The IPCC in its fourth assessment released in 2008 said that the frequency of catastrophic fire days, such as experienced in Victoria in March 2009, will increase from one in every 33 years currently to one in every 2.5 years.

The CSIRO has predicted that with just 2 degrees of warming, we will see the loss of a wide range of species. Here in Western Australia, warming of that magnitude will result in the extinction of 100% of Acacia species, and threaten the magnificent Karri Forests of the southwest.

The CSIRO also predicts that just 2-3 degrees of warming will result in the bleaching of 97% of the Great Barrier Reef each year.

The Australian Federal Government commissioned the Garnaut Review which looked at how Australia might respond to the climate crisis. The review highlighted that a failure to respond to the climate crisis by reducing our greenhouse gas emissions would result in the end of irrigated agriculture in the Murray Darling Basin, which currently provides 40% of the agricultural GDP in Australia.