Analysing the visual

SES volunteers inspect a car at Mulgoa Creek.

Heatwaves, droughts and floods are already outstripping the ability of plants, animals and landmarks, including the Great Barrier Reef, to survive.

Climate change is exposing millions of people to shortages of safe water and food, particularly in low-income or politically marginalised countries. The most vulnerable people – who produce the least emissions – are being disproportionately affected.

More delay in global action will miss a ‘‘brief and rapidly closing window’’ to secure a liveable future, say experts.

Rapid, accelerated and deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions are fundamental to avoiding higher temperatures and a mounting loss of life, biodiversity and damage, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) finds in its most recent report on impacts, adaptation and vulnerability.

Fierce pressure should be brought to bear on governments and the private sector to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, says climate scientist Will Steffen, an emeritus professor at the Australian National University and Climate Council spokesman.

‘‘We need to cut at least 50 percent of emissions by 2030, and we need to hit net zero by 2040 or possibly earlier, 2035 if we can,’’ Professor Steffen says.

‘‘The longer you let this go, the more you are at risk of so-called tipping points: melting polar ice sheets and burning forests in the Amazon. That’s why there’s this urgency.’’

Moving from fossil fuel-powered energy to renewables and electrifying transport, homes and the economy will reduce emissions, but experts say Australia is not moving rapidly enough. Australia’s greenhouse emissions fell 0.8 per cent during the year to September 2021, with the switch to renewable electricity from coal and gas meaning emissions from the electricity sector fell 4.7 per cent.

The newly released IPCC report recognises the interdependence of climate, biodiversity and human populations more strongly than earlier assessments.

It points to nature’s potential to reduce climate risks and improve people’s lives, saying that healthy ecosystems are more resilient to climate change and provide food and clean water. By conserving 30 to 50 per cent of earth’s land, freshwater and oceans, human societies would benefit from nature’s capacity to absorb and store carbon, the report finds.

We need to stop degrading nature through plastic pollution, salinity and land clearing, says RMIT’s Lauren Rickards, from the school of global, urban and social studies.

Australia’s high rate of land clearing is one of the major obstacles to making progress on climate change, Professor Rickards says.

‘‘We are making our climate mitigation and adaptation jobs so much harder if we passively allow existing degradation to continue,’’ she says.

‘‘We can’t assume natural systems are just going to truck along and be there ready for us to benefit from when we need them.’’

Half the world’s population lives in cities and their health and livelihoods, as well as infrastructure and transport systems, are increasingly at risk from heat waves, storms, flooding and rising sea levels.

Climate action in cities should include green and energy-efficient buildings, urban greening, reliable supplies of water and power and revegetation of parks and gardens to encourage wildlife, the IPCC says.

Becoming lower carbon and more equitable societies has multiple benefits for health and wellbeing, the IPCC report’s authors say.

‘‘It’s going to be a win-win scenario if we invest in climate justice and lower greenhouse emissions societies because we’ll see flow-on benefits to human health and wellbeing,’’ says Professor Kathryn Bowen, a report author and expert in climate and global health at Melbourne University.

Globally, the worst climate health impacts are threats to health and water security.

Climate change will also exacerbate underlying health issues, which means health systems need to be strengthened.

Professor Bowen says the impact on mental health of climate change is also evident.

Not only do these come from the trauma of experiencing an extreme weather event, but from a feeling of ‘‘solastalgia’’ – a sense of emotional or existential distress caused by environmental change.

Exemplar  - 

The image of the two SES volunteers fighting to walk through the flood to inspect an abandoned car that is embedded withing the article supports Perkins’ worries about the way climate change is affecting societies. This image helps Australian citizens visualise the pain and suffering these volunteers are experiencing due to being exposed to these violent weather conditions and what the victims would see in response to global warming. It also demonstrates how severe these natural disasters are to Australia and the world which only influences the readership to fight for change, just as the SES volunteers fight for survival. Just as Perkins states that half of the world's population is at "risk from flooding" and other natural disasters, the inclusion of her visual at the beginning of the article firmly indicates the severity of climate change and thus urges governing bodies and urban developers to consider meticulous city planning in response to such an instance. 

Questions to help guide an insightful analysis of visual language

1. What issue is the cartoon commenting on?

2. What facts about the issue or general facts / concepts are referred to in the cartoon?

3. Who or what institution is being made fun of?

4. Whose side is the cartoonist on? What is the cartoonist trying to make us think about the person, institution or issue?

5. How does the cartoonist persuade us to his point of view? Comment on:

People’s exaggerated features

Words used (note plays on words or puns)

Setting

Framing (look at the foreground, placing of people or objects relative to each other)

6. Explain the probable effect on the reader