Why adapting is the key to survival in the face of climate change

THE ENVIRONMENT
Living Hot
Clive Hamilton & George Wilkenfeld
Hardie Grant, $27.99

Clive Hamilton is simply a peddler of unvarnished truths; politically unpopular successful the moment, they are often accepted successful the fullness of time. His 2018 Silent Invasion – astir Chinese power successful Australian authorities – was dumped astatine the past infinitesimal by a jittery publisher. Today, its findings are broadly accepted with the governmental upwind blowing successful the other direction.

In Living Hot: Surviving and Thriving connected a Heating Planet, Hamilton has teamed up with vigor argumentation heavyweight George Wilkenfeld. The brace found themselves arsenic straight-talking erstwhile concisely confronting climate’s “third rail” – colonisation size – a taboo for the close arsenic it constrains growth, arsenic good arsenic for the near due to the fact that it is tainted by vague associations with racism. Yes, colonisation size successful affluent societies does interaction emissions.

The aftermath of the 2011 flash flood successful Grantham. Almost the full municipality has relocated to higher ground.Credit: Paul Harris

Hard truths established, Living Hot explains that having squandered the accidental for clime leadership, immoderate worldly publication to emissions simplification by Australia is proportionally insubstantial. Mitigation is present a home determination for the large polluters: China, the United States, India and Europe. While Australia inactive has a motivation work to proceed to conscionable targets, the priority, according to Hamilton and Wilkenfeld, indispensable beryllium adapting the state for floods, fires, droughts and heatwaves already locked in.

Like colonisation size, accepting the inevitable ravages of clime alteration is an uncomfortable subject. It concedes immoderate grade of defeat, conceding that the satellite volition irrevocably change, erstwhile it seems lone yesterday that Australia agreed determination was a problem.

While the lawsuit for adaptation is dilatory gaining traction, activists fearfulness that immoderate refocus volition soften committedness to targets if consequences tin simply beryllium managed away. But, of course, they cannot. Adaptation assumes important loss, but the fossil-fuel lobby has proven it volition exploit immoderate accidental to delay. Still, adaptation is simply a indispensable conversation. It is nary longer a question of if the satellite volition change, but by however much.

The authors walk astir a 3rd of Living Hot critiquing Saul Griffith, Alan Finkel and Ross Garnaut arsenic “false prophets” of clime change. All 3 person written bestselling books that committedness immense accidental for Australia connected a satellite pursuing vigor transition. Hamilton and Wilkenfeld’s critiques of Griffith and Finkel are fair. Griffith’s “electrifying everything” attack glosses implicit the indispensable infrastructural changes, portion Finkel’s reliance connected state and laxness connected mining betray his proximity to the Coalition’s acheronian decennary of inaction.

The authors’ rejection of Garnaut’s ideas mightiness beryllium throwing the babe retired with the bathwater. Garnaut’s championing of greenish exports is highly ambitious but well-grounded successful the information that Australia is the 3rd largest exporter of fossil fuels. Transforming not lone our home vigor procreation but becoming a planetary person successful transitioning trading partnerships could interaction planetary emissions good beyond our home share. That Japan is truthful preoccupied with Australian state accumulation shows we person much leverage than we realise.

While mitigation and adaptation are not mutually exclusive, they bash vie for Australia’s rarest assets – our capableness to act. The astir climate-exposed developed system has again been caught sleepwalking. Organisations specified arsenic the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility person been routinely ignored by the authorities that founded them. Often adaptation, erstwhile achieved, is short-sighted and favours protecting assets of the affluent and powerful.

Living Hot does not spell into item but the ideas it relays are fascinating. Adapting cities, mapping clime hazard and neo-nature – assisting plants and animals to past successful a changing clime – are each worthy further investigation.

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Where adaptation has been successful, it’s local. Almost the full municipality of Grantham successful Queensland’s Lockyer Valley has relocated to higher crushed aft it became evident that floods were much the regularisation than the exception. Local enactment specified arsenic this is Living Hot’s cardinal mechanics to alteration adaptation. After all, it is the locals who champion recognize their section changes.

Living Hot is simply a hard read. I felt similar a weary upland climber the infinitesimal helium realises that the acme helium has scaled is simply a mendacious one, with the existent 1 looming upward astatine the extremity of different exhausting climb. But that’s not to understate the value of Living Hot.

Like Hamilton’s different works, it volition nary uncertainty softly gaffe into accepted wisdom. Whether Australia miraculously changes quality and acts is different substance altogether.

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