Category: Videos

Videos, Facts

What’s the state of Australia’s climate?

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This 2-minute video captures the key findings of the State of the Climate 2020 report

Many thanks to Jane Sultana for raising awareness of the sixth bienniel State of our Climate report developed by the CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology. From this link you can see a short 2-minute video of key findings and also download the full report.

Here are the key observations:

  • The warming trend outlined in the previous State of the Climate reports is continuing.
  • Australia’s climate has warmed on average by 1.44 (± 0.24) degrees since 1910, leading to an increase in the frequency of extreme heat events.
  • Oceans around Australia are acidifying, and have warmed by around one degree since 1910, contributing to longer and more frequent marine heatwaves.
  • The rate of sea-level rise varies around Australia’s coastlines, but overall, sea levels are rising in line with global trends.
  • There has been an increase in extreme fire weather, and the length of the fire season, across large parts of the country since the 1950s, especially in southern Australia.
  • Rainfall has increased across parts of northern Australia since the 1970s.
  • Fewer tropical cyclones for the future, but a greater proportion projected to be of high intensity, with large variations from year to year.
  • Global carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) concentrations in the atmosphere reached 410 parts per million (ppm) in 2019 and the CO 2 -equivalent of all greenhouse gas reached 508 ppm. The rate of CO 2 accumulation in the atmosphere has increased with every passing decade since atmospheric measurements began.
  • Emissions from fossil fuels are the main contributor to the observed growth in atmospheric CO2. Around 85 per cent of global CO 2  emissions in the decade from 2009 to 2018 were from fossil fuel sources.

Webinars, Videos, Events

TED Countdown

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Did you catch the six hours of presentations of the TED Countdown on 10 October 2020? This amazing event brought together over 50 speakers that covered many subjects relating to how we can change climate change.

This event marked the global launch of a year of accelerating progress on climate action leading up to a major Countdown Summit in October 2021. The Summit will be held in Edinburgh in the lead up to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 26) in Glasgow.

At COP 26 all 195 countries that signed on to the Paris Agreement will be asked to ramp up their commitments so that emissions can halve by 2030, and halve again by 2040, so that we have a chance of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

TED Countdown showed just how doable this is. There were scientists, artists, royalty, pop stars and even Pope Francis gave a heartfelt presentation. The event was in five sessions each hosted by high profile activists including Al Gore, Jane Fonda and Chris Hemsworth. The sessions focused on urgency, leadership, transformation, breakthroughs and action.

My favourite sessions? It is hard to choose…

  • Johan Rockstrom who describes how we have ten years to transform the future of humanity – or destabilise the planet.
  • Christiana Figueres, my hero, who personifies stubborn optimism.
  • Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, the mayor of Freetown in Sierra Leone who is planting two million trees a year.
  • Rose Mutiso who is helping African women become scholars and thought leaders.
  • Karen Scrivener who has pioneered a new form of cement that creates 40% less carbon emissions (Cement is responsible for 8% of the world’s carbon footprint!)
  • Sophie Howe, from Wales, who in her government job, advocates for future generations – that resulted in funds for a planned new motorway being diverted to expanding public transport and cycleways.
  • Prince William and Pope Francis were also not to be missed.

There are millions of amazing people taking action to transform our world to create a sustainable, fairer future. Through Zonta Says NOW we are too.