Herbert River Express | January 10, 2002
SOARING summer temperatures, bushfires and drought highlight the need for rural Australia to become more active in calling for action to prevent global warming according to the Australian Democrats.
Democrats Rural Affairs spokesperson Senator John Cherry said rural Australia needed to heed the warning from greenhouse expert Professor Ian Noble that bushfires are likely to become more frequent with global warming. "The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on Australia released last year forecast a high risk of increased pests, weeds and diseases, and a medium risk of reduced rural productivity, increased drought and increased forest fire risk from global warming," Senator Cherry said.
"The United Nations Environment Program 2001, reports that the total economic cost of natural disasters has increased threefold since the 1960s.
"And research by Australia's own CSIRO has forecast major changes in climate increasing the likelihood of extreme weather conditions across Australia.
"The CSIRO Briefing reports that 'Australian agribusiness exists in a dynamic environment. Market opportunities appear and disappear and producers need to respond to these. Global climate change adds yet another dimension to the complexity of agricultural production'.
"Rural Australia needs to be at the forefront of the call on the Australian Government to act on greenhouse and to end the alliance with the 'big oil' dominated Bush Administration's opposition to international efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"The alternative will be more hot summers, more bushfires and droughts, more floods, more tropical diseases and pests and more stress on the profitability of Australia's rural sector," Senator Cherry concluded.Herbert River Express:
