In opening the 14th Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia (IPWEA) International Conference, CEO of the Australian Conservation Foundation, Don Henry, said the dangers of climate change are avoidable, but we need to act now.
Staged in Cairns from 26 to 30 August, the IPWEA international conference is the premier event on the public works calendar and is held once every two years. More than 600 delegates, including public works and Local Government engineers, technical officers and elected members, attended the conference, making it one of the biggest to date. Climate change, water management, the skills shortage and infrastructure management were hot topics on the conference agenda.
In his keynote address, ‘Solutions to Climate Change; Challenges and Opportunities for Public Works’, Don Henry said we have eight years to turn around our emissions and get them coming down.
“Your sector is a crucial part of the solution,” he said. “You must show leadership, innovation and vigour – it is critical to the nation getting on top of the climate change situation.”
He commented on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports, which were released earlier this year. The reports provide a comprehensive and up to date assessment of the current state of knowledge on climate change and are presented to governments around the world.
“The reports note that potential threats of climate change in Australia include the intensification of the water security problem by 2030, and a significant loss of biodiversity by 2020, including the Great Barrier Reef and Queensland wet tropics,” Don Henry said. “By 2030, production from agriculture and forestry will decline over much of southern and eastern Australia. Ongoing coastal development and population growth in areas such as Cairns and southeast Queensland will also see a sea level rise and an increased risk in severity of storms and coastal flooding by 2050. These events present a further threat to our infrastructure, with a high likelihood that flood plain protection and stormwater and sewage drainage will fail to keep up.”
Don Henry said that extreme weather events cost the economy dearly, and that the cost is increasing.
“If we don’t act, we will see more extreme daily weather events, which will result in damage costs, environmental spills, infrastructure failures and so forth,” he said.
The Australian Conservation Foundation and several leading businesses, including Westpac, Visy, BP and Origin Energy, have formed the Australian Business Roundtable on Climate Change. It aims to advance the understanding of business risks and opportunities associated with climate change and to help develop effective policy frameworks and market conditions for a low carbon future.
The roundtable commissioned the CSIRO to determine climate impacts on Australia, and the Allen Consulting Group to model the economic effects of producing a 60 per cent reduction on year 2000 emissions by 2050.
Don Henry said the roundtable’s report shows, for the first time, that it is possible for Australia to deliver significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions at an affordable cost, while maintaining strong economic growth.
He urged delegates to begin setting realistic science based targets for their own areas.”
“We also need to have a price on carbon, use more renewables and implement emission trading,” he said. “Not only will energy and fuel efficiencies save money, but we will have cleaner air and better communities.
Also speaking at the conference, Professor John Martin, from La Trobe University’s Centre for Sustainable Regional Communities, presented a paper titled ‘Local Government and Climate Change: Risk Management, Adaptation and Mitigation’.
“We know the science and the predictions concerning climate change,” Professor Martin said. “But it is the responses by the community that will really count and it is the message you send as leaders that will determine if others will follow.
“You need to inspire your residents to make things happen. Engage with people to develop local solutions and create learning communities about climate change. There is a huge amount of local knowledge out there that can be used for both mitigation and adaptation strategies.
“It is in times of emergencies or crisis that communities come together and rise to the challenge. With bushfires or floods it is the people there at the coalface that drive the immediate response and longer term recovery. Local Government is a key player in this and must accept a similar role in regard to climate change. Ask yourself the question, why should I take action? Then consider, what will we leave our children if we don’t?”
For further information on the conference and speakers, visit www.ipwea.org.au/cairns2007
