Final UN climate report an emergency siren

The Canopy, Tuesday 21 March 

The latest report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says the climate crisis is rapidly altering Earth’s atmosphere, oceans, land and frozen poles, causing widespread extreme weather, including severe heatwaves and drought, catastrophic flooding and rising sea levels, but there are pathways to keep global heating under 1.5 degrees. Greenpeace Australia Pacific chief executive David Ritter described the IPCC findings as a “screaming siren” and a call to action to use solutions already at hand.

The underwater world – from shipwrecks with human remains inside to First Nations sites that are tens of thousands of years old – needs better protection, a parliamentary committee has found.

And as debate continues over the government’s proposed Safeguard Mechanism, the Greens are reminding the government that Australians voted for meaningful action on climate change. The Greens want to see the inclusion of no new gas or coal projects under the policy, but Labor has ruled that out.

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