He said that the recent heavy rainfalls in Queensland and NSW have replenished water catchments, and dams that were full, triggering floods and damage.
Despite signs that the country is on the verge of recovery, its biodiversity continued to decline. Last year saw 12 species declared extinct, and 34 more added to the endangered species category.
Shoshana Rapley, co-author, said that the two most recent extinctions were a small bat and a skink. They were last seen on Christmas Island in 2009/2010.
There was supposed be a plan in place to protect those species. It is a wake up call that endangered species conservation must be taken more seriously.
Despite this loss, 16 new species were discovered by scientists, including a spider, frog, and an octopus.
We knew that we had these species all along, but we didn’t realize it. This doesn’t mean that biodiversity is declining, she said.
Cooler weather helped the Great Barrier Reef to make a quick but fragile recovery from coral-bleaching events that occurred in three of the five previous years.
Carbon emissions dropped almost 2 percent last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Australia contributed 1.4% to global emissions in 2021, compared to 1.5% the year before.
Professor van Dijk stated that per-person emissions are still among the highest in the world, despite the continued use and high energy consumption of polluting coal and large non-carbon dioxide emissions.
Last year was sixth-warmest in recorded history, but the number of days exceedingly hot reached 35 degrees for the first time since 2011, a sign generally lower temperatures.
There are not many [temperature]He said that records were broken and it was good to see a change.
Professor van Dijk warned that climate change, including heatwaves and droughts, will continue to degrade the environment for decades to follow.
He stated that taking decisive actions to actively reduce global carbon omissions and improve ecosystem management can prevent these impacts becoming worse than they already are.
Both are within our reach, provided we take the necessary steps.
