If there was ever a reason to commit to a new years resolution to power your organisation with renewable energy, the report from the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) and CSIRO’s joint biennial State of the Climate report which has just been released could be the one. Dr Helen Cleugh, the director of the climate science centre at CSIRO, said the last time the planet saw levels of CO2 this high was at least 800,000 years ago.

Key points

• Australia’s climate has warmed just over 1 °C since 1910 leading to an increase in the frequency of extreme heat events.
• Oceans around Australia have warmed by around 1 °C since 1910, contributing to longer and more frequent marine heatwaves.
• Sea levels are rising around Australia, increasing the risk of inundation.
• The oceans around Australia are acidifying (the pH is decreasing).
• April to October rainfall has decreased in the southwest of Australia. Across the same region May–July rainfall has seen the largest decrease, by around 20 per cent since 1970.
• There has been a decline of around 11 per cent in April–October rainfall in the southeast of Australia since the late 1990s.
• Rainfall has increased across parts of northern Australia since the 1970s.
• Streamflow has decreased across southern Australia. Streamflow has increased in northern Australia where rainfall has increased.
• There has been a long-term increase in extreme fire weather, and in the length of the fire season, across large parts of Australia.

According to the study, eight of the 10 warmest years of sea surface temperatures have been recorded since 2010 contributing to coral bleaching, oceans acidifying and altering the habitats of different species. Mr Oosting said Australia was recently ranked the fifth worst performing country in the world when it came to climate action. The 2018 Climate Change Performance Index ranked Australia 55 out of 60 countries for climate change action, putting it in the same group as the United States and Saudi Arabia.

It’s easy, profitable and cash flow positive for your organisation to contribute to efforts that address climate change in 2019 – power your business with renewable energy.  See this article for how to: 8 comparative steps needed to use energy for improving your business

Stories from:

http://www.bom.gov.au/state-of-the-climate/index.shtml

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-20/bom-csiro-biennial-state-of-the-climate/10631122

https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/greater-warming-different-species-under-threat-20181219-p50n7k.html

https://climateactiontracker.org/publications/warming-projections-global-update-dec-2018/