by Mat Churchill

Cairns Regional Council know rising sea levels pose a massive threat to our area, but what are they doing to mitigate against it?

A CRC report 'Climate Change Adaptation Action Plan' from June last year recognises the potential risk that increased storm surges, cyclone intensity, and sea levels will have on our lives.

So much so that their assessment states by the year 2030, just 20 years away, the impact on our lives in terms of the community, our recreation, and our environment warrants a rating of 'Extreme'.

The Council report quotes sea level forecasts from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change who predict a rise of between 18-59 centimetres by the end of the century "with a possible additional contribution from ice sheets of 10 to 20 cm or more."

The report also states that the east coast of Australia may be even harder hit that the average global rise, prompting the Council to adopt a prediction of 79 centimetres by 2100.

In 2008, Professor Ross Garnaut who was commissioned by the Federal Government to advise them on climate change issues, predicted much higher rises of up to 1.4 metres during this time. And it seems that estimates continue to increase with each round of research.

The Newsport article "Greenland holds key to Port's future" told of a group of geoscientists who recently briefed the U.S. Congress on the possibility of a 7 metre rise should the Greenland Ice Shelf continue its collapse.

It is unfortunate then (maybe that term understates the enormity of the problems we face), that the CRC don't actually have a specific policy on how to deal with the sea level rises they are predicting.

Dr John Church, one of Australia's most respected sea level researchers told The Newsport "Planned adaptation can significantly reduce the cost and impact of sea level rise." Then added "But planned adaptation of the impacts requires recognition of the problem."  
 

Maree Grenfell, Sustainability Officer at CRC said they are aware of the potential impacts of sea level rise in the area. "It is an extreme risk and something we need to deal with.

"We are putting forward a new Climate Change Strategy to strengthen what we've already done, and this will be submitted for approval next Wednesday (25 August)."

One of the aims of the new strategy is to make the CRC more accountable for actions they do or don't take in response to climate change issues.