Australia case study Flashcards
Australia HDI ranking and GDP per capita.
In 2014 Australia ranked 2nd on HDI with a GDP per capita of US$41,500.
Cost of natural disasters now and 2030 prediction.
Natural disasters cost around US$4.5 /year and this is expected to double by 2030.
Why is the country at risk from coastal flooding?
Majority of the cities and population are on the coast.
Effect of the 2011 Cyclone Yasi on Queensland.
Reduced GDP for Queensland by US$4 billion due to tourism and the coal industries reducing.
Coastal squeezing in Australia.
On the Gold Coast delicate sea grass and salt marsh ecosystems are trapped between advancing shorelines and sea walls / dykes.
2009 heat wave and bush fires.
Temperatures of 45.1 degrees in south east Australia. Bush fires in Victoria killed 173 people and destroyed 2000 homes.
The millenium rough and effects.
The millenium drought lasts from 1996 to 2010 led to reduced crop yields and the government providing expensive relief packages.
How much did GHG emissions increase between 1990 and 2010?
30%
What types of strategies how the government employed?
Both adaptation and mitigation.
When did Australia ratify the Kyoto protocol?
2007
Target reduction of emissions by 2020 according to agreement from 2013 in Copenhagen.
A reduction of 5-25% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2020 based off 2000 base line.
3 adaptation strategies on the coast
Sea walls, dams and floodgates.
2 things that will happen in areas of high risk flooding.
Relocation of houses and businesses as well as strict planning regulations to prevent development on sites where flooding is inevitable.
How much of an investment fund is there to change water uses.
There is a US$9 billion find to develop new ways of using water and use existing resources more efficiently in order to protect wetland ecosystems.
3 Methods of helping agriculture change.
Development of new crop strains that can cope with increased temperatures and reduced water. Dams will be constructed to provide water in droughts. Early warning systems of flooding will be upgraded.
