When economists model climate impacts, they look to what past weather shocks have done to the economy. But this does not remotely capture what climate change could do.
You might look at the task ahead of weaning ourselves off fossil fuels and despair. But we’ve changed energy sources many times before – and it’s never a straightforward process.
To overcome last winter’s energy crunch, France successfully introduced a 15-point ‘energy sobriety’ plan to cut gas and electricity use and reduce emissions.
Introduced species and diseases can drive native species into smaller environmental niches – and that could mean change to how we work to conserve them.
Paul Hardisty, Australian Institute of Marine Science and Line K Bay, Australian Institute of Marine Science
We used to focus just on protection of vital ecosystems like the reef. But as climate change and other threats accelerate, we need to actively help nature get ready for the heat.
It may soon be possible to reduce cyclone formation and intensity by spraying particles into the atmosphere above a forming storm. But the technology opens up a can of worms
Climate change is ramping up, and with it, so is the rhetoric for action. It’s a fine line to walk between sounding the alarm and being accused of alarmism.