IPCC report - fossil-fuel extraction needs to stop now!

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued a report yesterday
(31 March) that says the effects of climate change are already occurring
on all continents and across the oceans and that in parts of the world, we
are ill-prepared for risks from changing climate.

"The findings of the IPCC hammer home again, that anthropogenic climate
chaos has begun for communities across the globe. We can't keep ignoring
the stark warnings of catastrophic consequences of climate change. The
Emissions Trading Scheme is not working. We need to be able to address the
effects ON not just OF climate change through the Resource Management Act.
Fossil fuel extraction needs to stop now" says Urs Signer, member of
Climate Justice Taranaki.

The Australasia chapter of the report states that we can expect:

- increased damages to ecosystems and settlements, economic losses and
risks to human life from wildfires in most of southern Australia and many
parts of New Zealand;

- increased frequency and intensity of flood damage to settlements and
infrastructure in Australia and New Zealand, driven by increasing extreme
rainfall;

- increasing risks to coastal infrastructure and low-lying ecosystems in
Australia and New Zealand from continuing sea level rise, with widespread
damages towards the upper end of projected changes.

"Climate change is not just affecting our relations in the Pacific who are
losing their land and homes to the rising ocean. It is happening right
here too, with impacts on future food production and many of the
life-giving services our biosphere provides. Unless we immediately deal
with our fossil-fuel addiction and stop the extraction of oil, gas and
coal, it is now all too clear that with every new well we are virtually
digging the graves of our grandchildren" concludes Urs Signer

ENDS

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