We are on the edge of what! 
Carolyn Ingvarson
We are on the edge of a disaster, the like of which we have not seen since we have been humans on this planet. We risk leaving a completely unviable future for our kids. No wonder they say to us ‘How dare you!’
The earth’s climate is becoming hotter and less stable, at a faster rate than at any time in millions of years – faster than scenarios our scientists have predicted. It is showing us the ferocious impact of increased GHG on life as we know it, destroying the environment on both land and sea – in which our plants and animals have evolved and survived, and upon which our civilisations have been built.
Already the impact is appalling, across both land and sea, through furious fires, disastrous floods and mud slides, catastrophic cyclones and storms, unprecedented sea surges, intense droughts, ferocious summer heat and deep winter cold, and this is at a 1.2 degree rise.
The future looks like being so much worse. Continued warming is already locked in, and our carbon emissions still rise, in the face of agreements to lower them. On the current trajectory there is no chance of reaching net zero by 2050.The earth will certainly pass the 2 degree limit, and in Australia this is particularly catastrophic.
In an already dry land, the extreme bushfires we have been experiencing will be deemed average in less than two decades, 100 year floods become regular events, and sea-level rise will have started to impact many significant parts of our coast where 50% of us live. Summer temperatures of over 50 degrees will be normal. This is unliveable.
The voice of reason driven by science, is in severe danger of being swamped by the populist appeal to dismiss science and its assessments as myth. ‘It’s natural variation, there’s always been change; it’s nothing to fear. Fossil fuels are fundamental to our way of life; we depend on them for our future.’ And increasingly this is accompanied with ‘It is my right to live the way I want to.’ Not just at a personal level but at a corporate level.
No suggestion here of any price for behaviours that cause pollution and damage to the planet, and this in the name of freedom. The growing strength of this right-wing view limits governments capacity to take climate action and hope of resolving this tension is fading. Time is of the essence. For many of us around the world and for our living environment, it is already too late. The planet will survive, but we are heading for mass extinctions and the human race is not exempt.
There is hope; don’t despair. We already know what to do. We have the proven technology, and more innovation is on the way, but we need the right thinking on policy and the economy to make it work.
Renewable energy with storage is starting to pack a punch, now providing over a third of the world’s energy. There’s more investment in renewables than in fossil fuels, and not just in the western world. China has already 40% renewable energy and growing fast. It produced 60% of the worlds renewables last year, with more solar pvs added than the rest of world combined. And there are amazing technological solutions being developed.
Here at home, at the grass roots level, more and more people in our communities are getting on board with their own solar panels and batteries. One third of households so far are producing a third of our renewable energy so millions of families feel the benefits. When everyone wants it, it becomes unstoppable.
And that’s why I work at a local level on these big issues. Success here gives politicians confidence that they can take the bold actions required and be supported by those who have voted for them. Pressure for climate action was a major factor in changing the Government at our last Australian election. In the electorate of Kooyong, community-led demand for more action on climate resulted in a safe Liberal seat then held by our Treasurer, being lost to an Independent, Monique Ryan.
But even for this government, at the same time as growing our renewables, it’s not easy to stand against the powerful fossil fuel lobby, so it is still opening new coal and gas mines. We commonly hear 3 myths that are used to justify continued fossil fuel development –that renewable energy is unreliable; that countries will all need fossil fuel backups; and that renewables can’t provide 24/7 power. None of these is true.
So whilst we are on the edge of a climate catastrophe, I’m clinging to that slim hope that the human race might yet save itself, haul us back to a climate that is safe for life in its amazing abundance. Without a safe climate, there is no place to hide no matter what you think.
Carolyn Ingvarson is Deputy Chair of Electrify Boroondara. This article is based on an address she made at International Conference on Thinking in July 2024.
To find out more about the the International Conference of Thinking, including an interview with Carolyn, go here.
You can investigate the work of Electrify Boroondara here.