Australian Summit to Boost Global Defenses against Climate Change

29 June 2010

Researchers from around the world have gathered for Australia's first international conference focused entirely on adapting to the impact of climate change. Organizers of the meeting say the effects of a warming planet are already being felt and that societies need to learn how to cope.

Some 1,000 delegates at the International Climate Change Adaptation Conference, south of Brisbane, will hear that the impact of warming temperatures and rising sea levels is likely to increase in severity. Governments, communities and individuals are being warned that they will need to quickly adapt to harsher conditions. Organizers of the Queensland summit say that the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, which are widely blamed for higher temperatures, will not be enough to ward off the worst effects of climatic change.

The conference is concentrating on practical ways for society to protect itself from hotter temperatures, elevated sea levels and more severe tropical cyclones, which are all threats that authorities on Australia's Gold Coast, a popular, high-rise vacation spot, are factoring in to future residential and business developments. Analysts will also discuss ways that towns and villages can fortify themselves against the ravages of bushfires, as well as protecting against heat waves and droughts.

New rules that imposed tough, new building codes after the deadly Victoria wildfires that killed more than 170 people in February, 2009, have been cited as one good example of public policy trying to protect the community from natural disasters.