Climate change complexities better understood following Prof Karoly lecture

More than 60 people now have a clearer understanding of the complexities of climate change after listening to a lecture in Shepparton on Tuesday night.

The University of Melbourne’s Professor David Karoly (right) explained a little about the science of climatology to those in the lecture theatre at the Graham St School of Medical Health.
Prof Karoly, from the university’s School of Earth Sciences, discussed different perspectives on climate change, talked about the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), explored regional changes to the weather and discussed international agreements and the stabilization of climate change.
He emphasized the fact that some 97 per cent of the world’s climate scientists agreed with IPCC findings that among many other things suggest that it is very likely that hot extremes, heat waves, and heavy precipitation events will continue to become more frequent.
The prospects for Australia and in particular the east coast, south east corner (that includes Victoria) and the south-western corner of Western Australia under climate change scenarios are not good, but Prof Karoly was, however, enthusiastic about Australia’s potential to use sustainable energy.
He was positive about solar energy in the Goulburn Valley, a position that no doubt would have pleased the co-convenors of Solar Valley Goes Solar, Yvonne Forrest and Geoff Lodge, who were both at the lecture.
Although Prof Karoly’s predictions about changes to our climate were dire, he was enthusiastic about our potential to create jobs and a life built around sustainable energy, something, he said, in which Australia abounds.
Prof Karoly explained the differences in weather and climate noting that weather was largely localized, coming and going quickly, while climate was global and changes occurred over a long time scale.
Using graphs to illustrate his point, Prof Karoly illustrated the impact humans were having on global weather explaining that the greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere, and which have already significantly altered earth’s weather, will remain there for another 1000 years.
“Twenty first century anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions will contribute to warming and sea level rise for more than a millennium, due to the long timescales required for removal of this gas”, Prof Karoly told those at the lecture.
Lecture organizers were with Prof Karoly’s presentation and community response.