The impacts of climate change can now be felt on every continent on Earth. From rising sea levels, to an increased number of extreme weather events, there is no doubt that climate change is an issue that needs to be addressed.
Greenfleet has been fighting the impacts of climate change for over 25 years by restoring legally protected native forests in Australia and New Zealand. These forests remove carbon from the atmosphere to actively reduce the damage that climate change has caused.
The United Nations (UN) defines climate change as long-term shifts in weather patterns. Since studies began in the 1800’s, the changes recorded show that human activity creating CO2 emissions is the main cause of weather change.
Human induced climate change is a result of excess carbon emissions being released into the atmosphere. These emissions come from processes such as burning fossil fuels, food production and travel.
Increased carbon, and other Greenhouse Gases, in our atmosphere result in rising air and water temperatures, which can have devastating effects on ecosystems, biodiversity and communities.
Climate change is impacting all continents on Earth. In recent years, Australia has seen an increase in extreme weather events such as droughts, floods and bushfires. These are causing harm to wildlife and communities while increased atmospheric temperatures are also affecting our ice caps, oceans and biodiversity.
Further increases in global temperatures and sea levels will detrimentally impact the Earth’s delicate ecosystems. Communities living in vulnerable locations contribute least to the current climate change issues however are disproportionately affected. It has bever been more important to protect our climate.
Wildlife suffers directly as the result of a changing climate. Following the Black Summer bushfires in 2019-2020, our beloved koalas were reclassified to endangered in multiple Australian states.
The UN World Meteorological Organisation's State of the Global Climate 2023 Report confirmed that 2023 was the hottest year on record. Ocean heat and global mean sea level and greenhouse gases also reached their highest recorded levels. Antarctic Sea ice reached a record low while glacier retreat records since 1950 were broken.
The 2015 Paris Agreement included a global goal to hold the average temperature increase to well below 2°C. The agreement aims to keep warming below 1.5°C however scientists believe this is no longer possible. The World Meteorological Organisation recently announced that 2023 was the warmest year on record at 1.45 °C.
The 2023 Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that without active reduction, the projected CO2 emissions from current fossil fuel usage will exceed the remaining carbon budget for 1.5°C. IPCC reports that concentrations of CH4 and N2O have increased to levels unprecedented in at least 800,000 years and current CO2 concentrations are higher than at any time over at least the past two million years.
Greenfleet is an Australian not-for-profit environmental organisation that actively fights the impacts of climate change by restoring native forests. These legally protected forests draw down on the carbon already in the atmosphere; a vital step in mitigating the climate crisis.
We plant native biodiverse forests to capture carbon emissions to actively reduce the impacts of climate change. Since 1997, Greenfleet has planted over 10.8 million native trees, creating more than 550 legally protected native forests in Australia and New Zealand.
Protected for up to 100 years, these forests will remove more than 5 million tonnes of carbon through the rest of this century.
You can take climate action with Greenfleet by offsetting the carbon emissions you can’t avoid. By supporting the restoration of legally protected native forests, you will be managing your carbon footprint and making a positive impact on our environment.
While delivering climate action, Greenfleet forests grow to conserve biodiversity, improve the health of our soils and waterways, and restore habitat for wildlife, including many endangered species.
Together, we can grow our forests and grow climate hope.
