How green is your backyard?

New research published in Science magazine in January has calculated just how fast our carbon emissions are melting sea ice and contributing to global warming.

The study from Max-Planck-Institute for Meteorology in Germany is the first time human actions have been linked to the amount of sea ice that’s thawing. On average, it says, a westerner’s carbon emissions destroy 30 square metres of Arctic sea ice each year.

It also indicates that without a dramatic reduction in carbon emissions, the Arctic will lose all of its ice in summer within the next 30 years and cause weather around the globe to become more extreme.

Professor Dirk Notz, the leader of the study, says: “The observed numbers are very simple. For each tonne of CO2 that a person emits anywhere on this planet, three square metres of Arctic summer sea ice disappears.”

To put that into perspective, if you drive a small car 15,000 kilometres a year, that’s 2.41 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions or 7.23 square metres of Arctic sea ice melt.

A return flight from Sydney to Bali equates to 2.32 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions and 6.96 square metres of Arctic sea ice melt. For Victorians, a return flight to London emits 7.09 tonnes of carbon dioxide and destroys 21.27 square metres of sea ice.

The disappearing world: Arctic sea ice melt affects the future of polar bears. Image: Getty

It’s not just Arctic sea ice that’s disappearing either. Sea ice is at record low levels at both ends of the planet.

In February while Australia was in the grip of a record heatwave, the Antarctica quietly reached a milestone of its own, melting to its lowest recorded level.

In July, a 1-trillion-tonne iceberg measuring twice the size of the ACT calved from the Larsen C shelf in Antarctica.

Where does Australia stand?

Australia has one of the world’s highest emissions of carbon dioxide per capita, ranking tenth highest in a list that includes Qatar, Kuwait and the United States. It’s also among the worst of developed countries for climate change action.

In the Climate Change Performance Index report released last December, Australia is listed fifth-worst, only coming ahead of Kazakhstan, South Korea, Japan and Saudi Arabia for carbon emissions.

Of the 58 countries assessed on their climate policies, emissions and deployment of renewable energy, the study found that Australia was “very poor performing” with a hostile relationship between federal and state climate policies. The report noted: “while the former were rather unambitious and uninspired, the latter managed to some extent to take independent action.”

The world's first solar train Image: Byron Bay Train

While the Federal Government clings to coal energy and prevaricates on its Paris Agreement target to reduce carbon emissions by 2030, the states are quietly pushing ahead with clean energy climate action.

South Australia will soon be home to the world’s largest lithium ion battery thanks to a historic agreement signed in July between Elon Musk’s Tesla company and the State Government.

It’s also on track to meet its 50 per cent renewable target by 2025 and has a net zero emissions by 2050 goal, along with Victoria and New South Wales. Queensland has a 50% renewable target by 2030.

In December, the world’s first solar-powered train will launch in Byron Bay, travelling the three kilometres each way from Byron Bay to North Beach, near Elements of Byron, a five-star resort with controlling interest in the not-for-profit train company.

More information:

www.worldlandtrust.org

Germanwatch.org