Globally respected climate scientist Dr Joelle Gergis told ABC RN Breakfast that the science has been predicting tropical cyclones would move further south, due to warming water temperatures.
‘It’s understood that we’re going to see the drift of tropical cyclones further south as the planet continues to warm,’ Gergis told ABC Breakfast. ‘As a person that lives in Northern NSW, I was really concerned about that because obviously those areas aren’t built to withstand those cyclonic conditions.’
‘Seeing this unfold has been a bit of a living nightmare for me,’ she said.
Joelle Gergis is a lead author on an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC) 2022 Report, an academic with the University of Melbourne, and she lives in Pottsville. Gergis warned five years ago that tropical cyclones may move as far south as Northern NSW.
Her comments come on top of the Prime Minister telling a briefing on Cyclone Alfred on Friday that ‘climate change is having an impact on our weather patterns’ and ‘the science tells us ‘there will be more extreme and intense weather events.
‘The elephant in the room here is we are still not doing enough to genuinely reduce industrial emissions, here in Australia but also globally,’ Gergis told the ABC. ‘Right now the planet is warming because we are burning coal oil and gas. And until we turn off the tap – these problems are only going to get worse.’
‘We talk about the resilience of the Australian people which is fantastic – but there is only so much that we can actually adapt to. Everything has its breaking point. And we need to really open our eyes and see we’re in a situation now that we are facing really fundamental disruption to our society, as the climate continues to warm.’
‘So we have to be really serious and start talking about the actual issue here. And that is the continuation of the burning of fossil fuels,’ said Gergis.
With the Prime Minister visiting the Northern Rivers today, Mandy Nolan, Greens candidate for Richmond, which runs from Ballina to Tweed Heads, has asked via social media whether, given the science, Labor will now stop approving new fossil fuel projects.
‘In light of the Prime Minister’s recent comments, that climate change is impacting weather patterns, and that the science is telling us that extreme events are more likely, will his government now stop approving new coal and gas projects?’ she asked via social media.
‘Labor came to power three years ago with the promise they would do something about climate change, ‘ says Ms Nolan.
‘Instead, they have approved over 30 new coal and gas projects, emissions have barely changed since the Morrison era, and they’ve abandoned reform of environmental laws.’
‘The Prime Minister has acknowledged climate change is making these disasters worse, but his government keeps approving new coal and gas projects. You can’t keep pouring fuel on the fire and expect it to go out.’
‘We need to keep Dutton out,’ says Ms Nolan, ‘but we need to hold Labor to account.’
In a backgrounder on cyclones last week, the CSIRO stated that while there had been a downward trend in the number of cyclones, likely due to both natural variability and climate change, warming waters were bringing a ‘greater potential for intense rainfall events with tropical cyclones’. Moreover, ‘human induced climate change will increase the risk of extreme rainfall events in the short to medium term ‘ and bring a ‘projected increase in their peak intensity.’
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