DEAR News of the Area,

I READ with concern Ken Mitchell’s letter, in your edition of 15 July 2022, it is a sceptical and ill-informed denial of the hazards of climate change.

I feel sure the leaders of the Pacific Island nations would strongly repudiate Mr Mitchell’s assertion that the “Pacific Islands are not sinking”.

A number of Pacific Nations are in danger of disappearing in coming decades.

Official studies have shown that Kiribati will cease to exist by the end of this century and that with the current projection of sea water rise, the Maldives could be underwater by 2100.

The provincial capital of the Solomon Islands, Choiseul, is presently being relocated because of rising water levels. Five reef islands have already disappeared.

Mr Michell’s statement that: “man-made climate change is the largest scam ever perpetuated on mankind” does not recognise the obvious facts and overwhelming science to the contrary.

For instance nine of the 10 hottest years on record have all occurred since 2005.

The last seven summers have been the hottest on record.

Back-to-back marine heatwaves in 2016 and 2017 resulted in mass coral mortality on the Great Barrier Reef.

Even our conservative politicians declared the recent bushfires and floods “unprecedented”.

The rainfall from January 2017 to October 2019 was the lowest on record for the Murray-Darling Basin and for NSW.

Long-term air and ocean temperatures show the earth is warming.

The global average temperature has already increased by 1.1 degrees Celsius since the pre-industrial period.

We know that climate problems have human impacts, affecting our communities, health, economics and
livelihoods.

International efforts to limit global temperature rise to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius are critically important.

Even at 1.5 degrees C of global warming coral reefs are still likely to experience a further decline of 70-90 per cent and impacts amplify rapidly between 1.5 and 2.9 degrees C. Our scientists are now saying that our climate is changing much faster than originally predicted.

Also, we are seeing heat waves, bush fires and drought in Europe and the USA.

Mr Mitchell further proposes more “coal-powered power stations”.

The Australian Energy Market Operator in its latest report reveals the inevitable transition to renewables is speeding up.

Wind and solar can provide more of Australia’s energy needs much more cheaply, as we see fossil fuels become more unaffordable and unreliable.

It was evident at our recent federal election that the majority of Australians have embraced and accepted the disasters of global warming, but, unfortunately, there are still some deniers who will not accept the exhaustive science and obvious evidence of this predicament.

Regards,
Pieter de VISSER,
Korora.