Australia At 3C: "Unrecognizable", Uninsurable, With Fire Seasons Like 2019-20 Increasingly Routine
lobal heating of 3C would more than double the number of annual heatwaves in some parts of Australia, leave properties uninsurable due to flood and fire risk, and make many of the country’s ecosystems “unrecognisable”, according to Australia’s leading scientists. The Australian Academy of Science is calling on the Morrison government to accelerate the country’s transition to net zero greenhouse gas emissions in a report that examines what Australia could look like in a 3C world.
The analysis paints a grim picture in which heatwaves in states such as Queensland would occur seven times a year and last for 16 days at a time, and unprecedented fire seasons such as the 2019-20 fire disaster become a regular occurrence.
The report’s authors said what Australia and other countries did to reduce emissions over the next decade would be critical as it would determine what occurred in the second half of this century. “When we sum up what’s happening, we’re not doing enough and we have to change the game to avoid a very consequential future,” Prof Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, a biologist and climate scientist at the University of Queensland, said.
The planet has already warmed by 1.1C since pre-industrial times and, based on current commitments by countries under the Paris agreement, is on track for an average 3C temperature rise.
EDIT
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/31/delay-is-as-dangerous-as-denial-scientists-urge-australia-to-reach-net-zero-emissions-faster
