Climate Action Merribek: people in Brunswick, Coburg, Fawkner and Glenroy wanting action on climate change

Bushfires a threshold event, a climate tipping point in real time says climate expert

January 8, 2020 at 11:11 pm John Englart 1 comment

Michael Mann on ABC News

“Heartbreaking the damages that has been done” says visiting distinguished climate scientist Michael Mann on the bushfires across Australia. He articulated the comnnection between bushfires and climate change “is not rocket science”.

One of the question Joe O’Brien put to Michael Mann near the end of the interview was: Where are we at in terms of passing a tipping point now?

Michael Mann: “Well, there is no one tipping point, there are many of them. You might argue we are seeing some of them play out right now. The heat and drought has now reached a point where we are now seeing unprecedented bushfires here in Australia, unlike anything we have seen here before. There is some evidence there is threshold behaviour, once you make things dry enough and warm enough, you see dramtic escalation in these sorts of wildfires, these bushfires. So one might argue we are seeing these tipping points right now.”

“This is a climate tipping point. We need to also make it a social tipping point, to change the politics in Australia on climate action.” said Climate Action Moreland Convenor John Englart.

Want to read more on the bushfire impact on wildlife and biodiversity?

Over one billion animals have been affected by the bushfires. Almost certainly some species will be driven extinct, and other will be driven close the edge of extinction. This was a wildlife holocaust. Read more at Sustainable Fawkner: Bushfires devastating Australian biodiversity – species extinction likely.

Entry filed under: Climate Emergency, news. Tags: biodiversity, bushfires, Michael Mann, tipping point, wildlife.