Climate Change: The Critical Decade

Chief Commissioner Tim Flannery

www.climatecommission.gov.au

There is no doubt that the climate is changing.

The atmosphere is warming, the ocean is warming, ice is being lost from glaciers and ice caps, and sea levels are rising.

Source: http://nirantaradrusti.wordpress.com/2010/01/15/greenhouse-effect/

Why is the climate warming?

Burning fossil fuels, like coal and oil, and deforestation are the primary source of the increasing

carbon dioxide.

Source: Britannica.com, DCCEE 2011, Sciencephoto.com

Climate change risks: increasing temperatures

For the most recent 10-year period (2001-2010), global average temperature was 0.46 °C above the 1961-1990 average, the warmest decade on record .

Global sea level has risen by about 20 cm since the 1880s, when the first global estimates could be made .

Climate change risks: rising sea levels

Climate change risks: rising sea levelsFlooding and storm surge

Source: Torres Strait 2009 - Courier Mail, Yamba 2009 - Debrah Novak

This is the critical decade.

• Without strong and rapid action there is a significant risk that climate change will undermine our society’s prosperity, health, stability and way of life.

• The choices we make this decade will shape the long-term climate future for our children and grandchildren.