Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the minister representing the Minister for the Environment and Energy, Senator Birmingham. The US has just seen the most costly natural disaster in their history with Hurricane Harvey causing an estimated $180 billion in damage. Harvey broke a number of US climate records, including for a single rainfall event. Another hurricane, Irma—one of the most powerful storms ever recorded—is now tracking towards Florida. It's worth noting that Irma's destructive wind speeds are beyond the theoretical maximum provided by models for the Atlantic. In other words, meteorologists are saying that they had never expected or predicted a storm like Irma. Is the minister aware that climate scientists are highlighting that unpredicted, exceedingly high ocean temperatures have triggered both these historical superstorms?