Climate change is caused by human activity. It is the worst environmental and economic problem we face today. Human activity is disrupting the climate’s natural balance and increasing greenhouse warming. Australia must commit to urgent action to cut greenhouse pollution and provide greater support to prepare poor countries for the impacts of climate change.
Australia is responsible for the emission of 60 times more carbon per person than Bangladesh yet the impact of climate change will fall more heavily on the poor in Bangladesh and other developing countries than communities in developed nations.
Poverty makes people vulnerable and limits their choices. If crops fail, subsistence farmers have few or no alternative means to provide food for their families. Natural disasters can overwhelm a poor household, destroying its ability to cope.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports (2007) project the following changes due to climate change by the end of this century:
- 1.1 billion to 3.2 billion people would be experiencing water scarcity,
- 200 million to 600 million would suffer from hunger and
- 2 million to 7 million would experience annual coastal flooding.
In 2000, leaders of 191 nations agreed on eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to ensure the halving of extreme poverty by 2015. Unless urgent steps are taken to help poor people adapt to climate change, and unless these actions are integrated in national strategies for poverty eradication and sustainable development, we will not meet the goals set for 2015.
“The poorest developing countries will be hit earliest and hardest by climate change, even though they have contributed little to causing the problem. Their low incomes make it difficult to finance adaptation. The international community has an obligation to support them in adapting to climate change. Without such support there is a serious risk that development progress will be undermined.”
- Stern Review, 2006
What is Australia’s role in tackling climate change?
In order for Australia to demonstrate leadership and play its part in addressing the key issues facing climate affected peoples within our region and around the world, we are asking for the following;
- Commit to cut Australia’s greenhouse emissions by 40% from 1990 levels by 2020 and 95% by 2050.
- Rapidly increase Australia’s assistance to countries to help them adapt to climate change and to develop along a low-carbon path.
- Contribute our fair share to the costs of such funding estimated to grow to around US$200 bn a year by 2020 and directed primarily through the UNFCCC.
- Ensure assistance for climate change is additional to ODA funding of 0.7%
