Let's talk sea-level rise, shall we?

June 12, 2025

I am grateful to Julian Cribb for his focus on sea-level rise (“The latest numbers indicate a rise of between 0.5 and 1.9 metres by 2100 under existing carbon emissions. This is about twice the previous estimate.”)

When you consider even just the implications for Australian cities, it is mind-boggling. Docklands in Melbourne, for instance, might be 12 metres above sea-level but storm surges on top of nearly two metre sea-level rise will make life unpleasant.

In another letter, I mentioned the Mekong delta at 0.84 metres above current sea-level. There are huge implications for global food production.

And yes, the approval of the North West Shelf gas extension, that will add 4.3 billion tonnes to global carbon emissions, makes us partly responsible for the rise in sea-level globally.

It is simply not good enough for Labor to lower its domestic emissions and pay no heed to the ones created globally through its exports. How the federal government has the gall to pursue its hosting of COP31 is beyond me. Hypocrisy rules the day.