatherings of world leaders outside the UN in New York.

It was hoped that the Copenhagen Climate Conference would ‘seal the deal’ and result in a fair, ambitious and equitable agreement, setting the world towards a path to avoid dangerous climate change. To this end, what many characterised as ‘intense negotiations’ took place over the two weeks at the level of experts, Ministers and Heads of State. In the end, the power of competing national interests to prevent global agreement, even when there is a consensus that the matter at hand is nothing less than the future of humanity and the planet, prevented a consensus outcome.

The final outcome was that the Copenhagen Accord was not formally adopted by the Parties to the Conference, only noted.

The Accord identifies climate change as one of ‘the greatest challenges of our time’ and emphasises ‘strong political will’ to urgently combat climate change. It agrees that deep cuts in global emissions are required according to science and as documented by the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report, with a view to reducing global emissions in order to limit the increase in global temperature to below 2°C.

The Accord also states that adaptation to the adverse effects of climate change and the potential impacts of response measures is a challenge faced by all countries, and that enhanced action and international cooperation on adaptation are urgently required.

The Accord provides that Annex I parties commit to implement, individually or jointly, quantified economy-wide emission targets for 2020; that non-Annex I parties to the Convention will implement mitigation actions and that least developed countries and small island developing states may undertake actions voluntarily.

The Accord also recognises the crucial role of reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and the need to enhance removals of greenhouse gas emissions by forests.

You can read more about Australia’s and the rest of the world’s progress in Copenhagen here: http://www.climatechange.gov.au/copenhagen

Becoming more environmentally aware

Australians have become more environmentally aware, often making conscious decisions to reduce their 'carbon footprint'. People have switched to more energy efficient light globes, and made behavioural changes to reduce the amount of energy they use.

Businesses are also using their green credentials, such as carbon offsets, as a factor to woo customers over their competitors.

Read more about how the forestry industry is a carbon offsetting business contributing positively to reducing carbon emissions. You can also read about how the agriculture, fisheries and minerals sectors are reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.

What can I do about climate change?

Everyone has a part to play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This can mean simply turning off lights at home, buying products which use less packaging, and buying fruit and vegetables which have been grown locally.

These days just about everything we can think of comes to us via energy produced by fossil fuels, or is transported to us with resultant greenhouse gas emissions. By using and wasting less energy, fewer emissions will result.

 

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