Context for action
Queenslanders have long enjoyed a lifestyle, climate and environment which are the envy of people around the world. It is no surprise that Queensland has the fastest growing population in Australia.
While the burning of fossil fuels has supported the material well-being that Queenslanders enjoy, economic progress has brought with it accelerated global warming and the risk of dangerous climate change impacts.
The concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere continues to rise at an alarming rate, and if not halted and reversed, will bring serious consequences for the world?s ecosystems and human societies.
The 2008 Garnaut Climate Change Review provided a comprehensive assessment of the impacts of climate change on Australia. Garnaut found there will be severe and costly impacts to Australia’s economy, communities, industries and ecosystems if the world does not act to reduce emissions and prevent dangerous climate change.
The following chapters provide the scientific and policy context for continued early action on climate change in Queensland.
- Climate change - the picture for Queensland
- International and national landscape
- Queensland's greenhouse gas emissions
- Observed and projected climate change
Last reviewed 20 December 2010
Last updated 20 August 2009