Page 10 - IB August 2021

Climate Change Climate Change

THE PACIFIC LOOKS TO GLASGOW

By Dr Ian Fry acidic ocean slowly dissolves coral reefs and shellfish. This
means that our first line of defence against storm surges, the
As wildfires take lives and ravage property around the coral reefs, will be less resilient. Studies also suggest that
Mediterranean and North America and floods destroy lives and ocean acidification affects the development of young tuna
property in other parts of Europe, China and Nepal, Pacific and other fish species.
Island countries are bracing themselves for another severe
cyclone season. These are no longer simply natural disasters, Reactions to the IPCC Report
they are climate change events. This is the new normal and Global reactions to the IPCC report were quick. The UN Sec-
it’s going to get worse. retary General, Antonio Guterres tweeted that “the evidence
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released is irrefutable: greenhouse gas emissions are choking our plant
part of its Sixth Assessment Report earlier this month and and placing billions of people in danger”. Unfortunately, the
their message does not make for cheery reading. According reaction to the IPCC report by the Pacific’s largest neighbour
to the report, the Western Pacific sea levels rose faster than has been underwhelming. Prime Minister of Australia, Scott
anywhere else in the world in recent times and by 2050 are Morrison, said at a recent press conference that the world
estimated to rise by 10-25cm. For Pacific coastal communi- faces a “serious challenge”. Followers of Prime Minister
ties with villages close to the sea this will have a devastating Morrison’s press conferences are used to these ambiguous,
effect. Storm surges are the critical factor. Coastal inunda- non-committal statements. The Morrison government has
tion events are happening far more regularly with the IPCC yet to set a timeframe for a net zero emissions target and a
estimating that one in a 100-year events could happen annu- commitment to phase out coal mining. Furthermore, the Mor-
ally or more frequently by 2100. Coastal villages will have to rison government has withdrawn its funding from the Green
start looking for new land. Coral atoll nations and communi- Climate Fund, the major global climate change fund.
ties where there is nowhere to go, will have to start thinking
about land reclamation and raising the level of their islands. Pacific Leaders Forum and Maritime Boundaries
This is an extremely costly proposition. At the recent Pacific Leaders Forum, Leaders agreed to a
Storm surges not only destroy property, they contaminate statement which notes that once maritime zones are estab-
groundwater supplies and crops. Fresh water is going to be in lished Pacific Island Leaders intend “to maintain these zones
short supply. Droughts will become more frequent. without reduction, notwithstanding climate change related
The IPCC report is describing the effects of basic physics. sea-level rise”. In effect, this means that once a maritime
As we increase the temperature of the atmosphere due to boundary is established it will not change even if the coast-
the greenhouse effect, our oceans are warming in tandem. line recedes due to sea level rise. Islands may disappear but
Warmer oceans mean that greater energy is being created in their maritime boundaries will remain. Interestingly, Pacific
a weather system. This means more severe cyclones and more Island countries tried similar language at the 2019 Leaders
severe droughts. Forum but this was rejected by Australia because they feared
Warmer oceans are not just affecting the weather, they are it would legitimise Chinese island building efforts in the South
having an impact on our fish stocks. Recent studies suggest China Sea.
that our tuna populations are migrating eastward as the West-
ern Pacific becomes warmer. Far western Pacific nations could What Needs to be Done
see significant declines in their catch. The economic rami- Looking at some of the graphs in the IPCC report, it appears
fications of this are significant and are likely to exacerbate that we need to peak global emissions by 2025 if we are going
regional tensions over access to fish stocks by distant water to limit global warming to 1.5°C as stated in the Paris Agree-
fishing nations. ment. This is a tall task, but it can be achieved if countries
The IPCC also highlights the issue of ocean acidification. dramatically ramp up their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas
The more carbon dioxide that is emitted into our atmosphere emissions.
through the burning of fossil fuels, the more carbon dioxide The need to step up action to reduce emissions was re-
is dissolved in our oceans. This makes the ocean acidic. An cently highlighted in a report by Greenpeace Australia Pacific

10 Islands Business, August 2021