ABBOTT CAN'T IGNORE CLIMATE CHANGE ANY LONGER: IPCC

Mark Butler MP.

Shadow Minister for Environment
 Climate Change and Water

Date:  03 November 2014

Today’s Fifth Assessment Report from the International Panel on Climate Change warns of the immediate threats posed by climate change and the need for urgent global action.

The report supports the same calls from scientists and world leaders over the last several years, yet Tony Abbott is still insisting the problem doesn’t exist.

“The IPCC has today said climate change impacts will amplify existing threats and create new ones, disproportionately affecting disadvantaged people and developing countries,” Shadow Minister for Climate Change Mark Butler said.

When releasing the report, IPCC Chair said:

"All we need is the will to change, which we trust will be motivated by knowledge and an understanding of the science of climate change.”

“Unfortunately for Australians and our Pacific Island neighbours, our Prime Minister has neither the will to take any meaningful action nor does he accept the science of climate change,” Mr Butler said.

“Tony Abbott’s Direct Action policy is nothing more than a token gesture that will do nothing to reduce Australia’s carbon pollution. 

“He has teamed up with Clive Palmer to hand out taxpayers’ money to big polluters. 

“What will it take for Tony Abbott to wake up and realise Australia must take meaningful action on climate change?

“When the report calls for direct actions, the IPCC means taking action that will directly reduce carbon pollution, not a dressed up slush fund with a fancy name.”

The IPCC Report is the last to be released before negotiations begin in Paris in 2015 for countries to set their post-2020 emission reduction targets.

“Australia needs to be part of the preparatory meetings ahead of Paris,” Mr Butler said.

“Instead, Tony Abbott has resisted any opportunity to be involved, first refusing to attend the UN Climate Summit in September and reluctantly and belatedly conceding climate change can be discussed at the upcoming G20.

“Australia was once a world leader in climate change action, but our Prime Minister refuses to acknowledge the risk that not taking meaningful action poses to our economic, social and environmental future. 

“Tony Abbott is taking Australia backwards while the rest of the world moves forward.”

The IPCC Fifth Assessment Report findings include: 

• Changes in many extreme weather and climate events have been observed since about 1950. Some of these changes have been linked to human influences, including a decrease in cold temperature extremes, an increase in warm temperature extremes, an increase in extreme high sea levels and an increase in the number of heavy precipitation events in a number of regions.
• Continued emission of greenhouse gases will cause further warming and long-lasting changes in all components of the climate system, increasing the likelihood of severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts for people and ecosystems.
• Cumulative emissions of CO2 largely determine global mean surface warming by the late 21st century and beyond.
• Climate change will amplify existing risks and create new risks for natural and human systems. Risks are unevenly distributed and are generally greater for disadvantaged people and communities in countries at all levels of development.
• Without additional mitigation efforts beyond those in place today, and even with adaptation, warming by the end of the 21st century will lead to high to very high risk of severe, widespread, and irreversible impacts globally.