Climate Q&A

Q1:      Is there any doubt that climate change is real?

A:         Thousands of leading government and independent climate scientists around the world now agree that climate change is real, that it is driven by human activity, and that, without action, its consequences on natural systems and on society will be severe.

Q2:      Should The Wilderness Society be concerned about climate change?

A:         Climate change is forecast to become one of the biggest threats to biodiversity.  Tackling its causes is vital to safeguard biodiversity and ecosystems and the services they provide to human societies.  Protecting biodiversity and maintaining the resilience of ecosystems will at the same time help mitigate climate change, reduce its impacts and help us adapt.

Q3:      What is The Wilderness Society doing to stop the effects of climate change?

A:         The Wilderness Society is campaigning to stop logging and land clearing. When trees are logged or cleared large amounts of carbon from the wood, roots and soil goes into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. Our campaigns have already stopped the emission of over 20 million tonnes of carbon dioxide – the single biggest reduction in carbon pollution in Australia’s history.

Q4:      Isn’t climate change caused by burning fossil fuels?

A:         Yes, fossil fuels like oil and coal are largely carbon from ancient forests buried thousands of years ago. Climate change is caused mainly by burning these ancient forests (fossil fuels) and living forests and bushland.

Q5:      How much does logging and land clearing contribute to climate change?

 A:         Globally, 20% of greenhouse emissions come from deforestation, but emissions from logging are not yet even measured or counted. Stopping logging and clearing also protects wildlife habitats and helps them to cope with climate change.           

Q6:      Why is logging old-growth forests a problem if new trees grow back?

A:         When you log an old-growth forest, huge amounts of carbon pollution are released. While young regrowth sucks in carbon, it takes 150 years for a forest to recapture all the carbon lost after logging. We must reduce carbon pollution as soon as possible to avoid dangerous climate change.

Q7:      Why does the forest industry say logging is not causing climate change?

A:       The logging industry has been misleading the public by saying:

          - that young re-growth forests can suck up more carbon than old growth forests,

          - that wood products store carbon so it doesn’t lead to carbon pollution.

 
The logging industry conveniently ignores the massive carbon pollution that occurs when the original forest is logged; and most of the wood also ends up as carbon pollution because the woodchips become paper and then waste within three years.

Q8:      Isn’t it too late to stop climate change?

A:         Scientists agree that some warming has already occurred. However they also believe that if we can limit this increase to 2degC or less, the worst effects of climate change can be avoided. So it is not too late to avoid dangerous climate change.

Q9:      What is emissions trading and how will it help stop climate change?

A:         An effective emissions trading scheme (ETS) makes companies pay to pollute, allows pollution licences to be traded and over time, reduces the total amount of pollution allowed; this encourages efficiency and innovation (ways to reduce energy use). An ineffective ETS doesn’t charge companies enough or doesn’t limit the total amount of pollution, so there are no efficiency gains.

Q10:    What do we want government to do?

A:         The Wilderness Society is a signatory to a document called Turning Down the Heat: A Climate Action Agenda for Australia, coordinated by CANA. Visit: Turning Down the Heat

Q11:    Why is it important to say no to nuclear?

A:         The nuclear industry will NOT reduce climate change. It produces deadly nuclear waste, leads to proliferation of nuclear weapons and the contamination of our precious land and waters from waste and mining. These are major threats to life on Earth and to our children and grandchildren. After 50 years of the global nuclear industry, there is STILL no safe way of storing this deadly waste which remains dangerous to future generations and the environment for more than 250,000 years. A cleaner, safer climate can be achieved through sensible measures, including energy efficiency, renewable technologies and protecting native vegetation.

Q12.    Why does climate change pose a threat to wildlife? Aren’t they used to changing and evolving over time?

A;         In the past, plants and animals were able to survive significant temperature changes throughout the Earth’s history because their habitats were intact, resilient and connected. Wildlife had the freedom to move and adapt. Human activity has caused vast habitat loss and fragmentation, pushing many species to extinction. Now with the added effects of climate change, the impact on wildlife is expected to be devastating.

Q13.    Why does logging make it harder for wildlife to cope with climate change?

A:         Logging makes the landscape more fire-prone by opening up the forest, drying it out and replacing wet old growth with young fire prone regrowth. Climate change is reducing rainfall and increasing temperatures in some areas. This combination is likely to result in more forest fires more often, making it harder for wildlife populations to survive and recover.

Q14:    How will climate affect marine life?

A:         Climate change will make seawater warmer and more acidic. It will also change ocean currents which are the foundation of life in the marine environment and crucial to the survival of many species. Phytoplankton is particularly sensitive to acidity and changing currents – 50% of the planet’s oxygen comes from these creatures. Increased temperatures are already causing coral bleaching and death.

Q15:    How do we protect wildlife from the effects of climate change?

A:         Just as a healthy body can withstand stress and disease, so wildlife in healthy habitats can better cope with the stress of climate change. Protecting, restoring and reconnecting vast landscapes will give plants and animals the best chance of moving or adapting to changing conditions.

Q 16:   How does controlled burning reduce greenhouse pollution?

A:         Indigenous people once walked through savanna country burning areas to attract game and rejuvenating the bush. These controlled burns were ‘light’ and ‘cool’ and most carbon remained in the vegetation. Without such burning, damaging wildfires now burn vastly more savanna, releasing huge amounts of carbon pollution. By returning traditional cool burns to these areas, more carbon stays stored in the vegetation.

Q17:    What is a carbon offset?

A:         This is when you undertake an activity to counter the amount of carbon produced from another activity. For e.g. as you burn carbon by driving your car, you then pay a company to plant trees or generate renewable energy to absorb or offset the equivalent amount of carbon.

Q21:    What can people do? How can we all make a difference?

There are three things you can do to help:

1. Actively support campaigns to save our wild places. This means ending land clearing and most native forest logging – a guaranteed, immediate and cost-effective way to stop carbon pollution – and creating more protected areas to give habitats and wildlife a better chance to cope with climate change.

2. Help The Wilderness Society to make sure Australia doesn’t choose a nuclear future. Nuclear is the wrong answer to climate change.

3. Help reduce greenhouse emissions from energy use:

Six simple things you can do at home to reduce your energy consumption and help reduce climate change:

   1. Save energy at home: use appliances with 5-star energy ratings and turn them off at the wall; change over to compact fluoro light globes and turn lights off when you don’t need them; install solar water heating; and choose accredited Green Power electricity suppliers!

   2. Drive less: take a bus, train, walk or ride a bike – every 5 kilometres driven creates 1.5kg of carbon dioxide.

   3. Reduce, reuse, recycle: cutting down on packaging and recycling your waste can save thousands of kilograms of greenhouse pollution for each household.

   4. Buy local: transporting products creates huge amounts of greenhouse pollution – buy local and cut down on carbon emissions!

   5. Turn down the air conditioning: Australians spend tonnes of greenhouse gases to heat and cool our homes. By building and insulating more efficiently, and learning to live with our natural environment we can make a huge contribution to reducing global warming.

   6. Plant some trees: each tree can absorb a tonne of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. Fill your garden with water-wise natives and help make a difference.