Hashtag
Men's Weekly

Clive Hamilton on how Australians must adapt to ‘Living Hot’

  • Written by Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
The Conversation

The debate over climate change mostly focuses on how to best to limit emissions in the effort to prevent disastrous global warming. However in a new book, Living Hot, Clive Hamilton and George Wilkenfeld challenge current priorities, arguing rising temperatures can’t be contained fast enough and we need to turn our attention to “adaptation”.

Clive Hamilton, who is Professor of Public Ethics at Charles Sturt University, joined us to talk about what Australia can do to not only survive but thrive under these conditions.

Hamilton explains why he’s pessimistic about how much we can limit the warming of our planet:

Simply studying the science makes anyone pessimistic about the possibility of preventing a large amount of global warming and the consequent effects. I don’t think there’s any climate scientist who believes we can limit warming to two degrees centigrade. Most think it’s more likely to be two and a half or three degrees, which will be disastrous, and some even think it will be beyond that. So I’m just following the science on that.

On what needs to change, Hamilton maintains we focus too much on mitigation:

The debate in Australia is completely preoccupied with mitigation. George, my co-author, and I were very much part of this until a year ago. […] The reality is [mitigation is] not going to make much difference, but what will make a difference is if [we] decide to embark on, plan for, fund and carry out a massive multi-decade transformation of Australia – our infrastructure, our farming and housing, building regulations our coastal management and our nature management.

Food security will be one of our biggest challenges, Hamilton says:

There are two elements to this. One is we think globally, we export a lot of food products and we import them too but they’re mostly processed stuff we could do without at the pinch. But I think globally, if there’s widespread failures of food systems there’s going to be an ever greater demand for products from Australia. Which will drive the prices up.

The second thing is that the impact of climate change on farming systems and water availability is already starting to bite and all of that analysis suggests it’s going to get worse and possibly a lot worse. The amount of arable land is declining, and agricultural productivity is falling. For example, cows give less milk when it’s hot, and of course, if there’s less rain, there’s less grass to raise and so they’re less productive.

Hamilton outlines why engineering projects won’t cut it in dealing with the effects of climate change and why relocations are key:

There are all kinds of grand engineering schemes which are either going to be prohibitively expensive or won’t work. Some of them are pretty wacko. So nature will defeat most engineering plans, and it’s best to get out of the way. It’s a lesson indigenous people learned long ago incidentally, and so I think that when you see relocations happen, it always needs a collaboration of three levels of government because local councils themselves, even though they might have the will, frequently don’t have the money, or the powers to carry out those kinds of town-saving projects.

Authors: Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

Read more https://theconversation.com/politics-with-michelle-grattan-clive-hamilton-on-how-australians-must-adapt-to-living-hot-231703

Health & Wellness

Telehealth Could be the Catalyst for Better Heart Health in Australia

Hashtag.net.au - avatar Hashtag.net.au

Image by stockking on Freepik Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in Australia despite decades of advancements in medicine and health education campaigns. More than 400 Australians ...

Disability Care in Melbourne: What Families Need to Know in 2025

Hashtag.net.au - avatar Hashtag.net.au

If you’re supporting a loved one with a disability in Melbourne, you’ll know how important it is to find the right care—and how overwhelming it can be to navigate the system. With the National Disab...

Online Medical Certificate Services: Essential Features to Look Out For

Hashtag.net.au - avatar Hashtag.net.au

"Discover top online medical certificate services! Essential features to look for to get trusted and efficient results." Choosing high-quality services is essential for ensuring reliable, efficient, ...