It's no global warming storm in a tea cup!

According to the World Health Organisation, climate change was responsible for an estimated 150,000 deaths in 2000. A growth in the threat of extreme weather events as described here will only increase that number.

The science shows that climate change is here now and is already having serious impacts. These impacts are projected to worsen significantly without meaningful action to tackle climate change. Many scientists, including Australia’s own Chief Scientist Dr Robin Batterham, have called for 50-75 per cent reductions in greenhouse pollution by 2050, with the latest research pointing at the higher figure.

Australian governments need to commit to reduce greenhouse emissions by at least 60 per cent below 1990 levels by 2050 and to develop a roadmap to ensure they meet that target. Such a roadmap should include:

• Supporting development of a stronger renewable energy industry through a mandatory target for clean renewable energy of 10per cent by 2010, 20 per cent by 2020 and further targets beyond that;
• introducing a stringent energy efficiency target;
• removing direct and indirect subsidies to fossil fuels; and
• introducing a revenue neutral carbon levy and or an emission-trading scheme with decreasing cap to establish a price on greenhouse pollution.

Federally, the Australian government should also ratify the Kyoto Protocol.

The politics of climate change might appear stormy at times, but only if we lose sight of the consequences of not acting. As the science shows, we are fast running out of time to act.