by Bill F.
The
struggle to prevent catastrophic climate warming is being fought on two key
fronts; the spreading of scientific factual evidence and the mobilisation of concerned
people against the big polluters and their apologists.
On
the first front, Communists have a responsibility to be aware of the facts and
scientific evidence in order to cut through the distortions and pseudo-science
circulated by the deniers, ‘sceptics’ and media apologists covering for the
biggest polluters – the fossil fuel monopolies.
While the next report of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is not due until September
this year, the latest evidence is overwhelming.
Facing the facts
A leaked discussion draft of the forthcoming
IPCC report states that it is now “virtually certain” that human greenhouse gas
emissions trap energy that warms the planet, and that carbon dioxide is the
biggest cause of climate change, far outweighing natural causes. The
concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide is the highest in 800,000 years.
“There is consistent evidence from observations of a net energy uptake
of the Earth System due to an imbalance in the energy budget. It is virtually
certain that this is caused by human activities, primarily by the increase in
CO2 concentrations.”
New data from the Global Carbon Project
found greenhouse gas emissions have increased 54% since 1990, the reference
year for the Kyoto Protocol. “Unless we change current emissions trends, this
year (2012) is set to reach 36 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide from the
combustion of fossil fuels, we are on the way to an unrecognisable planet of 4
to 6 degrees warmer by the end of this century” said the executive director of
the Global Carbon Project, Dr Pep Canadell.
In September last year, NASA and others
reported that the Arctic sea ice had progressively declined to its lowest level
since reliable records began, far beyond the usual summer melting.
Then, a study by scientists in Alaska found
evidence that the Arctic permafrost is releasing huge quantities of methane, a
much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Further studies are
necessary to scope the impact of this factor on global climate, so its effect
will not be included in the next IPCC report, which will be bleak enough
already.
Unless climate warming is rolled back, it
means a nightmare future for the people of the world, with more frequent severe
weather events, such as cyclones, floods, droughts, bushfires and extremes of
heat and cold.
This will affect the cycle of crop
production in many places, leading to shortages of food and water. Signs of
this are emerging already, with reported crop failures in Africa and Russia.
Disruption of food supplies will then lead
to mass migrations, adding to those from coastal regions and islands affected
by the rising sea levels, causing further political instability and regional
conflict.
Climate warming in Australia
A recent article by Professor Tim Flannery
the Climate Commissioner pointed to several pieces of evidence that Australia is
undergoing some far-reaching changes in its weather patterns.
“The CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology have reported
that Australia has experienced fewer very cold days and more very hot days than
it did 50 years ago.”
“In 2011,
sea-surface temperatures to the north-west of Australia reached record highs.
Increased water evaporation contributed to the wettest year on record in
Australia. The vegetation of the inland flourished. But then the region
experienced its longest period ever without rain, drying the vegetation. Now,
the record heatwave is allowing fires to flourish.”
A report
by the Climate Commission on the current summer heatwave stated “The length,
extent and severity of this heatwave are unprecedented in the measurement
record. Although Australia has always had heatwaves, hot days and bushfires,
climate change has increased the risk of more intense heatwaves and extreme hot
days, as well as exacerbated bushfire conditions. Scientists have concluded
that climate change is making extreme hot days, heatwaves and bushfire weather
worse.”
In Victoria, Kate Auty, the
Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability, issued a report which warned that
agriculture and endangered species would be severely exposed due to climate warming.
The report noted that rainfall across Victoria is projected to decline anywhere
between 6-14% by 2050. As temperatures rise and rainfall declines, the types of
local climate will begin to change across the state, with more areas of desert
emerging and temperate regions disappearing as climatic conditions shift south.
Melbourne, with the increasing impact of dense urban infrastructure increasing
temperatures, will become noticeably warmer than surrounding areas.
Gillard government promises to do little
In response to this crisis for
humanity, the Australian government, last year at Doha, signed up to the second
round of the Kyoto Protocol, pledging to cut greenhouse gas emissions by a
token 5% by the year 2020.
At the same time, according to a
statement released by Emeritus Professor Ian Lowe, president of the Australian
Conservation Foundation, “Last year we exported about 300 million tonnes of
coal. When burned, that produces more than a billion tonnes of carbon dioxide –
double our domestic production. Yet there is bipartisan agreement to pour
public funds into infrastructure to increase our contribution to the global
problem still further.
“Exporting gas would be a legitimate
activity if it were replacing coal, but in most cases it is adding to the world’s
fossil fuel use and therefore accelerating the warming trend. We should be
taking a more responsible approach. Increasing our fossil fuel exports is
indefensible. In the medium term, we will need to phase out coal exports.”
Professor Lowe went on, “While the
state governments in NSW and Victoria have yielded to populist alarmism and
restricted expansion of wind power, in the comparatively enlightened investment
climate of South Australia the new technology has taken off. On September 5,
wind supplied 55% of the state’s total power consumption for the day, with the
contribution peaking at 85% in the early hours of the morning. Around
Australia, about a million households have installed solar panels, producing
about 2000 megawatts of peak electricity and allowing old coal-fired power
stations to be mothballed. It is now clear that renewables are able to make a
major contribution to our energy needs. We should be increasing the 2020 target
to bring these technologies on line more rapidly.”
Mobilising the people
The evidence is there; the logic is
clear; the alternatives are available; so what is standing in the way? What is
preventing the Australian government from dealing seriously with this crisis
which threatens the whole of humanity and indeed the planet?
In prime place, there is the political
influence of profit-driven monopolies in the oil, coal and gas industries, the
electricity generators, the mining industry, the automobile manufacturers, plus
others such as the aeronautics and weapons industries – all the big users of
fossil fuels, all part of the ruling class in the developed countries, all part
of the network of US and European imperialism that dominates the Australian
economy and politics.
Both the Gillard government and the
Opposition Liberals pander to the interests of these powerful corporate
monopolies. They fear to constrain them, let alone challenge their right to
pollute the planet in the search for more profits. Indeed, they offer taxpayer
funded subsidies and compensation payments to offset the piddling carbon tax
imposed.
Not only this. In recent times, both
Labor and Liberal governments have wound back the few tentative subsidies for
the research and development of alternative energies, such as wind, geo-thermal
and solar.
It is clear that, despite the efforts
of the Greens and others, no significant change will occur through the
institution of parliament, which has become, more than ever, a ‘talking shop’
disconnected from the people and viewed with contempt.
To some extent, this only reinforces
the powerlessness felt by ordinary people in the face of issues such as climate
change and the immense power of the corporate monopolies. Being sceptical is
one thing, but outright cynicism only paralyses people, destroys their hopes
for change, and maintains the status quo.
Nevertheless, feeling powerless can
also embolden people to fight back, to press their demands and find a way to
change things for the better. That means mobilising, joining together in collective
action and building broad alliances that are hard to ignore, hard to isolate,
hard to break.
On this front, Communists cannot be content
to be mere spectators and commentators. They have responsibility to encourage and
support all mobilisations of the people on these issues, and where appropriate,
to initiate and organise actions to expose and harass the monopoly polluters
and the subservient governments that do their bidding.
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