<
https://reneweconomy.com.au/s-curve-modelling-says-renewables-can-kick-coal-out-of-australia-by-2032-but-is-this-soon-enough/>
"In 1972 when I was supposed to be studying for my A levels I was completely
distracted by the book
Limits to Growth. This book was roundly castigated,
especially by industry who scoffed at the predictions of peak oil and gas and
environmental collapse. But half a century later, we can see how accurate most
of the predictions have proved to be. The one that scared me the most and still
does is climate change and that has given purpose and focus to my entire career
and now into retirement.
Over the years I became more and more despondent and angry as I saw decade
after decade of climate science ignored, as climate record after record
collapsed. I saw COP after COP fail ignominiously as commercial vested
interests prevailed over the science and the totally bleeding obvious – a
survivable future trumps economy because without people there is no economy.
I saw the IPCC doing great science but still failing to give the precautionary
advice needed to the UN! The UNFCCC mandates that UN member nations act with
precaution on climate even where the science is uncertain, but the academic
peer review process stops uncertain science in its tracks and the summary
reports are so highly politically moderated.
I saw my own efforts in environmental life-cycle assessment, building and
infrastructure rating tools in UK, US and Australia substantially lobbied by
commercial vested interests to Greenwash.
I saw how the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals were used by governments and
corporations spruiking their progress on 15 nice-to-haves while utterly
trashing progress on the two existential threats to our entire species forever
– namely climate and ecology (where ecology depends most on climate).
In 2017, when the “Hothouse Earth” research pulled together different strands
of research on the compounding feedback loops of the climate system and implied
that we needed to be at net zero emissions by 2030 (or before 2°C of warming)
otherwise climate change would probably accelerate unstoppably to 4-6°C of
warming! Surely climate tipping into accelerated warming due to feedback loops
would make our political and corporate leaders wake up.
When Greta Thunberg and the Sydney School Strike for Climate started in 2018 I
thought, ‘At last – the next generation gets this and now they will force
everyone to wake up and demand the changes we need.’ When XR took over London I
thought, ‘It’s started – this will spread globally and we will make the changes
needed, but is there still enough time.’
The 2019 bushfires in Australia were unprecedented and I thought that this
would be the turning point – mass protest must surely follow and the change
must happen, but is there enough time?"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
