Algal bloom warning
National
South Australia’s algal bloom disaster has been highlighted by Catholic Religious Australia in open letters to the Prime Minister and Minister for Climate Change and Energy.
CRA called on the Government to adopt a strong national climate pollution reduction plan with an evidence-based target of net zero emissions by 2035.
“Australia is currently experiencing climate-fuelled extreme weather events and their dire consequences,” said Catholic Religious Australia (CRA) national executive director Anne Walker.
“Our warmest sea-surface temperatures on record are contributing to persistent algal bloom, which has killed thousands of marine animals on South Australia’s coastline.
“Meanwhile on the East Coast, recent wild storms have caused widespread damage to infrastructure.”
“Our Pacific neighbours also continue to bear the brunt of climate change, with one third of Tuvalu’s citizens now having applied for the Australian Climate Change Visa program as rising sea levels pose an existential threat.
“While the Government’s support for Pacific climate refugees is welcomed, we must be far more proactive in reducing the emissions that are placing these Island nations at grave risk in the first place.”
In the letters, CRA said all countries party to the Paris Agreement are required to detail their 2035 climate targets by this year, ahead of the climate summit in Brazil in November (COP 30).
Australia is yet to release its target and supportive plan, and CRA has urged the government to ensure that it fairly contributes to limiting global heating.
“Pope Leo XIV, in his message for the 10th World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, has lamented that nature has been reduced to a commodity to be bartered for economic or political gain, with God’s creation turned into a battleground for the control of vital resources,” said Br Gerard Brady CFC, CRA president.
“In order to reach net zero by 2035, Australia must stop its economic reliance on fossil fuel extraction and export and instead develop a clear plan to develop our clean energy sector
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