Appalling global unrest, and recession - the worst since the great depression - were extreme low points. As if these manmade catastrophes weren't enough, a German study calculated 220,000 lives were lost to natural disasters; even more alarming, it linked climate change to an increase in the destructive forces of hurricanes and flooding. It was but one of many insights to emerge in the ongoing global debate on the impact of human behaviour on our environment, the effect of climate change on society and how it can best be prevented. Australia's contribution to the topic included the much-awaited Garnaut report. Focusing on our economy and what we as Australians can do about climate change, its modest recommendation was a 10% reduction on 2000 greenhouse gas emission levels by 2020. The report was strongly criticised by a United Nations climate change panel, which insisted that unless reductions of up to 45% were achieved by 2020, the real costs of climate change were being deferred to another generation.
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