Post of the Day
Carbon storage technologies critical for meeting climate targets – IEA
International Energy Agency says without CCUS projects energy goals will be impossible to reach
On This Day
Feast of Saint Nicholas of Flüe – Switzerland
Ecological Observance
Arbor Day – US Virgin Islands
Coronavirus Watch
Climate Change
China is no longer ‘ignoring nature’s repeated warnings’. But what does that actually mean?
It’s official: Chinese President Xi Jinping tells the UN that China is going carbon neutral by 2060. But how does the world’s largest polluter even begin to start the process?
Carbon storage technologies critical for meeting climate targets – IEA
International Energy Agency says without CCUS projects energy goals will be impossible to reach
What is carbon capture, usage and storage – and can it trap emissions?
Technology that can keep carbon dioxide emissions from entering the atmosphere and stoking global heating will be essential to tackle the growing climate crisis, experts say. But how does it work, and why will it make a difference in fighting climate breakdown?
Why this climate activist staged a protest on ice in the Arctic
In the middle of the Arctic Ocean, hundreds of miles into the Arctic Circle, environmental activist and campaigner Mya-Rose Craig stood with a cardboard sign reading “youth strike for climate”. The 18-year-old staged the most northerly strike at the edge of the arctic sea ice to “try and make a statement about how temporary this amazing landscape is and how our leaders have to make a decision now in order to save it.”
Exit from fossil fuels quickens after California, China signal shift
California’s plan to ban new sales of fossil-fuel cars and China’s first net zero target show that climate action is beginning to accelerate, analysts say.
U.S. climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe: people need hope
While the enormity of tackling climate change can be so overwhelming that some people shut down, presenting people with examples of how they can take action offers hope, says climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe.
If world handles climate like COVID-19, U.N. chief says: ‘I fear the worst’
The United States, China and Russia fought on Thursday during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the coronavirus pandemic after U.N. chief Antonio Guterres had warned the body that if the climate crisis was approached with the “same disunity and disarray” of COVID-19, then: “I fear the worst.”
Study: With global warming, marine heatwaves like ‘The Blob’ will become commonplace
According to a new study, anthropogenic climate change has made extreme heatwaves like the Blob more likely. In fact, the study’s authors claim human-caused global warming is directly to blame for the Blob.
Climate pledges ‘like tackling COVID-19 without social distancing’
Current global pledges to tackle climate change are the equivalent of declaring a pandemic without a plan for social distancing, researchers say.
Simpler models may be better for determining some climate risk
Typically, computer models of climate become more and more complex as researchers strive to capture more details of our Earth’s system, but according to a team of Penn State researchers, to assess risks, less complex models, with their ability to better sample uncertainties, may be a better choice.
The case for calling climate change “genocide”
James Robins
There’s no question that climate change is killing people—but you could also argue that it qualifies as wanton extermination of entire cultures.
National
AGL extends home battery and virtual power plant offering to eastern states
AGL Energy extends the reach of its virtual power plant with battery sales and installations for residential customers in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.
Angus Taylor’s power grab for clean energy funding
Under the guise of the ‘Technology Investment Roadmap’, the Morrison government is making an unprecedented power grab over clean energy funding.
Climate policy driven by ‘vested interests’, damning report claims
Australia’s climate change progress is being stymied by “insidious” lobby groups influencing our energy policy, a think tank has claimed.
National, state and territory population
Statistics about the population and components of change (births, deaths, migration) for Australia and its states and territories
Farmers push back on Coalition’s gas plan saying quality of land and water takes priority
Renewed pressure from farmers could revive tensions between the Liberals and the Nationals
Can carbon farming really reduce emissions?
The Federal Government’s new energy policy has identified carbon farming as a key method of reducing emissions, but there may be problems with the strategy.
Mark Butler rows back remarks dismissing gas as Labor divisions exposed
Shadow climate spokesman fronted Sky News to clarify earlier statement that gas would not underpin Australia’s future prosperity
Farmers for Climate Action slam Australian Government’s technology investment roadmap
Farmers have called out the federal government’s climate change low emissions policy as selling out an industry for profit.
Union lashes divided Labor over ‘morally indefensible’ gas opposition
The boss of Australia’s oldest union is warning Labor will kill off blue-collar jobs and any chance of winning government if it does not embrace gas.
Last year 80,000 students marched for the climate. In COVID-19, they’re trying something different
School students made headlines last September when they skipped class and took to the streets by the thousands to demand action on climate change. Principals and politicians were divided over their protests, but what followed were some of the largest demonstrations in Australia’s history. But, like most things this year, the School Strike for Climate movement has been caught on its heels and forced to adapt.
Explainer: Australia’s 2020-21 bushfire season: what to expect this summer
Australia’s devastating bushfire season of 2019-20 is not a distant memory.
Warm, cool and energy-affordable housing policy solutions for low-income renters
Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute
This report presents the findings of an investigative panel that examined the prevalence and experience of energy hardship, in its different forms, within Australia’s rental housing market. The research considered the strategies and policy actions that could be taken to reduce the impact of energy hardship on the lives of Australian households. Important findings include the following.
Forget the lobbying. It’s the spin that wins on climate, report finds [$]
Georgia Wilkins
When it comes to impacting Australia’s climate wars, little can stand up to the fossil fuel industry’s public spin.
Labor’s failure to back workers on gas is not just morally indefensible, it’s strategically moronic
Daniel Walton
The Coalition has shifted its vision towards a future of gas-backed renewables. Labor should meet it in the middle.
Airport land deal raises doubts on federal infrastructure spending
SMH editorial
The Department of Infrastructure paid 10 times too much for a cow paddock near the second runway.
Turn off the bleating hot-air mob — time to turn up the gas [$]
Nick Cater
Imagine the ancestors of the gas-phobic left, sitting around an uncooked carcass of a giant wombat, priding themselves on their refusal to rub two sticks together as they await the arrival of the next big thing — the thermo-sealed pyrotechnic oven.
We looked at 35 years of rainfall and learnt how droughts start in the Murray-Darling Basin
Chiara Holgate et al
The extreme, recent drought has devastated many communities around the Murray-Darling Basin, but the processes driving drought are still not well understood.
New South Wales
Hunter region coal cities join national climate network, shift to solar and EVs
Seven out of 10 local governments in NSW Hunter region signed up to Cities Power Partnership, as link between jobs and climate action becomes clear.
Threatened Kosciuszko wildlife gets help from above
The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has acted quickly to remove over 2000 pest animals including pigs, deer and goats from Kosciuszko National Park (KNP) and other nearby parks to give threatened native wildlife the best chance of recovery after last summer’s fires.
National Parks asking visitors to Hunter region and Central Coast to plan ahead this school holidays
Ahead of the school holidays and October long weekend, visitors to the Hunter region and Central Coast are reminded to plan their trip to NSW National Parks as staff prepare for a busy Spring season.
Nationals MP at centre of fresh koala policy controversy
Stephen Bromhead relayed concerns to the Planning Minister on behalf of property developers and Coalition donors connected to a major venture in NSW.
Chilly start to school holiday as first total fire ban issued for the season
Sydney will reach temperatures of 25 degrees on Friday before a cold front moves across the city about 4pm, bringing a possible shower and thunderstorm.
Towns came close to running dry after years of failure by NSW water bureaucrats [$]
The NSW Auditor-General has found the state’s Department of Planning, Industry and Environment has not effectively supported or overseen town water infrastructure planning in the state’s regions since at least 2014.
ACT
National Seed Bank set to expand to new facility to continue work protecting native plants [$]
After catastrophic bushfires swept through Namadgi National Park last summer, work behind the scenes is ensuring the ACT’s native plant species aren’t lost in the aftermath.
Why aren’t you locking up your cat?
Helen Oakey
Earlier this month was Threatened Species Day, a day that marks the death of the last Tasmanian tiger in 1936, and an opportunity to reflect what we can do to cease the rate of extinction in Australia.
Queensland
Developer’s vision for idyllic island a concern for locals who say living there is now a ‘challenge’
With a turtle habitat excavated, “Keep Out” signs warding off tourists and plummeting property prices, residents of Queensland’s Keswick Island worry for its future.
Coal miner New Hope sinks to loss as prices crumble
Coal miner New Hope Corporation is bracing for extreme volatility in the export market to persist for some time yet, as a coronavirus-driven global glut keeps coal prices stubbornly low.
115 jobs in limbo as dam plan hits a wall [$]
Years after the Federal Government committed $30 million to build a weir in north Queensland, the State Government has finally matched the funds – but a small clause in its offer has people scratching their heads.
South Australia
Tesla big battery in South Australia delivers stunning windfall profits
The Tesla big battery in South Australia – officially known as the Hornsdale Power Reserve – delivered a windfall profit to its Paris-based owner Neoen in the first half of 2020, largely due to the key role it and other big batteries played when a massive storm blew down the state’s main link to Victoria.
$100 million pledged to clear bushfire hazards [$]
The State Government will throw almost another $50 million at bushfire measures before summer. The controversial process of hazard-reduction burns will get the lion’s share of new cash.
Tasmania
Campaigner Jenny Weber wants to know where alternative nesting sites are for the bird at St Helens
The Bob Brown Foundation wants to know where the alternative sites are for swift parrots on Tasmania’s East Coast.
Auditor-General’s report to Parliament on tourism development EOIs
Media release – Tasmanian Audit Office
The Auditor-General, Mr Rod Whitehead today submitted his Report to Parliament on the Expressions of Interest (EOI) for tourism investment opportunities. The audit examined effectiveness of the EOI process for the development of sensitive and appropriate tourism experiences and associated infrastructure in Tasmania’s National Parks and other reserves by commercial operators.
As you prepare for fire season, urge climate action [$]
Anna Seth
Hoping for the best in the face of worsening fires is not going to cut it, we all have to act.
Western Australia
It’s official: Data confirms WA’s resources ‘mini-boom’
Investment in the State’s resources sector has risen for the first time since the last mining boom in 2012-13, with $129b worth of projects now in the pipeline.
Sustainability
California plans to ban the sale of new petrol-powered cars by 2035
From 2035, California plans to make it impossible to buy a new car that runs on fossil fuels but existing internal-combustion vehicles will still be legal to operate or sell privately.
Crisps, chocolate and cheese worst offenders for recycling
Which? singles out big brands for lack of environmentally conscious packaging
Time to get serious about food waste in fight against global heating
It is responsible for 8% of emissions, yet food waste is not mentioned in any country’s Paris climate action plan
Country’s unusual revenge on litterbugs
A Thai National Park fed up with tourists leaving their rubbish behind has decided to start mailing bags of trash back to litterers.
Climate change is accelerating because of rich consumers’ energy use. Here are some solutions
Somehow, in all the campaigns to inspire climate action, the onus on well-off people to take the lead on sustainable consumption has been lost.
Air pollution leads to increase in electricity usage, study suggests
High levels of air pollution are forcing people inside to consume more electricity, subsequently causing even greater environmental problems by increasing greenhouse gas emissions.
Reframe ‘energy week’ as the global problem it is [$]
Ben Potter
What’s going on globally in climate and energy should be keeping directors, senior management and shareholders of energy intensive companies awake at night.
Scientists take temperatures of butterflies to uncover climate threat
Study finds some species are less able to control their body heat and are more vulnerable
Corporate climate commitments are now common. Next is nature restoration commitments
The Science Based Targets Initiative first asked companies to make scientifically rigorous emissions reductions. Now it’s asking them to commit to increasing biodiversity.
Camera traps show impact of recreational activity on wildlife
The COVID-19 pandemic has fired up interest in outdoor activities in our parks and forests. Now a new study highlights the need to be mindful of how these activities may affect wildlife living in protected areas. All wildlife tended to avoid places that were recently visited by recreational users. And they avoided mountain bikers and motorized vehicles significantly more than they did hikers and horseback riders.
Leading water scientists warn of risks in shift to monoculture crops, tree plantations
Conversion of large swaths of land to uniform tree plantations and single-crop species may lead to unintended consequences for the water cycle, putting ecosystems at greater risk for fires, floods, droughts and even hurricanes, warns a think-tank group of almost 30 water scientists from 11 countries.
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