Post of the Day
One tenth of the planet has already experienced dangerous climate change
In some parts of the world, warming has been catastrophic.
On This Day
Ecological Observance
Arbor Day – Guatemala and Ecuador
International Day for Biological Diversity
Coronavirus Watch
Confirmed cases: 7,081. Deaths: 100
Last week: Confirmed cases: 6,989. Deaths: 98
Australians wary of rush to lift COVID-19 restrictions: survey
One in three people are still worried restrictions to combat the coronavirus pandemic are being relaxed too quickly – and only 15 per cent of people believe the bans are being lifted too slowly.
Rich and poor don’t recover equally from epidemics. Rebuilding fairly will be a global challenge
Ilan Noy
Without genuine global leadership the ability of economies to “build back better” after the disaster caused by COVID-19 will unfairly favour wealthier populations and nations.
Climate Change
More dams will collapse as aging infrastructure can’t keep up with climate change
Aging dams in the U.S. will increasingly fail and cause death and environmental destruction as climate change makes extreme precipitation more frequent, scientists warn.
One tenth of the planet has already experienced dangerous climate change
In some parts of the world, warming has been catastrophic.
Arnagretta Hunter
As temperatures rise we predict increasing morbidity and mortality, particularly in the climate-vulnerable parts of northern Australia
National
Climate experts cautiously optimistic about federal government’s tech roadmap
Climate scientists say putting the focus back on gas would be a “waste of a monumental amount of money”.
Morrison government’s ‘positive’ climate plan missing a key ingredient
Climate advocates cautiously welcomed the policy but warn its lack of a concrete emissions target is a risk to international commitments.
Hope emerges for an end to energy policy wars [$]
An end to the climate wars is on the horizon with Labor supporting the thrust of the government’s technology road map.
Australia needs to invest in bioenergy and bioeconomy
The Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) is urging the Federal Government to recognise the multiple long-term benefits of investing in renewable bioenergy and bioeconomy technologies and manufactured products in Australia, in a post CoVid-19 world economy,
Australian researchers claim world first in global race to develop better solar panels
Experimental cell using the potentially game-changing material perovskite passes a series of heat and humidity tests
Chinese power stations told to avoid Australian coal in new trade threat
Australian coal exporters are facing the risk of tougher restrictions selling into China as government authorities in Beijing direct state-owned power plants to purchase domestic product instead.
Bushfires: Climate change risk sparks call for Medicare-like model of insurance
One in 20 Australian homes could be uninsurable by the turn of the century due to the risk of climate-induced bushfires. It has prompted calls for a Medicare-like model of bushfire insurance.
Australian government urged to back sustainable Covid-19 recovery with clean energy transition
Letter signed by business, union, investor and environment groups warns Australia’s prosperity depends on cutting emissions
Solar Insiders Podcast: How the solar industry is adjusting to Covid world
Sean Guzzi from Clenergy joins Solar Insiders to discuss how the industry his coping with the changes imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, while the regulator cracks down on poor…
Coronavirus recovery agenda ‘a golden opportunity for native title reform’ [$]
The head of one of Northern Australia’s most important land councils wants native title reform and exemptions for indigenous people from some environmental rules to help disadvantaged families share in the coronavirus recovery.
COVID-19 Commission call to strip unused gas field leases [$]
A government adviser has recommended Scott Morrison consider stripping some of Australia’s biggest undeveloped oil and gas fields from their owners to aid economic recovery from the coronavirus amid the worst oil crash in a generation.
Primed for action: a resilient recovery for Australia
Climate Council of Australia
COVID-19 has fundamentally reshaped the world we know, taking a horrendous toll on human health and the economy.
Australia has a golden chance to hit the reset button – let’s not waste it
Shane Rodgers
The global pandemic can actually be an agent for positive change in everything from traffic to technology if we grasp the opportunity.
Australia’s transcontinental gas pipe dream: It simply doesn’t add up
David Leitch
Gas industry people have been saying gas is the transition fuel for at least 30 years. It’s never been true in all that time, and it’s not true now.
Is Scott Morrison about to get fully charged on electric vehicles?
Giles Parkinson
Coalition dialled up the idiotometer to capacity when it talked electric vehicles last year, but now its technology roadmap admits EVs will cut emissions and lower costs.
In post-pandemic renewables boom, Australia is once again the lucky country
Clyde Russell
Which commodities and countries are best placed to emerge as winners in the post-coronavirus world, especially if the anticipated boost to investment in renewables energies actually happens?
Let’s talk about gas – a great resource of diminishing value
Tony Wood
We need gas in the interim, but it is polluting and costly – and we need be careful we don’t invest billions in assets that will become stranded.
We were prepared to act on COVID-19, but will we do the same on climate? Waleed Aly
What exactly do we think of expert advice? It seems an opportune moment to ask because we’re at a point in our COVID-19 experience where it feels as though lots more is up for grabs.
Neoliberalism has made Australia’s oil reserves a time bomb
Tim Cornwall
Australia’s oil policy and unwillingness to abide by IEA regulations is leaving us vulnerable to shocks provided by an unstable industry.
Australia, it’s time to talk about our water emergency
Quentin Grafton et al
Thirty years since Australia’s water reform project began, it’s clear our efforts have largely failed. We must find another way.
Party donors win big from government roadmap to more fossil fuel use
Bernard Keane
The government’s energy plan involves gas and discredited carbon capture and storage — both coincidentally the raison d’être of its major donors.
Angus Taylor oblivious to the work of others on energy technology [$] John_Durie
Thursday’s technology road map has a nice cover page but just why would a Liberal minister even think of laying down suggested technologies, when all he needs to do is set an emissions target and let private enterprise come up with the solutions?
Still all carrots, no sticks for carbon [$]
Matthew Warren
The latest climate and energy road map expands direct action investment for abatement technologies, but the government remains wary.
Big business backs energy insanity [$]
Terry McCrann
Australians want energy that is cheap, reliable and plentiful. The Business Council’s call to “take action on climate change” puts all of those things at risk.
Victoria
Tunnel price tag derails plans for airport link [$]
A consortium that offered $7 billion to help build Melbourne’s airport rail link is on the verge of being knocked back, meaning the state and federal governments would now deliver the project by linking the airport line from Sunshine into the new Metro Tunnel.
Cycle link, towers under $2b CBD redevelopment [$]
A redevelopment plan on the CBD fringe could create new pedestrian and cycle link between the city, parks and Yarra River. The $2 billion project could also impact unsightly railyards.
Melbourne’s transport solutions face a fork in the road [$]
Stuart James
Roads and public transport are quiet right now but there is no doubt the congestion will soon return to Melbourne’s roads, so it’s time for a frank debate about which public transport projects provide the best return on investment.
New South Wales
Fears Snowy project’s green light will seal endangered fish’s fate
The Bereijklian government has given planning approval for the multi-billion dollar Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro project, prompting warnings that the move would cause the extinction of a rare native fish species.
NSW’s water-sharing plans ‘don’t comply’ with basin plan, agency says
The federal agency responsible for managing environmental flows in the Murray-Darling Basin has warned NSW’s draft water-sharing plans are at odds with the existing Basin Plan.
Lock the Gate Alliance slams NSW Planning’s approval recommendation of Vickery extension
THE NSW Planning Department’s decision to recommend Whitehaven Coal’s Vickery Extension Project be approved has been slammed by local activists.
NSW has approved Snowy 2.0. Here are six reasons why that’s a bad move
Bruce Mountain and Mark Lintermans
Snowy 2.0 has been a lightning rod for controversy. From cost-blowouts to climate impacts and threats to native fish, experts say there are many reasons why it should be put on hold.
ACT
X
Queensland
Dam wall reduction approved despite ‘litany of issues’ [$]
The Federal Government has granted approval to reduce the height of a major Queensland dam’s wall despite protests it would threaten farming in the region and a new report finding a “litany of issues” with its design and construction.
South Australia
Anglers fear river fish rescue plan too slow [$]
Recreational fishers have reacted with frustration to a draft plan to restore native species populations in the Murray, demanding more be done — and faster.
GM crops decision a hard genie to put back into bottle
Mark Parnell
SA’s decision to overturn a ban on GM crops will benefit multinational agrichemical firms more than local farmers, and communities and councils must act quickly to stop them taking root.
Tasmania
RACT calls on the government to fast-track five key infrastructure projects
The state government says it is not yet in a position to confirm which infrastructure projects will be brought forward to assist in COVID recovery as the RACT calls for five projects across the state to be prioritised.
Logging activists charged after ‘sudden and unexpected’ arrests [$]
A ‘lone woman’ who temporarily blocked logging near Mount Field as she camped atop a sky-scraping structure has been charged not for protesting – but for a different offence.
Northern Territory
Why the NT is in the box seat to become the nation’s energy capital [$]
Chief Minister Michael Gunner says he and Prime Minister Scott Morrison are on the same page about targeting the lucrative gas industry ‘immediately’ to unlock billions of dollars to save the Territory and Australia from economic ruin.
International energy giant looking to offload Territory gas assets [$]
ENI, the global Italian energy giant that supplies gas to Darwin for domestic power generation from the Blacktip Gas Project, is reportedly working with investment bank Citi to sell its Australian natural gas assets for around $1.6 billion.
Western Australia
Strike energy pushes forward on Mid West gas fields with $200 million processing plant
Junior gas player Strike Energy has selected its preferred proponent for a $200 million gas processing plant in WA’s Mid West.
Sustainability
Quest for practical fusion energy sources
Nuclear fusion’s promise as a practical energy source has grown substantially in recent years, in large part because of novel high-temperature superconducting (HTS) materials that can shrink the size and boost the performance of the extremely powerful magnets needed in fusion reactors.
US critics of stay-at-home orders tied to fossil fuel funding
ExxonMobil, Koch and Mercer family are past funders of critics of stay-at-home orders as fossil fuel industry struggles amid lockdowns
Victoria splashes out on renewable energy
The Victoria government has announced a $15.3 million package of renewable energy projects to create jobs and reduce emissions.
Tree deaths in urban settings are linked to leaks from natural gas pipelines below streets
A new study finds dying trees are 30 times more likely to have been exposed to methane-contaminated soil, confirming long-held suspicions that gas leaks kill plants.
Indigenous peoples bear the brunt of pollution
Research demonstrates the disproportionate impact of pollution on Indigenous peoples worldwide, as well as their resistance.
Germany leads globally in energy security levels, thanks to renewables – study
Edgar Meza
Germany boasts the highest energy security level in the world, due in large part to the wide spread use of renewable energy sources in the country.
Nature Conservation
Wandering albatross produce the highest number of eggs in over a decade
Last year, the wandering albatrosses only laid three eggs on this sub-Antarctic island — this season six out of 10 eggs hatched.
In California, a push grows to turn dead trees into biomass energy
Some experts argue that using dead and diseased trees to produce biomass energy will help to restore forests and reduce CO2 emissions.
Tropical forests are adaptable to warming if temperatures stay below 90F
A study by the University of Leeds found that as long as countries limit greenhouse gas emissions and average temperatures don’t go above 90F [32C] they will adapt.
How lack of tourism is affecting wildlife conservation in Madagascar
Isolation helped establish the island’s biodiversity. Now its remoteness poses a threat to lemurs and other wildlife.
Microplastics found in Florida’s birds of prey for first time
A new study has confirmed and quantified, for the first time, the presence of microplastics in terrestrial and aquatic birds of prey in Florida, including hawks, ospreys and owls. The research is important because birds of prey are critical to a functioning ecosystem. The accumulation of microplastics in their digestive systems could lead to poisoning, starvation and death.
Hunting threatens one of the world’s most amazing wildlife migrations
As the world looks to tighten up the illegal capture of wildlife, migratory birds are being threatened by widespread and unsustainable hunting across the Asia-Pacific region. New research has revealed that three quarters of migratory shorebird species in the region have been hunted since the 1970s.
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