Standard Page - 10 May, 2011
We have a choice. We can power our lives with dangerous, unhealthy and polluting energy; or embrace clean, safe, renewable power. We have the technologies at hand now to avoid pollution, climate change, oil spills, radiation and nuclear waste. All we need is action.
After centuries of burning the planet’s coal, oil and gas supplies and destroying vast areas of forests and peatlands, we now know that carbon pollution is pouring into the atmosphere and altering the delicate balance of life on Earth.
The problem
Burning coal is the single biggest contributor to climate change. It produces a third of the world’s carbon pollution and over 70% of carbon pollution from the energy sector. Coal not only damages our climate, but it is bad for our health, it pollutes our water systems and releases tonnes of toxic waste products into local ecosystems.
Australia is the biggest carbon polluter per capita in the world. While the rest of the world races to join the booming clean energy market, Australia is firmly stuck on coal. 80% of our energy is produced from burning coal and there are plans to build 12 new coal power stations across Australia. If built, they will lock us into decades more of pollution and will inhibit the growth of a large-scale renewable energy industry. Find out more
The impact
The impacts of climate change are being felt today. Average global temperatures have risen every decade since the 1970s, and the 10 warmest years on record have all occurred since 1997. Glaciers, permafrost and sea ice are disappearing. Sea levels are rising, coral reefs dying, species becoming extinct, seasons changing and extreme weather events becoming more common.
The impacts of climate change are already responsible for killing an estimated 315,000 people every year and damaging ecosystems. And this is just the beginning. The science predicts that anything more than 2°C rise in global temperatures puts us on the road to potentially catastrophic problems. There will be more flooding, more drought, more disease, more famine and more war, creating hundreds of millions of refugees and causing the destruction of entire ecosystems and species. This is happening at home, in our region and on the global stage. Find out more
The Culprits
It is clear what needs to be done and when – what is missing is the will to do it. Governments around the world have a responsibility to protect the planet and its inhabitants. They must drastically reduce domestic carbon pollution, foster investment in large-scale renewable energy projects, protect forests and commit to a fair, ambitious and biding global agreement.
But governments aren’t the only accountable ones. Without the huge resources and influence invested by the business sector, outdated and polluting power projects would not be given a lifeline. In Australia, the big four banks are also the biggest investors in the coal industry. Find out more