Well that was great
Thank you everyone, this has been one of the most rewarding, illuminating blogs I’ve had the joy of running.
Thanks to our panellists: Bill Hare, Simon Holmes à Court, Amanda McKenzie, Laura Sykes and Piper Albrecht. And thanks to my colleague Lisa Cox.
Most of all, thanks to all of you for your questions. It’s our future, and I’m glad we got to discuss it.
The full answers are below, but here’s a list of the best:
- Should we have a children’s commissioner in parliament?
- How does a windmill work?
- Why aren’t electric cars everywhere?
- Will the Earth become uninhabitable?
- Should politicians pass a test on climate?
- Will the strikes work?
- What’s one thing I can do?
- What is clean coal?
- And most importantly – there’s still hope!
Thank you for reading, engaging and asking. Hope to see you all again soon.
Updated
And one last question, from Sunny Adcock:
If I am currently 18, do you think that within my lifetime there is hope of preventing climate change? Realistically what is the best and worse case scenario of what may happen within my lifetime?
Bill Hare says:
Yes there definitely is hope.
The best case is getting onto a 1.5C pathway, in which case, by the time you turn 50 scientists might be saying that global warming peaked in the 2040s. By the time you are 100, it could be 1.3C or lower and on the way down.
The worst case is that by your mid-40s the world has busted through 2C warming and is headed for 3.5C or 4C for your 100th birthday.
There are quite a few reasons for hope, but it will take hard work and real commitment from our political leaders. We are simply running out of time and every climate scientist I know is saying the same thing.
One of the big reasons for hope is that people are finally waking up all over the world and calling for action. Secondly the costs of renewable technology, electrical storage, electrical vehicles, renewable hydrogen powered trucks and efficiency in industry, housing are dropping rapidly.
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And Amanda McKenzie:
There are three levels of government in Australia – local, state and national.
At the national level, I believe the Morrison government, like the Turnbull and Abbott governments, has not implemented meaningful policy on climate change.
At the state government level there is a lot happening. In South Australia, they are on track for 73% renewable energy by 2020 while Queensland has a target of 50% renewable energy by 2030. Victoria has a target of 40% renewable energy by 2025 and the Labor government has pledged to increase this to 50% by 2030.
At the local level there is a lot happening too. From floating solar arrays to electric vehicle charging stations to energy efficiency. For more information check out our report on local action here.
Together there is now more and more happening across Australia. However, it must all be ramped up into the future.
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Our second last question.
From Violeta Zavala-Collin, 10, Harcourt public school.
Is there anything Australian politicians are already doing about climate change? Is it going to be effective?
Simon Holmes à Court answers first:
Australian politicians have at times been very constructive and also very destructive in their response to climate change.
For example, in 2001 the Australian government passed laws requiring more renewable energy in our grid. This level, called the renewable energy target, was increased in 2009. As a result, the amount of renewable energy will increase from 9% in 2001 to around 33% in 2020.
In 2012 the government passed laws that encouraged polluters to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions. These laws were very effective and our emissions started to fall, but in 2014 the laws were undone and emissions have been rising ever since.
In order to avoid dangerous climate change, almost every country in the world is signed up to the Paris Agreement. We are too – but experts say our target is not strong enough, and worse, even the government’s experts say we’re not even going to hit our targets.
Australia has done quite a bit in the past, but in my opinion, our government does not currently have a real plan to respond to the climate challenge.
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From Oli, aged 8:
How can we build buildings that can help us respond to climate change?
Simon Holmes à Court:
We can look at this two ways.
First, what can we do to reduce the impact our buildings have on the planet? We can choose building materials, like sustainably farmed timber, and orient the house to maximise winter sun and minimise the need for heating and cooling.
We can make the buildings more energy efficient, by using LED light bulbs, double-glazed windows and good insulation. We can make sure all our appliances have high energy ratings and we can put solar hot water and solar photovoltaic panels on the roof. This reduces the climate impact of our homes, and the house will cost a lot less money to run.
Second, we must accept that a certain amount of climate change is locked in. Bushfires are now more severe and costal flooding more likely. When we build houses we must be aware of the changed and changing conditions. As an example, a suburb of Melbourne is changing the planning code to require that no bedrooms are on the ground floor in areas that are newly considered as flood-prone.
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Some great feedback. Thank you to everyone for some incredible questions, and an inspiring level of curiosity and passion.
Overheard in the newsroom: "That's what I love about this blog, it's kids stating the bloody obvious." #myclimatequestions https://t.co/mw2vuCEfzo
— Calla Wahlquist (@callapilla) November 27, 2018
From Violet, age 6:
How does a windmill work?
Simon Holmes à Court:
There is great energy in the wind – think of sailboats being pushed across oceans or storms powerful enough to uproot trees.
People have built windmills to catch the energy and do something useful with it for more than 1,500 years. Early on it was often used to pump water or to mill grain into flour. In the 1880s inventors started converting the energy to electricity as people started to install lights in their homes.
In the 1970s inventors started working on what we now call wind turbines. Modern wind turbines have a tall tower with a small building on top called a nacelle. The nacelle is about the size of a caravan, attached to which are three massive blades. The blades can weigh more than 10 tonnes and be longer than 50m and are a little bit like aeroplane wings.
The nacelle contains motors that turn the blades too face the wind. As the blades catch the wind, they turn, driving a generator in the nacelle. The generator converts the movement into electricity, before being added to our power grid. As I write, 7% of the power in our national grid is coming from wind turbines, which is very close to the average over the past year.
Updated
Also apologies to everyone if your question hasn’t been answered yet. Our experts are wrapping up, but we’ll still run the blog until 6.30, and have plenty of questions and answers still to work through. Stick with us!
Another question from Cranbrook School, from year 7 student Thomas Girle:
How does climate change affect water scarcity in different areas?
Amanda McKenzie:
Great question as water is a big issue in Australia.
South-east Australia has already experienced a 15% decline in late autumn and early winter rainfall, and a 25% decline in average rainfall in April and May over the past two to three decades. This area includes major population centres of Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Adelaide.
South-western Australia has also experienced a long-term drying trend including a more than 50% decline in streamflow. Across the Murry-Darling Basin – the food bowl of Australia – streamflows have declined by 41% since the 1990s.
For more info check out our water security report here.
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Should we have a children's commissioner in parliament?
A great question from Samuel Turrin
Do you think people below the voting age should have a voice in parliament on issues that would directly impact their future? How could we do this?
Piper Albrecht, 17, has some ideas:
I think optional voting for children 16 to 18 would be a good idea. Then they would have a say in who is in the parliament making decisions that impact them.
Maybe they could also have a children’s commissioner in parliament. This could be a politician who voices the concerns of the young people. Young people could then direct their concerns to that person.
Politicians could look more closely at what children are doing and show that they’re listening to them. For example, if the children are striking maybe they should start listening and responding to the children’s specific requests, rather than just being defensive.
And Laura Sykes:
I 100% think people below the voting age should have a voice in parliament. There are so many challenges young people are facing right now – climate change, unemployment, the housing crisis, mental health and cost of living.
What has become obvious is that our politics is stuck in three year cycles and in doing so, is not able to deal with a long-term issue which needs serious planning and great long-term ambition, like climate change.
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Another video question, from Rhys Kimberley from Cranbrook School.
If we were to move right now into renewable energy, what impact would that have on economical, environmental and political aspects of Australia?”
Simon Holmes à Court:
We can’t move to renewable energy overnight. It will take time – a decade if we are fast, decades longer if we don’t try very hard.
Economic modelling prepared over the past decade has consistently shown that the costs of aggressively reducing emissions are manageable – certainly much more manageable than the economic impact of unchecked climate change.
There are two kinds of environmental benefits. In the short term we’ll reduce a range of pollutants from the air that have been shown recently cause an estimated 279 deaths a year from NSW’s coal-fired power stations alone.
In the medium term, if Australia acts on reducing CO2 emissions and is joined by a strong global response, we can avert a massive environmental disaster.
Politically? For the past couple of decades Australian politicians have been fighting about renewables and carbon emissions. As more and more of the public understand renewables, have jobs in the industry, have solar panels on their roof, and prices continue to fall, I believe the toxic politics will fade away.
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From Callum, aged 8:
This spring has been really cold. Is that something to do with climate change?
Bill Hare
I don’t think so, it could just be natural variability. Differences year from year that always occurred and can be quite extreme in some places!
Over much of the country, spring has been warmer than average, and the weather bureau is predicting a hot summer in large parts of Australia. On the west coast it definitely felt a bit cooler than usual, at least around the Perth.
There may be some link to the change in the temperature of the sea surface, affected by human-induced warming, but this will take a fair bit of research to work out.
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Why aren't electric cars everywhere?
Max, 14, asks:
Why are electric cars not everywhere yet? My family say they want one but they are still a bit too expensive.
Simon Holmes à Court has the answer – they are expensive, but that should be getting better.
Electric cars might seem very new, but some of the first cars ever made were fully electric, including the Flocken’s Elektrowagen of 1888, but within 20 years the industry had moved over almost entirely to engines burning fossil fuels.
Thanks to massive advances in battery technology, inventors began working on electric vehicles again almost 100 years later. Mass production vehicles only arrived in Australia recently, the best selling Nissan Leaf in 2011 and the next best seller, the Tesla Model S, has only been here for four years.
Electric cars are cheap to run — there’s a lot less to maintain and the electricity needed to charge them is much cheaper than the cost of the equivalent amount of fuel. However, they are currently considerably more expensive to purchase.
The costs will come down as production increases — right now electric cars make up around 1.5% of all new cars, but this number is growing very quickly. We could give electric cars preferential access to express lanes, build more charge stations or provide a rebate.
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A quick break for some news, the Senate just voted to show solidarity and support for the striking students.
The Senate just voted for a motion to support the #ClimateStrike and call for the government to have a climate policy! Thanks to everyone who stood on the right side of history, everyone else can get stuffed. pic.twitter.com/hSibdpncAO
— School Strike 4 Climate (@StrikeClimate) November 27, 2018
From Gracie, 10, from Hobart:
How do we get people to understand that they must stop flying?
Bill Hare says we shouldn’t stop people flying, but there are other options.
As with all good things, one can have too much. While we would not probably want to stop people from flying, there is a lot that can be done to significantly reduce emissions.
Flying is around 2% to 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions and growing quickly. Projected efficiency increases in aircraft, impressive as they might be, are not sufficient to reduce emissions, so we need to change the fuel source to low, and ultimately zero, carbon sources.
Fortunately there are options available. A lot of work has been done on making jet fuel from biomass and ensuring that this is safe. The international renewable energy agency, Irena, has produced very interesting reports on how this can be done – what is needed are the right price signals and incentives, which need to be set by government.
We are also seeing other technologies including battery-powered aircraft, and renewable hydrogen fuel cell powered aircraft being tested at small scale.
I don’t think that biomass jet fuel is the final answer here, because there will be other sustainability concerns. But Australia could play a leading role in all of these areas.
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Will the Earth become uninhabitable?
A question from Twitter:
Evan (year 6) would like to know how long until the earth becomes uninhabitable for humans if we don’t do anything #MyClimateQuestions
— Kate Morton (@V8kate) November 27, 2018
Bill Hare replies:
This is a big question. I would say it’s unlikely that global warming will make the planet uninhabitable for humans but it will wipe out a lot of species and ecosystems.
If we don’t reduce emissions soon then deadly heat waves, which may make entire regions uninhabitable could be occurring by the end of the century in Asia, the Middle East and parts of northern Africa.
Even more important is this does not have to happen. The world scientific community has shown that if we crack on and start reducing emissions quickly we can avoid nearly all of these problems completely.
And another reply to Lily’s question earlier:
Hi Lily! You can tell your bank to stop funding fossil fuels: https://t.co/erxlvivrm0 @GuardianAus #MyClimateQuestions pic.twitter.com/ks3VyiDIF3
— Market Forces (@market_forces) November 27, 2018
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Another question from Eva:
If the population was reduced, what effect would that have on climate change?
Amanda McKenzie:
There are two things to consider, one how much each person consumes and two how many people there are consuming. In the rich world, like Australia, on average an individual consumes a LOT. If the whole world consumed as much as we do we’d be in a lot of trouble.
So we need to consume more responsibly and start transitioning our idea of waste. The Earth is a closed system so nothing is ever truly thrown away. The other thing to mention is that educating and empowering women and girls around the world to have more control over their own destiny is the best way to tackle the population issue.
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Onto politics, and year 11 student George Daley has another question:
I would like to know if Labor’s recently announced energy policy goes far enough to help prevent climate change, as I have seen it receive both praise and criticism.
Bill Hare:
On the one hand the policy package is far ahead of what the government is offering, so there is a sense of relief that at last there is a policy that looks like something might happen.
On the other hand, we know that coal-fired power stations need to be phased out of Australia by around 2030, and that renewable energy needs to be ramped up much faster than is implied in the National Energy Guarantee package.
The renewable energy target put forward by the ALP for the electricity sector is only a few percent more than the Australian Energy Market Operator is projecting for 2030. The economy-wide target of a 45% reduction by 2030 (from 2005 levels) is also barely sufficient to be compliant with the Paris Agreement.
Finally the ambiguity the ALP has on how much the power sector should do raises questions. They need to do a lot more than a 45% reduction in order for the rest of the whole economy to do a 45% reduction.
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Will the strikes work?
Caitlin Ross asks:
Do you think these strikes directly will make politicians take action on climate change?
Laura Sykes:
What’s been incredible about the strikes is it shows young people are so frustrated with the lack of action on climate change from our politicians, that they will do whatever it takes to make their voices heard.
If students as young as 8 can understand the impacts of fossil fuels on our climate, it’s no longer acceptable that our politicians are listening to fossil fuel companies over the experts and young people.
These students are taking such a brave action to strike, and if politicians still refuse to act, they will lose all credibility with young people. We have seen that climate change can shift votes, as happened in Wentworth and the Victorian election, and in the lead up to the federal election, politicians will have no choice but to act.
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We’re trending!
***New Trend Alert***
— TrendWiki Australia (@TrendWikiAU) November 27, 2018
1. #MyClimateQuestions
2. Liberal MP
3. Federal Court
4. Minister
5. Parliament House
6. Nauru
7. deepwater
8. Malcolm Turnbull
9. #ARIAs
Peter asks:
My name is Peter. I’m in year 2, and I would like to know how and will climate change affect us in Australia?
Amanda McKenzie, CEO of the Climate Council responds:
Hi Peter,
There are a number of ways that climate change will affect us and here are two.
1. It is getting hotter. That means that we are seeing more heatwaves and extremely hot days. Hot weather can be lovely, but when it is really hot or hot for long periods of time it can be bad for people’s health and the health of animals and plants
2. In southern Australia, in places like Melbourne and Adelaide, it is getting drier. There is less rain falling which means that droughts and bushfires are happening more often. Drought is tough for farmers as it is harder to grow crops and to look after farm animals. Drought is also tough in cities and towns because there is less water for houses and businesses. Bushfires are scary and can cause a lot of damage.
The good news is that we can tackle climate change together. We need to change to clean energy, like solar panels and wind farms.
Updated
We think that the parliament should have to pass a climate science test. The bare minimum should be for our politicians to have a basic understanding of climate change. #myclimatequestions pic.twitter.com/LvonVCpfTm
— AYCC (@AYCC) November 27, 2018
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Jacqueline O’Connor asks:
Just how bad is the damage to the ozone layer?
Bill Hare:
Quite bad but the signs are that it is beginning to recover. The recovery, and the reason it did not get a lot worse, is because the world acted quickly to first freeze and then phase out the ozone-destroying chemicals that were causing the problem. Vigilance is still needed, especially as climate change effects in the stratosphere seem likely to slow down the recovery.
Updated
Should politicians pass a test on climate?
Adrienne Allen asks:
Do you think candidates for parliament should be able to pass a test on their knowledge about the carbon cycle and the climate?
Piper Albrecht:
Hi Adrienne,
That’s a good question about politicians having to take a test on their carbon competency. It’s a bit scary to think that people can be making decisions about the climate even if they don’t know anything about the science behind it.
And given that the science is pretty clear that we need stop producing carbon emissions, it would make sense for politicians to know at least a bit about it. Some investors now expect to be able to quiz board members of companies about their climate change knowledge before they will invest.
And politicians are making decisions that are not just about money, but are about our future in a safe climate. That’s even more important than money, I think.
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And two more from Eva, also answered by Laura Sykes
Is it possible to live our lives as they are today and still reduce climate change?
“The short answer is no.
“The rate at which the Earth’s natural resources are currently being consumed is not only unsustainable (as in, we’ll run out of these resources) but the type of resources we’re consuming (oil, gas, coal) is having shocking consequences on the Earth and exacerbating climate change.
“So in order to tackle climate change, we do need to make a change rapidly, but with proper planning to make sure that communities are not left behind in the transition, and there is a plan for jobs in the renewable energy sector for people.
“We need to start making these plans and taking action now, as we know we only have 12 years before we reach the threshold of 2C, which will have irreversible impacts on people and the planet.”
What is the psychology behind climate change denial?
“Climate change is an overwhelming existential problem and I think we can all understand why people would be scared of the implications of climate change.
“I think fear presents itself in many different ways and psychologists who have studied climate change denial suggest that it’s easier to look at extreme weather events as a random isolated incident rather than a changing and terrifying future. It’s easier to think evidence of climate change is freak one-off event rather than a new norm which leads to much bigger questions about our impacts on the Earth.”
Those of you commenting have also asked a similar question:
Updated
A great question from Eva in year 8 at Glenunga international high school in Adelaide
What is your opinion on Australia’s role in climate change?
Laura Sykes from the AYCC:
Australia is one of the largest exporters of coal and gas in the world, and also the windiest and sunniest continent on the planet.
This means that Australia has an incredible opportunity to lead the way when it comes to moving beyond all fossil fuels, and transitioning to 100% renewable energy.
Right now however, I think our politicians are listening to big corporations and fossil fuel companies over the voices of young people.
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What's one thing I can do?
Our first video question is from Lily.
What is one thing I can do right now as an individual to help slow down climate change?
Piper Albrecht, Year 11, responds:
Hi Lily,
I think that the best thing you can do right now to help slow climate change is to talk to a politician. The more they hear people telling them to take climate change seriously, the more they’ll be inclined to do something about this problem.
And ride your bike! It doesn’t cost anything, it doesn’t use any fossil fuels, and it’s freedom!
Keep up the good work!
Updated
If you’re confused – the IPCC report Bill mentioned is the world’s leading climate report, and is put together by the UN.
It warned we have 12 years to start taking action, if we want to keep warming below 1.5C.
After 2C, it will have long-lasting effects on our climate that we might not be able to reverse.
A later report said we are “nowhere near on track” to reach that target, and the world probably warm by at least 2C by then.
Updated
And a follow-up from George:
What kind of message do you think our government’s climate policy sends to neighbours that are pursuing a progressive approach to climate policy, or considering it?
Bill Hare:
I think right now the federal government’s policy is sending a very bad signal to Pacific Island neighbours, and I know many leaders in the region who are very concerned about Australia’s position on climate change and cannot understand why Australia is not taking this seriously.
The recent announcement by the prime minister that Australia would not replenish its contribution to the Green Climate Fund, which Australia played a very positive role in establishing, has also sent a very discouraging signal to many developing countries.
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From George Daley, Year 11 student from Queensland:
The IPCC Special Report outlined measures to take to prevent a climate catastrophe.
Do you think the already drastic recommendations of the report are enough, or should the government have an even more extensive policy?
Climate scientist Bill Hare says:
The IPCC’s measures are in general adequate, but the safest are those that focus on high energy efficiency, phase out coal, oil and gas the fastest, and bring in renewables most rapidly.
These are safest because they have the least reliance on negative CO2 emissions technologies – we are not sure these will work at the scale required – and also the best chance of keeping warming to a peak of 1.5C and reducing it to 1.3C or lower by 2100.
Apart from getting Australia on the right track domestically the most important task for an Australian government internationally is to help persuade countries moving towards zero carbon as fast as possible. We cannot do this if we haven’t begun to clean up our own act.
We also need to have a strategy to phase out our fossil fuel exports, and phase-in exporting renewable energy, for example, green hydrogen. This means we need a new diplomatic strategy as well.
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What is clean coal?
Our first question is from Robert Dawson.
What is clean coal? Does it exist?
Here is Simon Holmes à Court:
In my opinion, ‘clean coal’ is not more real than ‘healthy cigarettes’. When politicians say ‘clean coal’ they typically mean one of two things:
1. A coal power station fitted with carbon capture and storage (CCS).
This technology separates carbon dioxide from the power station’s exhaust, and either stores it underground or uses it for something else. Once heralded as the solution for climate change, only two relatively small projects were ever built. Together they capture 0.001% of the CO₂ emitted by the world’s coal power stations, and unfortunately, in both cases the CO₂ is used for oil extraction, resulting in even more emissions.
No major coal CCS projects are being built. A 2017 government audit report was very critical of the lack of value received for the approximately $1bn invested in the technology in Australia.
2. Coal power stations using higher temperature steam.
These are sometimes called “high efficiency, low emissions” or HELE power stations.
These are not highly efficient, not low emissions, not new technology and not cheap. It’d be more honest to call them “slightly lower emissions, more expensive”.
Australia has four HELE power stations, which on average are 10% lower emissions than their non-HELE counterparts, but still higher emitting that even diesel generators!
just a reminder that the “cleanest” coal is dirtier than diesel — and diesel is high emissions. pic.twitter.com/WSr8OmnCaZ
— simon holmes à court (@simonahac) August 28, 2018
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Before we begin, here are some thoughts from Greta Thunberg, a 15-year old from Sweden who leaves school every week to protest climate change.
I first learnt about climate change when I was eight years old. I learnt that this was something humans had created …
We are running out of time. Failure means disaster. The changes required are enormous and we must all contribute to the solutions, especially those of us in rich countries like Australia.
The adults have failed us. And since most of them, including the press and the politicians, keep ignoring the situation, we must take action into our own hands, starting today.
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Our panel
Here’s who you will be speaking to today.
They are a mix of students, young people and older adults. They’re experts on everything – from electric cars to social media campaigns. Ask away.
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Piper Albrecht – Year 11 student at Castlemaine Secondary School
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Bill Hare – climate scientist and expert on international climate treaties
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Amanda McKenzie – CEO of the Climate Council, co-founder of Australian Youth Climate Coalition
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Simon Holmes à Court – Energy and economics expert
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Laura Sykes – Schools co-ordinator of the Australian Youth Climate Council
Hello and welcome
Hi everyone and welcome to My Climate Questions.
I’m Naaman and I’ll be moderating today’s blog. Guardian Australia’s environment reporter Lisa Cox and I will be the bridge between your questions and our experts.
If you’re a school student or young Australian, this is your place for the next two hours to talk, learn, and ask about everything you want to know about climate change.
Questions can be super tricky, or super easy. Ask about that one thing you’ve always been confused about. There are no bad questions.
We’ll be posting the first ones in 30 minutes. Start thinking and write in.
Email questions to myclimatequestions@theguardian.com, or tweet or post to Instagram using #myclimatequestions (only do the last two if you’re over 13).
If you have thoughts – comment below, email me (naaman.zhou@theguardian.com) or tweet me (@naamanzhou). This isn’t just a way to talk to adults, but a place to discuss our shared future. I’m looking forward to it.
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My question is why seemingly reasonable people accept science in other aspects of their lives but choose to ignore climate science.