Climate change
Climate change poses risks to business, government, communities and ecosystems. However, the response to the climate challenge also creates new opportunities.
WCG projects are positioned for opportunity within a carbon constrained economy since they provide mitigation and adaptation benefits.
| Carbon | Water | |
|---|---|---|
| MITIGATE |
Forests provide direct climate cooling effects which buffer climate changes. Well positioned forests substantially improve catchment water quality outcomes. By establishing mixed species forests our systems are resilient to extreme climate events – storms and drought. |
Lowering the cost and resource demand of wastewater quality treatment enables higher standards of effluent discharge. Climate change impacts will stress water bodies increasing the importance of higher effluent standards. Water from WCG systems can be reused for many productive purposes enabling consumption pressure to be relieved upon other water systems. Wetland systems are resilient to variable flows and temperature. |
| ADAPT |
Forests provide direct climate cooling effects which buffer climate changes Well positioned forests substantially improve catchment water quality outcomes. By establishing mixed species forests our systems are resilient to extreme climate events – storms and drought. |
Lowering the cost and resource demand of wastewater quality treatment enables higher standards of effluent discharge. Climate change impacts will stress water bodies increasing the importance of higher effluent standards Water from WCG systems can be reused for many productive purposes enabling consumption pressure to be relieved upon other water systems. Wetland systems are resilient to variable flows and temperature. |
WCG forest ecosystems are designed to be highly resilient to climate change impacts. Key principles that we adhere to include:
- Selection of sites in areas with climates resilient to climate change impacts such as sites with abundant rainfall;
- Selection of sites within the landscape that enhances, rather than competes with, agricultural production and water resources; and
- A selection of a range of species with a range of climate tolerance attributes to enable our forest systems to buffer impacts of drought, storms and temperature.
WCG Wastewater treatment systems
WCG wetland systems are designed to cope with extreme variability. This is one of the major advantages of wetland wastewater systems in that they can buffer extremes of drought and storm events.
WCG’s core business is in utilising high quality ecological systems to provide carbon sequestration and wastewater treatment services. These systems are deliberately designed to provide significantly improved environmental outcomes. Under stress from climate change, the environmental benefits will become increasingly important.