Climate Change Triage
As the world’s population comes to grips with climate change disasters, it will become necessary to apply selectivity to resource allocation. Triage is applied in an emergency to allow the most globally beneficial use of inadequate resources. There will be severe climate disruptions, which will be left untreated because they will be recognized as able to recover autonomously. Selected climatically-induced emergencies where tax-payers’ money can reduce suffering will be funded. Last, and most sadly, there may be even situations where unlimited funds cannot reverse impacts and the limited funds are deemed better deployed on other projects.
The Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change decided in December 2007 to launch a comprehensive process to enable the full, effective and sustained implementation of this Convention. Among other actions, the Bali Roadmap states that Parties agree to “enhanced action on the provision of financial resources and investment to support action on mitigation and adaptation and technology cooperation.”
Discussions of responses to climate change, which to date have been focussed on mitigation (the reduction of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere) and adaptation (supporting communities to live in warmer and hydrologically more extreme climates), must now consider a fund/no fund response strategy. This website is dedicated to discussion of climate change triage.
Mobilise your workforce!
Companies and consultants are now offering to assist business to 'engage' workers in climate change activities. Participation at work in carbon reducing actions and developing, recognising and rewarding the right environmental behaviours are now good business strategies. See for example: http://www.changeboard.com/hrcircles/blogs/csr/archive/2008/08/28/employ...
Murray-Darling, Australia
In a web blog entitled " Triage at two spaces " the situation in the Murray Darling River system is compared with recent calls for geo-engineering approaches to climate change. In these posts Playdo suggests that the situation in the lower reaches had reached the point where "triage" would have to be applied to arrest the worsening situation due to acid sulphate soils. The "solution" being to open the barrages that keeps the sea permanently out of the lower lakes and flooding the area.
John West advert
Think of this-- old tinned salmon advert --
"Its the fish John West rejects that makes John West the BEST".
What id this applied also to our climate change choices--- could your local politician / elected representative -- honestly tell you 'this is what I am NOT funding -- so we can fund the important things... think about it!
Triage talks --live
ABC Radio -- Australia -- Environmental Triage
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/australiatalks/
Real Estate Agents Threaten Climate Change Scientist
A climate change scientist says real estate agents have threatened to make his life difficult if he continues to publish research about how vulnerable particular properties are to rising sea levels and coastal erosion.
Professor Andrew Pitman works at the Climate Change Research Centre at the University of New South Wales.
He says real estate agents do not like potential buyers asking questions about climate change based on his research.
Professor Pitman has told the ABC's 702 program, several agents have asked him to stop talking about how vulnerable certain properties are.
Energy strategy
OK -- I'm kidding with this post -- but only somewhat... I just found this web site on "Energy strategy triage" -- go to http://www.plantservices.com/articles/2006/284.html. I thought it was about climate and energy but it turns out to be about sensible business strategies: -but the article (which I recommend) could just as well be read as describing the planet as a whole not (as it was written) the local plant it describes. In fact the article concludes as follows:
Lifeboats for civilisation triage
Civilisation triage is referred to on a web site about climate change and the peak oil issue ( http://www.futurescenarios.org/) This describes the processes by which remaining social capacity (beyond meeting immediate basic needs) are focused on conserving technology and culture that could be useful to a future society, once energy descent is stabilised after a precipitous but limited collapse process. This is not the dominant process of the scenario but the most significant in terms of future cultural capacity.
Tropical forests
It is well known that all tropical forests are susceptible to climate change impacts. Indeed the Amazon forest has been the subject of fairly dire warnings about how it could die under global warming. now these predictions of climate-induced doom have been exacerbated by new figures on tropical deforestation.
Garnaut Green in Australia
Australia's Federal Government's climate change adviser Professor Ross Garnaut has outlined the path he believes Australia should take in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions in the final instalment of his review of climate change options outlines a number of different scenarios. The one he prefers would see Australia reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 10 per cent by the year 2020. A goal which has greenies generally agreeing with him too.
