Climate change is hardly a new concept – environmental types, politicians and even the man next door have long been rattling on about how our planet could be under threat.
And it seems that this week is no different, with Reserve Bank of Australia board member Jillian Broadbent wading into the debate.
She believes that if we don't take action against climate change by turning to renewable energy sources such as solar power, then our economy could be under threat.
Now for the big wigs in government, this is a pretty big deal. After all, Australia prides itself on having a relatively strong economy while other developed nations are struggling.
As with anything in life, it is a task to stay in the top spot – all it takes is for someone else to do slightly better than you and your demoted to second place.
And we can't be having that.
To avoid being left behind, Jillian told ABC Radio that some forward planning is needed, so grab your pen and paper.
"If we're not ready for it, it's going to be a significant cost to us in the long-term. Early action towards the transformation to cleaner energy minimises the ultimate cost and the destruction to the economy," the AAP reports her as saying.
So just how well are we doing at beating climate change in Australia? Well the latest greenhouse gas emissions figures show that we released 546 tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2011.
This might not mean much to you – but it was a 0.6 per cent rise compared to the previous year, suggesting that maybe our action hasn't been decisive enough.
It looks like we might have to buckle down and do a bit more for the environment – we wouldn't want our economy suffering now, would we?
Posted by Bob Dawson