Rob Quantock, Melbourne comedian and fervent supporter of the climate action movement, entertains the crowd.

In Canberra on Saturday, protestors from Climate Change Canberra and numerous other environmental groups along with local residents held an emergency rally in front of Parliament House, writes Geoff Lazarus.

Local residents, entertainers and speakers from various organisations expressed deep concern over the Copenhagen negotiations in which developed nations like Australia and the US are holding to a position of 450ppml that is far below what climate scientists are calling for.

NASA’s chief research scientist James Hansen is calling for global targets of less than
350 to achieve a safe climate, yet Rudd’s CPRS has set 450 ppml as its target. And many
other developed nations including the US have similar positions to Australia.

145 developing nations are calling for emission target reductions of 40% or more, yet
Australia and the US are refusing to come at anything like this target.

The afternoon of free entertainment around 350 Day of Global Action featured Melbourne’s funnyman Rod Quantock, in a play, Gamble with the Climate which highlighted the urgent need to reduce carbon levels in the atmosphere from the unsafe level of 390 parts per million to under 350ppml. Rod and audience members also highlighted the complete failure of Mr Rudd and Mr Turnbull to release policies that match what the world’s leading scientists are calling for. The event was graced by other speakers including Ed Cooper from GETUP and Anne O’Brien from Climate Action Canberra.

Musicians joined local residents in singing a chorus for change.

Prizes were awarded to the best dressed up polar animal, politician and big polluter.

ANU Professor Andrew Glikson spoke prior to the play on why 350 parts per million of CO2
in the atmosphere constitutes a safe climate, and 450 is a very unsafe climate for the
globe. Andrew informed us on what the latest and best research is now telling us on the
severe risk of not acting to immediately reduce carbon emissions and levels.

Human polar bears and giant signs on the sand are just some of the highlights at the protest in Dee Why and Manly on Saturday’s International Day of Climate Action. Roman Ristovski reports.

Residents in the Northern Beaches called for the federal government to combat climate change on Saturday with demonstrations along the peninsula beaches of Mona Vale, Dee Why and Manly. The demonstrators join a chorus of over 3000 similar protests worldwide calling for reductions to the carbon emissions of developed and developing countries in an effort to lower the world’s level of carbon dioxide from 389 parts-per-million (ppm) to 350ppm, a target advocated by NASA’s chief scientist James Hansen and agreed to by leading scientists and researchers around the world.

The federal government currently believes that halting climbing emission levels to 450ppm is the best the world can hope for. But the sentiment among organisers and local residents at the event was unanimous – the government just isn’t doing enough.

Helicopter hovers above the human sign made up of hundreds of local residents. Image: Roman Ristovski.

Iain McGregor, the coordinator for the Manly event, believes the government’s initiatives like the ETS represent a ‘baby step’ forward for Australia. However, he said that neither the coalition nor the government was showing enough commitment to fighting climate change.

“They’re engaged in petty politics. The coalition is stalling for time before Copenhagen. It’s turned into a political point scoring event.”

At Dee Why beach the percussionist group In-Rhythm performed for a gathering crowd as the organisers began to prepare the human sign. Kirsten Evans, coordinator for the Dee Why event, mirrors McGregor’s views. “The government has the right intention but now is not the time for compromise. This isn’t a political issue, it’s a scientific issue.”

She said that the 350 event was a chance to “envision a different future for Australia.” Fiona of Manly Vale, at the event with her son Ellis, agreed. “[The government] needs to sacrifice some jobs.”

Linda Haefali, the Mona Vale coordinator, mirrored Fiona’s sentiments. “It’s obvious we need to invest in renewables… Australia is only a small country but we have the highest level of emissions per capita in the world.”

A local resident dressed up as a polar bear- one of the many animals to be endangered by receding glaciers. Image: Roman Ristovski.

She is disappointed with the federal government’s ETS and claims that it merely signifies the government “playing to the hands of the big polluters.” Nonetheless she is hopeful that the grassroots campaign will serve as a wakeup call to the government and affect “proper changes” to its commitment to lowering emissions targets.

Ian Cleland, of the Climate Action Group, spoke of sustainable housing and landscaping to the demonstrators at Mona Vale beach. “Many houses are able to reduce their carbon footprints,” he told the human sign and its onlookers. “Warringah Council has been very active in its response to climate change.” Cleland said, citing the Pittwater Sustainability Awards as an example of the council’s support for environmentally friendly projects. He then urged the crowd, comprising a cross-section of the local community from families and the elderly to young adults, to raise their arms and yell ‘350!’ as the news helicopter circled the demonstration.

Roman Ristovski is a freelance journalist.

Gabby Greyem chats to councillors and residents of the NSW’s Central Coast about their efforts on the international day of climate change action.

200 residents spell out their target on the clifftop at Terrigal. Image: Peter Adderley

Local residents and councillors, including the Mayor of Gosford City Council joined ranks at Terrigal and Umina on Saturday to call for action on climate change.

Clr Holstein said he supported the call for 350 and was very impressed with the turn out
at Umina Beach, where 200 residents made a human sign.

“I think it’s excellent, it’s a good indication to the politicians that people do (have)
concerns about our environment … Council is supportive of the message.”

For Kay O’Carroll of Ettalong Beach and her eight year old daughter, Maeve, taking part
in the human sign at Umina was the first time they had been involved in protest against
climate change.

Maeve O’Carroll said she wanted to send a message to the government to “stop the icebergs
from melting.”

Organiser of the Terrigal 350 human sign protest, Alison Heathcote has put in hundreds of
hours organising the protest and building community awareness of 350.

“I’m an anti-activist normally, but I’m a great aunty and …. they make you realise that
you’ve got to leave this world a better place for these youngsters … that’s my main
driver for today and for the future,” she said.

Image: Peter Adderley

“There’s more than 4,600 actions happening around the world in 177 countries. So it’s a
massive day of the people of the world rallying around to say ‘we’ve had enough, we want
our world leaders to take action on climate change’.

“If everyone of us does our little bit then it (350) will be achievable … today is
about empowering people to realise that they can make a difference.” She said.

Councils start preparing for sea level rises

In preparation for the impacts of global warming, Councils in the Hunter, Central and
North Coast region are adopting a projected upper sea level rise figure of 0.91cm by 2100.

Gosford City Council has invited public comment on its proposal to adopt a planning level
for sea level rise set to inform future Council policy.

Sea level rise maps which have been displayed on the council website and in public
libraries predict a number of areas in Gosford shire, including the busy commercial
district of Woy Woy, will be flooded if sea levels rise.

Councillor Holstein said the maps are “about getting people to … plan now for the
future on what might be the impacts.”

He denied they were an attempt to indemnify the council against litigation and he did not
believe the maps will affect property values.

“You always get a bit of scare mongering of what might be. I don’t believe it will
because I believe what we’re looking at is something in the next 50 years.”

Manager, Integrated Planning for Gosford Council, Eddie Love has received 15 submissions
regarding its proposed sea level rise planning levels. Four submissions were from peak
community and network groups, six were from individuals and five from
State Government agencies.

The Community Environment Network (CEN) is a not for profit, non-government organisation
which has been working primarily in the areas of Gosford, Wyong and Lake Macquarie, for
the past 12 years.

Chairman of CEN, Mr John Asquith welcomed Gosford Council’s initiative in putting its sea
level rise maps out for public comment. He believes this is an essential start for
councils to begin planning for climate change.

However Mr Asquith expressed reservations about how the community may interpret the maps.

“We have a lot of reservations with regard to seal level rise mapping… in particular a
lot of the figures and texts which are based on a seal level rise of roughly 90cm by
2100, can give people a misconception that the impacts will only be what is shown on the
mapping.

“The figures are not the worst case scenario, they’re the accepted base case scenario
which relies on climate change impacts not occurring as fast as a lot of scientists are
saying they will.”

Asquith is keen to see more long-term strategies implemented by government to deal with
climate change and sea level rise.

“What we’re seeing with the state government allowing sea walls to be built, is very much
a knee jerk short term response because in the long term it will be a very damaging and
expensive response.

“It’s really important for people to take the time to understand climate change – we need
people to respond by doing their bit to reduce the carbon they produce,” he said.

Gabby Greyem is a freelance journalist and UTS graduate

There were 239 events in Australia for the International Day of Climate Action, Mie Tast reports on two major Sydney events that were aimed at Australian leaders.

Photo gallery: 350 in Sydney

Opera House

More than 1000 protesters at the Sydney Opera House spelled out ’350′ with blue umbrellas to send a message about climate change.

350.org Australia CEO, Blair Palese, said the 350 Australia message is aimed at the Australian contingent going to the CO15 climate change conference in Copenhagen.

“The idea with 350 is also to educate. People need to learn more about science,” she said. “The day has been a success, but whether the whole project has been successful, we have to wait and see after Copenhagen.”

In addition to this, there were concerts, short speeches and entertainment from artists such as Australian band The Beautiful Girls, who played the first song they wrote about climate change.

Samba

Over 40 volunteers danced through Sydney to send a message about climate change.

The event was organised by the Wilderness Society, and Mal Fischer, community campaigner with the Society, said the samba was chosen due to its popularity.

“We wanted to do something different,” he said. “And people love it.”

To prepare, volunteers attended one samba training session last Tuesday. On the day, they started at Kippax Street, Surry Hills and made their way to the Opera House, dancing the whole way.

They stopped at a few key locations like Town Hall, the Australian Labour Party’s headquarters, and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) offices.

Fishcer said their main message is that Australia’s “wild places” need to be preserved, saying there is no point in cutting our emissions if we keep cutting down the trees as Australian forests are the most carbon-rich in the world.

“Our message is: don’t chuck down the forest,” he said.

Mie is on exchange at UTS from the Danish School of Media and Journalism

Pedestrians on Queen’s Road Central stopped traffic for five minutes, Crystal He reports from Hong Kong.

Gallery: 350 in Hong Kong

 
At 3:50 pm on Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong, pedestrians staged one of Hong Kong’s briefest 350 events.

When the crowd of around fifty people crossed the road, they stopped in the middle, stared at the sky and begun questioning the amount of CO2 in it.

“What is the figure?” the crowd asked.

When the traffic light turned red, they refused to move despite the angry car horns. One of the crowd pointed to a sign they held in their hand and shouted: “Just three hundred and fifty points!”

At the same time, men and women were taking off their overcoats, pretending to feel hot: panting, pulling at collars and fanning with hands.

Crystal He is a communications student at Hong Kong Baptist University in Kowloon, Hong Kong.

The Pantagonian ice-fields of Chile and Argentina are melting faster than any other glaciers on Earth. They have lost 42 cubic kilometers of ice every year over the past seven years, which is equivalent to the size of ten thousand large football stadiums. They account for nearly 10 per cent of global sea-level change caused by mountain glaciers, according to a new study by NASA and Chile’s Centro de Estudios Cientificos, and the rate at which they are melting is accelerating.

The Amalia Glacier, South Patagonia, Chile

Researchers Dr. Eric Rignot of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif and his team factor in the obvious answer of climate change but they are also considering the region’s unique dynamic response to climate change which explains the why its glaciers are declining so rapidly.

According to Rignot, the Patagonia Icefields are dominated by so-called ‘calving’ glaciers. Such glaciers spawn icebergs into the ocean or lakes and have different dynamics from glaciers that end on land and melt at their front ends. Calving glaciers are more sensitive to climate change once pushed out of equilibrium, and make this region the fastest area of glacial retreat on Earth. Rignot believes that research on the Pantagonian ice-fields have been particularly important in that the results can be used to forecast the fates of large sheets of ice in Greenland and Antarctica will respond to climate change in the future.

Most of the breadfruit trees in Kiribati are dead. Picture: Maria Tiimon

The 22 island states of the Pacific contribute less than a tenth of a per cent of global emissions, but stand to be the nations worst affected by climate change. In contrast, Australia is the fourth highest per capita greenhouse gas emitter in the world.

According to Jill Finnane from the Pacific Calling Partnership, this means we have an ecological debt to these people. “We owe them because they are suffering because of what made us wealthy,” she said.

What’s more, as a signatory to a number of international treaties and protocols, Australia has an obligation to protect individuals against threats posed to human rights by climate change.

Firstly, this means substantially reducing emissions.

The Rudd Government recently revised their greenhouse gas emissions reduction target up to a maximum of 25 per cent of 2000 levels by 2020, dependent on the outcome of the Copenhagen Climate Summit in December.

But even a 25 per cent global reduction in greenhouse gas emissions won’t save these islands. “It’s nowhere near enough for the Pacific,” says Ms Finnane.

The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), an intergovernmental coalition of low-lying coastal and small island countries, argues that greenhouse gas concentrations must be stabilised at well below 350 parts per million of carbon dioxide and temperature increases limited to well below 1.5 degrees Celsius. They say a 2°C increase compared to pre-industrial levels would have devastating consequences on small island developing states.

These targets would require a reduction of more than 85 per cent in global carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. Annex I countries, of which Australia is one, would need to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by more than 40 per cent to 1990 levels by 2020, and more than 95 per cent by 2050.

In addition to reducing emissions, Australia is being called on to provide adaptation support and resettlement options for people displaced from their homelands.

In recognition of the challenges faced by vulnerable countries in its region, the Australian Government has committed $150 million over three years to climate adaptation in the Pacific through the International Climate Change Adaptation Initiative.

But much more money is needed, according to the report by Oxfam Australia released this week. It says that meeting just the most urgent adaptation needs in the Pacific will require between $365 million and $668 million.

And what if adaptation measures aren’t enough? Up to 100,000 climate-displaced people may seek immigration assistance from Australia between now and 2030, according to a paper presented at the Environment, Forced Migration and Social Vulnerability International Conference in October 2008.

The development of an Alliance of Pacific Rim countries prepared to accept climate change refugees was proposed by the ALP while in opposition but it hasn’t come to fruition. And now the government doesn’t seem to want to talk about permanent resettlement of people displaced by climate change.

According to a spokesman for the immigration department, “Australia understands its responsibility in the region and is willing to be flexible with its visa policies should some kind of emergency situation occur but our priority is to assist them at the moment to adapt to climate change in their own countries.”

As glacial lakes grow they threaten to split their natural embankments, creating dangerous floods into the valleys below. Picture: Emma Kemp

The Himalaya is one of the fastest changing regions in the world due to global warming. According to scientists, the Himalayas are warming at an alarmingly quicker speed than the global average, becoming 1.4 degrees Celsius warmer in the last 100 years, a far higher level of warming than the 0.5-1.1 degrees on average.

Nepal has been placed in the sixth position in view of possible harm due to climate change and ranked 31st out of 198 countries based on possible water-induced disaster. This is a direct threat to the district’s biodiversity, but those likely to be hit the hardest are the mountain people.

Thousands of glaciers in the Himalayas are the source of water for nine major Asian rivers whose basins are home to 1.3 billion people, including in Pakistan and parts of India and China. Most livelihoods in this area are very poor, rely almost entirely on climate-sensitive natural resources, and have a low capacity for coping with climate extremes.

At this stage many local perceptions of these changes have been positive. Farmers have observed that the warmer weather has resulted in better crops, and has also enabled them to grow new vegetables such as cauliflower, cabbage, chili and tomato, which could previously only be grown at lower altitudes. But if warming in the region continues at the same rate, it could have a large scale and devastating impact on millions of lives.

Erratic weather conditions have already led to a pronounced hike in landslides and flashfloods in many areas, killing local people and displacing them from their homes. Some of the lakes formed at the base of melting glaciers have split their natural mountain embankments, threatening Glacial Lake Outburst Floods into the valleys and local settlements below. However, while experts can document environmental changes as they happen, predicting precisely what effects global warming will have on the area and how quickly they will occur is much more difficult.

At present, the lack of basic environmental data for the Himalayan region is so serious that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the world’s apex body on climate change, says that the region is a ‘white spot’ for data. In addition, environmental monitoring is still relatively new to Nepal, which has lead to gaps and inconsistencies in reporting.

Dr Shrestha of the ICIMOD says there are general observations that the glaciers are erratically shrinking, but they are only observations from the surface. Changes to volume inside the glaciers, he says, is currently unknown. Without this data it is impossible to develop appropriate plans for avoiding or adapting to the worst problems, and if climate change remains unchecked in this area, it could be the main cause of the depletion of the Himalayan glaciers.

This could lead to reduction of agricultural land due to rising, trapping water levels, floods in India, or rising sea level in Bangladesh. The ironic end-consequence for water-rich Nepal in this case would be a scarcity of water itself. Back to Nepal: a nation left in the dark