http://www.climatespectator.com.au/news/climate-commission-outlines-solar-opportunity-queensland

 

The Climate Commission has released its latest state report, this time focussing on the dangers of climate change to Queensland. While highlighting the risks, the report, The Critical Decade: Queensland climate impacts and opportunities, also spotlights the opportunities, such as solar power.

 

"The report brings together the latest research to paint a clear picture of a changing climate for Queensland. We know that failing to respond to climate change will have severe costs to our economy, our health and natural environment," Chief Commissioner Professor Tim Flannery said.

"This is the next chapter of the climate story, finding ways to act against climate change and seizing the opportunities that it can bring.

"People across the country are quietly rising to the challenge of climate change. We can see this in Queensland with more than 200,000 Queensland households and businesses already having put solar panels on their roofs."

The report highlights the real costs of a changing climate for Queenslanders, including threats to Queensland's $14 billion agriculture industry, $17.7 billion tourism industry, and to 3.8 million Queenslanders who live along Queensland's coastline.

"The Queensland tourism industry is important, not just for Queenslanders but for the whole of Australia. It is the gateway to the rest of Australia," Professor Flannery said.

"We know climate change threatens Queensland's agricultural industries with studies showing that beef, cereal and sugar production are at risk of decline with higher temperatures, changing rainfall and the spread of pests.

"The costs are well understood but the opportunities are less widely known. The Sunshine State has one of the best solar resources in the world. The use of solar energy in Queensland has doubled in less than two years."

The report is the latest in a string of recent studies from the Climate Commission focussing on the risks of climate change state-by-state.