As climate-fuelled disasters intensify, political leaders should stop treating discussion of their causes as untimely and confront the consequences of continued inaction.

Nepali Prime Minister Balendra Shah said last week’s deadly Himalayan flood was “not an ordinary” event but driven by climate change, as he demanded international action. In the meantime, Anthony Albanese and Angus Taylor both decline to speak of climate change in the context of the Nepalese catastrophe.

Following the Bondi massacre, it was immediately appropriate to address the causes of this outrage, condemn hate speech and call a royal commission.

Following recent atrocities committed by young men against women, it was immediately the right time to identify social media and ‘manosphere’ influencers as causes that needed to be immediately addressed.

The northern hemisphere summer has brought climate disaster after disaster to North America, Europe and parts of Asia. No event on its own can be attributed to human-induced climate change, but cumulatively the evidence is not simply beyond dispute; its extent is graver than science had predicted.

The most recent UN Climate report has just been released and states in part:

In 2026, the world is already about 1.4°C warmer than pre-industrial levels, and the damage and death toll from climate-boosted disasters is ramping up. The United Kingdom is warning of possible food shortages amid a historic drought. Wildfires hit new areas in France and Spain, while glaciers are melting rapidly and the oceans are at their hottest level........

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