Cassy O'Connor MP | Greens Leader and Climate Change spokesperson
A new coastal climate risk website reveals that large parts of Tasmania’s coastline and estuarine environments will be inundated by sea water by 2100 unless action is taken at the local, state, national and global level to reduce greenhouse emissions and prevent runaway climate change.
The Coastal Risk mapping tool applies Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projections to coastal areas, with a high, medium and low emissions’ scenario. It reveals that significant tracts of Launceston, Lauderdale, Kingston and the State’s East Coast have a high vulnerability to coastal inundation and sea level rise, yet not one extra dollar was allocated in the third Hodgman Budget to climate adaptation measures that will prepare communities for change and protect important coastal areas.
This new, scientifically based tool paints an alarming picture of the future for Tasmanians who live in and near the coast. It surely compels government to act.
The science is unarguable, and yet the Liberals have sacked CSIRO’s, Dr John Church, the world’s leading expert on sea level rise at a time when sea levels are rising and look set to increasingly affect Tasmanian coastal communities. Other climate scientists are also in the firing line. It’s almost as if the Liberals believe they can make the climate problem go away if they pretend it’s not happening.
The State Budget made the most passing reference to climate change and allocated no new greenhouse mitigation measures or any extra funding for coastal adaptation projects.
The Greens’ Alternative Budget will be about genuine future proofing for Tasmania, applying the climate lens to initiatives across portfolios to ensure Tasmania is ready for the future.