This snapshot provides observations and analysis of Australia’s climate and the factors that influence it. Two organisations, CSIRO and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology have combined to present this current picture of Australia’s climate.
The Bureau of Meteorology has been observing and reporting on weather in Australia for over 100 years, and CSIRO has been conducting atmospheric and marine research for over 60 years.

The snapshot is sourced from peer reviewed data on temperature, rainfall, sea level, ocean acidification, and carbon dioxide and methane levels in the atmosphere.

Some key facts from the report:

1. Since 1960 the mean temperature in Australia has increased by about 0.7°C
2. The number of days with record hot temperatures has increased each decade over the past 50 years
3. There have been fewer record cold days each decade
4. 2000 to 2009 was Australia’s warmest decade on record
5. The geographic distribution of rainfall has changed significantly over the past 50 years
6. From 1870 to 2007, the global average sea level rose by close to 200mm
7. The rate of sea level rise increased during the 20th century
8. During 1993 to 2009 sea level rise has been 1.5 to 3mm per year in the south and east of Australia and 7 to 10mm per year in the north and west
9. Sea surface temperatures around Australia have increased by about 0.4°C in the past 50 years
10. Ocean Acidification is now being observed at the base of the food chain in the Southern Ocean

What this means.

Australia will be hotter in coming decades

Australian average temperatures are projected to rise by 0.6 to 1.5°C by 2030. If global greenhouse gas emissions continue at current levels, warming is projected to be in the range of 2.2 to 5.0°C by 2070. Warming is projected to be lower near the coast and in Tasmania and higher in central and north-western Australia. These changes will be felt through an increase in the number of hot days.

Much of Australia will be drier in coming decades

In Australia compared to the period 1981-2000, decreases in rainfall are likely in the decades to come in south- ern areas of Australia during winter, in southern and eastern areas during spring, and in south-west Western Australia during autumn. An increase in the number of dry days is expected across the country, but it is likely that there will be an increase in intense rainfall events in many areas.

It is very likely that human activities have caused most of the global warming observed since 1950

There is greater than 90% certainty that increases in greenhouse gas emissions have caused most of the global warming since the mid-20th century. International research shows that it is extremely unlikely that the observed warming could be explained by natural causes alone. Evidence of human influence has been detected in ocean warming, sea-level rise, continental-average temperatures, temperature extremes and wind patterns. CSIRO research has shown that higher greenhouse gas levels are likely to have caused about half of the winter rainfall reduction in south-west Western Australia.

Climate change is real

Our observations clearly demonstrate that climate change is real. CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology will continue to provide observations and research so that Australia’s responses are underpinned by science of the highest quality.

The CSIRO and the BOM are two of Australia’s most trusted, most respected scientific institutions. This report comes out at a time when many members of the public have been confused by the non-stop lobbying by fossil fuel industries, by charlatan academics and by a Government whose response to climate change has been lacklustre to say the least. Climate change is here, it’s real and it’s something Australians have to address head-on. — DS

Technorati Tags: Australia, BOM, carbon, climat change, climate, CO2, CSIRO, report, sea level rise

The Ted Talk above by Shai Agassi is all the more remarkable given it was given in 2009 and, since then, his vision is starting to be rolled out. The Better Place network is being rolled out in Canberra, where I live, and the Renault Fluence electric car that uses Better Place’s charging system will be sold here for around AU$45,000 they believe. I got to take one for a test drive last year in Copenhagen and they are awesome. – DS

Technorati Tags: Better Place, carbon, clean energy, clean tech, climate, Climate Change, CO2, Shai Agassi

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Simon McCabe, Carbon Planet’s Queensland State Manager, gave the above speech the other day at a breakfast ever for Aged Care Queensland. Simon touches on the existing and forthcoming climate change legislation in Australia and makes the point that it doesn’t matter what you believe about climate change, the Carbon Economy is here already and your business can ill afford to ignore it. — DS

Technorati Tags: Aged Care Queensland, Australia, business, carbon, carbon emissions, Carbon Planet, CO2, Queensland, speech, The Carbon Economy, video

The impetus for GreenAnswers was the realization that a lack of widespread knowledge about environmental issues is one of the greatest hurdles to positive action. We created GreenAnswers to provide a forum where people could debate and discuss these important issues, thereby helping to educate and inform the public about the environment.

Since we are a user-generated site, the quality of the answers depends on getting smart and passionate people to participate.

The site is still very young and growing fast and is always after knowledgeable contributors. — DS

Technorati Tags: answers, carbon, eco, green, knowledge, questions

Media outlets have referenced the emails apparently stolen from University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit (CRU) in their recent reports on “record snowfall” and criticisms of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), suggesting that the emails “undermined” global warming research or reporting claims about what they “appeared to show.” Those media did not report, however, that scientists and fact-checkers have found that the emails, in the words of FactCheck.org, “have been misrepresented by global-warming skeptics” and “don’t change [the] scientific consensus on global warming.”

Indeed, if you do check out FactCheck.org’s story ‘“Climategate” Hacked e-mails show climate scientists in a bad light but don’t change scientific consensus on global warming.’ you find the following:

• The messages, which span 13 years, show a few scientists in a bad light, being rude or dismissive. An investigation is underway, but there’s still plenty of evidence that the earth is getting warmer and that humans are largely responsible.
• Some critics say the e-mails negate the conclusions of a 2007 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, but the IPCC report relied on data from a large number of sources, of which CRU was only one.
• E-mails being cited as “smoking guns” have been misrepresented. For instance, one e-mail that refers to “hiding the decline” isn’t talking about a decline in actual temperatures as measured at weather stations. These have continued to rise, and 2009 may turn out to be the fifth warmest year ever recorded. The “decline” actually refers to a problem with recent data from tree rings.

The full article, which is a fascinating insight into the way a small band of militant climate change deniers manipulated the media for their own weird ends, adds conclusively:

Even as the affair was unfolding, the World Meteorological Organization announced on Dec. 8 that the 2000-2009 decade would likely be the warmest on record, and that 2009 might be the fifth warmest year ever recorded. (The hottest year on record was 1998.) This conclusion is based not only on the CRU data that critics are now questioning, but also incorporates data from the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The next time someone starts screeching ‘climategate’ at you, you can cite the stories above. — DS

Technorati Tags: Climate Change, climate deniers, climate science, climategate, deniers, factcheck.org, global warming, hype, IPCC, lies, media, UEA, UNFCCC, University of East Anglia

Earth Ride Adelaide 2010 is a FREE community event, held in conjunction with the global Earth Hour, aimed at promoting environmental sustainability, including sustainable transport options and encouraging behavioural change among patrons.

Incorporating the outer city squares, Earth Ride – Adelaide 2010 will take bike riders on a car free, entertaining and educational journey through the city streets in support of Earth Hour.

All five squares in the CBD will be themed (Water/Air/Earth/Fire) to coincide with and support the vision of Earth Ride – Adelaide 2010. Victoria Square will have a series of stalls that will be set up to allow participants to meander and learn, not only about the many environmental challenges facing their community (and the world as a whole) but to also take away solutions that will empower each individual to make a small but significant difference.

SA Police will be conducting a rolling road closure for the bike ride, meaning that the ride will take 60 to 90 minutes (ride starting at 10:30am and is expected to finish at midday), giving the riders and other patrons more time to spend in the event village at Victoria Square.

Earth Ride Adelaide 2010 is an event that informs, entertains and motivates Adelaide’s growing community… It’s family-oriented, community-friendly fun for all; big and small, young and old!

Carbon Planet is supporting Earth Ride as part of its Operation: Coolenation® primary schools education programme.

Technorati Tags: Adelaide, bike, bikes, cycle, cycling, Earth Ride, Events, transport

Last month Carbon Planet celebrated its 10th birthday (with cupcakes!) and so we thought we’d update the official Carbon Planet timeline video. Enjoy — DS

Technorati Tags: 10 Years, carbon, Carbon Planet, climate, Climate Change, history, timeline, video

Late last year Carbon Planet published a couple of White Papers on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation. One of those papers gave an overview of the history of REDD policy to date. The video above summarises that into a short timeline for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy — DS

Technorati Tags: carbon, climate, Climate Change, COP15, Copenhagen, forests, Kyoto, REDD, video policy

Lincoln National Park by Dave Sag, used with permission.

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology has just announced, in its Annual Climate Statement 2009, that the previous decade, the ‘naughties’ as many call it, was indeed the hottest decade in recorded history. This puts paid to the lies and nonsense peddled by ranting climate deniers and their ill-informed ilk.

2009 ends Australia’s warmest decade on record, with a decadal mean temperature anomaly of +0.48°C (above the 1961-90 average). In Australia, each decade since the 1940s has been warmer than the preceding decade. In contrast, decadal temperature variations during the first few decades of Australia’s climate record do not display any specific trend. This suggests an apparent shift in Australia’s climate from one characterised by natural variability to one increasingly characterised by a trend to warmer temperatures.

In addition to this unequivocal observation, the BOM also highlighted the fact that, globally, 2009 was the 5th hottest year on record.

On 8 December 2009, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) stated that 2009 is expected to be the globe’s 5th warmest year on record (about 0.44°C above the 1961-90 average). A cooler-than-average global mean temperature has not been recorded since 1985, with the last decade also being the globe’s warmest on record. Increasing global mean temperatures derived from instrumental measurements are consistent with other independent indicators of climate change, such as reductions in sea-ice and snow cover, and record high global sea levels.

This chart makes the situation pretty clear:

Extreme heatwaves occurred across much of southern Australia during late January/early February resulting in a new Melbourne maximum temperature record of 46.4°C, new State maximum temperature records for Victoria (48.8°C at Hopetoun) and Tasmania (42.2°C at Scamander), and contributing to the Black Saturday bushfires. An unusual winter-time heatwave occurred during August over large parts of inland Australia and resulted in Australia’s warmest August on record. A third prolonged heatwave occurred during November across central and southeast Australia, leading to a record 8 consecutive days of maximum temperatures above 35°C in Adelaide, and numerous maximum temperature records across southern and eastern Australia, especially in South Australia and New South Wales. Based on the analysis of daily (maximum and minimum) temperature data above and below set thresholds, there are clear upward trends in the number of hot events and downward trends in the number of cold events (over the period 1960 to date), consistent with the background of global warming.

The chance of these extreme weather conditions not being directly linked to human induced global warming is infinitesimal. As I have maintained consistently for the last 6 or so years, we cannot afford to just sit and wait for governments to step in and save the day; they just won’t. We, individuals and the businesses we work within, must take charge of our own emissions first and foremost, and by doing so set the examples that the world needs.

As an individual you can start right now by offsetting your personal contribution to climate change. See Carbon Planet’s offsets for individuals and as a business you can engage Carbon Planet to help you measure, manage and minimise your carbon footprint. — DS

Technorati Tags: Australia, BOM, Bureau of Meteorology, climate, Climate Change, global warming, heat, heat-wave, weather

Business as usual could see mean global temperatures rise by around 4 degrees Celsius. This would be disastrous not only for people but for the majority of life on Earth.

A new map illustrating the global consequences of failing to keep climate change to under 2 degrees Celsius was launched on October 22 by the UK Government. The map highlights some of the impacts that may occur if the global average temperature rises by 4 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial climate average.

You can play with the interactive map and discover for yourself the various danger zones.

The map was developed using the latest peer-reviewed science from the Met Office Hadley Centre and other leading impact scientists. The poster highlights some of the impacts that may occur if the global average temperature rises by 4 °C above the pre-industrial climate average.

Lets all work hard this decade to make sure that this nightmare scenario does not happen. We have an opportunity at this moment in human history to affect powerful changes for the good of the whole world. Let’s not blow it. Happy new year everyone. — DS

Technorati Tags: 4°C, Climate Change, CO2, global warming, sea levels, temperature rise