Agencies unite on climate change

Canberra Times
Monday 15/3/2010 Page: 1

Australia's top science agencies warn the country is already gripped by climate change, with hotter spring temperatures, declining rainfall and sea level rises more than three times the global average in some areas. A six-page national climate snapshot published today by the CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology suggests Australia could warm by up to 5 degrees - well above the 2 degree danger threshold determined by the United Nations - if current global green emission levels continue unchecked.

CSIRO chief executive Megan Clark said climate records showed Australia had become hotter and drier over the past 50 years. Warming had occurred in all seasons, with the strongest warming occurring in spring (0.9 degrees) and the weakest in summer (0.4 degrees). "Climate change is real. Our records show there is no disputing that, and the next step is to meet this challenge through mitigation and adaptation," Dr Clark said.

Bureau of Meteorology director Greg Ayres said the reality of climate change was clearly evident in Australia's climate records. "Australia holds one of the best national climate records in the world. The bureau's been responsible for keeping that record for more than 100 years and it's there for anyone and everyone to see, use and analyse," Dr Ayres said.

The climate snapshot, jointly launched by the chiefs of both science agencies, comes just days after the CSIRO Staff Association accused the Federal Opposition of waging a political war against CSIRO climate scientists. It also follows Opposition attacks on Dr Clark and CSIRO during a recent Senate estimates hearing.

Liberal senator Julian McGauran described CSIRO's climate research as "utterly trivial", claiming the organisation's reputation and scientific credibility were " compromised" by its stance in supporting climate change. Dr Clark dismissed suggestions the snapshot was published to refute these recent attacks. "Our experience is that there's a hunger and a thirst for good quality climate science. People want a clearer picture of what's happening, and that's what we've produced," she said.

The snapshot combines more than 100 years of data on Australia's weather, tracking changes in temperature, rainfall, sea level, ocean acidification and atmospheric levels of CO2 and methane. It shows Australia's average temperature has increased by 0.7 degrees over the past 50 years, with inland and northern regions already experiencing warming trends of 1.5 to 2 degrees. Rainfall patterns have become highly variable since the 1960s, with substantial increases across the Top End and central Australia, and substantial decreases across the south-east of the continent.

The snapshot shows sea levels have risen by between 7mm and 10mm a year across Australia's northern coastline, well above the global average of between 1.5 to 3mm a year. Australia's sea surface temperatures have increased by about 0.4 degrees in the past 50 years, showing ocean acidification levels are increasing in the Southern Ocean. Atmospheric CO2 levels measured at CSIRO's air pollution station at Cape Grim in north-west Tasmania have risen from 330 parts per million to 380ppm over the past 35 years.

The report warns that Australia will be hotter in coming decades, but temperatures could rise by 2.2 to 5 degrees under higher emissions scenarios outlined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The report said it was "extremely unlikely" warming was due to natural causes alone. It was "very likely" human activities were responsible with evidence of human influences detected in ocean warming, sea level rise, temperature extremes and wind patterns. "Our observation clearly demonstrate that climate change is real," the report said.