Date: 21 December 2020 at 8:40:46 am AEDT
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Dec 21
Post of the Day
Predicting what’s in store for 2021 on climate, energy, and the economy
With 2021 on the near horizon, and growing optimism that the end of the COVID-19 pandemic could be close, much of the world’s attention should again be turning to the ongoing climate crisis.
On This Day
St. Thomas’s Day – Western Christianity
Pancha Ganapati (until Dec 25) – Hinduism
Climate Change
Joe Biden said the US needed a “unified national response to climate change” as he introduced key members of his environmental policy team.
The Paris agreement is five years old. Is it working?
New climate commitments from China, the UK, and EU bring the world closer to the Paris goals.
National
Pining for a live Christmas tree? Deck your halls with these Aussie natives
Australia is spoilt for choice when it comes to native plants that look great during the festive season.
‘600 sets of eyes out there’: AI surveillance keeps a watch on fire-hit wildlife
It is estimated almost 3 billion native animals were in the path of the devastating bushfires that ravaged parts of Australia last summer. Now, more than 600 cameras will be installed in some of the worst-hit areas to monitor the impact and recovery.
Electricity predicted to be cheaper in 2023 helped by green power and lower gas prices
Australian Energy Market Commission says households could expect to pay $120 less
Coalition should commit to halving emissions this decade, says conservative thinktank
A report by Blueprint Institute says coal-fired power generation is in ’permanent decline’ and its end is ‘inevitable’
Les Hosking comes out of retirement for green futures venture [$]
Australian futures pioneer Les Hosking says he has been coaxed out of retirement by the untapped potential to create a futures market for low carbon energy.
Why battery storage offers ‘huge opportunity’ for investors [$]
Battery storage has emerged as one of the most compelling investment opportunities in energy infrastructure, according to Wilson Asset Management’s portfolio manager Dania Zinurova.
2020 brought another year of extremes, as fires made way for La Nina
As eastern Australia heads towards a soggy, muggy and stormy end to the year, the climatic contrasts to the start of 2020 could hardly be starker.
‘Massive gulf’ over plans to hand environmental approval powers to the states
A majority of Australians hold concerns about plans to devolve environmental approval powers from the Commonwealth to the states, new polling suggests.
A smashing idea for man on emission [$]
Could removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere be as simple as pulverising rocks and spreading them around? It is a strange yet serious scientific question the Morrison government is spending almost $800,000 to explore, via world-first research with global implications.
Commonwealth environment laws: natural heritage is a matter of national importance
Suzanne Milthorpe
Earlier this month, PM Morrison doubled down on his plan to hand Commonwealth environment responsibilities to the states, signalling that he would move ahead of the recommendations of this year’s major independent review of our environment laws.
Victoria
Horror truth behind Melbourne’s beaches revealed [$]
Some of Melbourne’s most popular beaches are harbouring water so filthy it could make people sick.
New South Wales
Liddell closure may slash power bill savings in NSW [$]
Reductions in electricity retail prices projected for most households over the next three years could be much smaller in NSW unless more generation is added to help replace Liddell.
The climate has changed – and so must we
Simon Richardson
We in Byron, like so many Australians, have a connection to our coast and beaches that touches our very soul. So, it hurts to watch our community suffer.
South Australia
One year on from SA’s bushfire crisis, is the state more prepared?
The first anniversary of the deadly bushfire crisis that engulfed the Adelaide Hills and then Kangaroo Island is, for the communities involved, a time for reflection but also for reckoning.
Tasmania
Glamorgan Spring Bay Council defers decision on Buckland Walk Trail for third time
A decision on the ‘contentious’ Buckland walking trail in a riparian zone, which went ahead without planning approval or detailed engineering drawings, has been deferred for the third time.
Northern Territory
$10m power plan for Jabiru just the start
A plan to save Jabiru will take another step in 2021 with the start of upgrades to the electricity network of Kakadu National Park’s biggest town
Western Australia
Spud king joins recycling charity push
More than 80 million drink cans, bottles and cartons have avoided landfill or becoming litter because of the Containers for Change scheme — but it’s not just the environment that is better off.
Land council says permit-free fishing will continue after notice ‘blindsided’ industry groups
The Northern Land Council denies it intends to restrict the access commercial and recreational fishers have to significant stretches of the Northern Territory coastline within weeks.
Sustainability
Global coal demand peaked seven years ago, says International Energy Agency
As China restricts imports of Australian coal, the International Energy Agency says global coal demand peaked seven years ago.
Predicting what’s in store for 2021 on climate, energy, and the economy
With 2021 on the near horizon, and growing optimism that the end of the COVID-19 pandemic could be close, much of the world’s attention should again be turning to the ongoing climate crisis.
Will rising temperatures make superweeds even stronger?
If heat is boosting many weeds’ resistance to major herbicides, the implications could be significant. Left unchecked, weeds can devastate harvests and income.
Camels are dying due to plastic pollution
Camels are dying in the United Arab Emirates due to ingesting plastic. A new study shows that 1% of camels in the region are dying for this reason.
An Indigenous practice may be key to preventing wildfires
For thousands of years, North American tribes carefully burned forests to manage the land. The future may lie in a return to that past.
5.7B sunflower sea stars have died in past decade, bringing species to brink of extinction
New data has pushed the sunflower sea star onto the critically endangered list — one step away from extinction.
European rivers are stuffed with barriers, but a movement grows to remove them
There’s more than one barrier per mile on average in Europe’s rivers, which chokes off life in these critical arteries. But public awareness is sparking calls to take out small dams, weirs, and ramps.
As minister and activists trade barbs, Madagascar’s forests burn
Forest fires are blazing across Madagascar, including in its protected areas, home to some of the world’s rarest species, from critically endangered lemurs to hundreds of endemic snails.
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