Date: 11 March 2021 at 9:03:42 am AEDT
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Mar 11
Post of the Day
It’s unavoidable: we must ban fossil fuels to save our planet. Here’s how we do it
Roland Geyer
Twice before, humanity has mitigated severe global environmental threats. In both cases we did this not with ‘cap and trade’ systems, taxes, or offsets, but with bans
On This Day
Laylat al-Mi’raj – Islam
Maha Shivaratri – Hinduism
World Day of Muslim Culture, Peace, Dialogue and Film
Ecological Observance
Climate Crisis Multi-faith Day of Action
Climate Change
Over 20 Minister Champions Call for Urgent Action in Lead-up to Energy Summit
Over twenty ministerial-level “Global Champions” from UN Member States have issued messages today calling for urgent action to achieve affordable, clean energy for all by 2030.
Is the ‘legacy’ carbon credit market a climate plus or just hype?
As major corporations look to buy carbon credits to offset emissions, critics are questioning the value of “legacy” credits from green projects that are a decade or more old.
It’s unavoidable: we must ban fossil fuels to save our planet. Here’s how we do it
Roland Geyer
Twice before, humanity has mitigated severe global environmental threats. In both cases we did this not with ‘cap and trade’ systems, taxes, or offsets, but with bans
National
More than 100 religious groups are calling on Scott Morrison to act on climate change
Dozens of religious leaders around Australia will join a global network of faith leaders on Thursday calling for greater action on climate change.
Government can’t say how many jobs its gas-led recovery will generate
The Australian government is unable to answer how many jobs its gas-led recovery will generate despite hyping and announcing the program more than six months ago.
Why the EU could make an Australian price on carbon redundant [$]
European manufacturers are already seeking out low-carbon supply chains to prepare for the possibility of an EU carbon border tax.
Record year for Emissions Reduction Fund
The Clean Energy Regulator’s latest Quarterly Carbon Market Report, released today, confirms a record 16 million tonnes of emissions reductions (Australian Carbon Credit Units or ACCUs) were credited under the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) in 2020.
Canavan: ‘Keep nuclear option open’ [$]
Queensland Senator Matt Canavan says Australia must keep nuclear as an option in the wake of the early closure of one of the country’s coal-fired power stations.
‘The most important business story of the last 100 years’
Beyond Zero tells the story of Interface and the company’s visionary founder Ray Anderson who led them on a quest to stop all negative environmental impacts by 2020.
Australia warned inaction on climate could sabotage European trade deal
Australian exporters to Europe are likely to face millions of dollars in new tariffs after the European Parliament votes to move forward with a carbon levy on products from countries lacking serious pollution reduction programs.
Cities at risk of becoming ‘unliveable’ as shrinking green spaces create ‘heat islands’
Most major Australian cities will be far hotter than forecast in coming years, as a lack of vegetation creates “heat islands,” especially in poorer areas, a new report warns.
Australia needs to embrace both Snowy 2.0 and batteries
Letters
Further to Murray Upton’s response (Letters, March 9) to Greg Pritchard’s article (“Snowy 2.0 defaces a national park”, March 2, p23), all I can say it is a vexed issue.
Coal’s retreat as renewables surge is a shock, but not a surprise
Nick O’Malley
The rise of renewables is killing off Australian coal energy faster than was foreseen, at once threatening supply certainty and cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
Power shift at the coalface leaves politics behind [$]
Jennifer Hewett
The closure of Yallourn is another signal that the Australian economy is decarbonising at a much faster rate than the political debate suggests. But the question is how messy the transition will be.
Ross Elliott
CBDs will probably have fewer people working in them than the previous 2016 Census, and this may last for some years. Should this be cause for alarm?
Australia’s coal collapse is coming, and Angus Taylor needs to get out of the way
Ketan Joshi
Yallourn’s early closure highlights a dawning realisation cropping up around the world – no grid needs coal. We can be rid of it quickly.
No amount of government subsidies can halt decline of gas
Bruce Robertson
Coal and the more expensive gas can’t compete against cheaper renewables, and the Coalition’s gas-fired subsidy scheme is wasted money on a declining industry.
Victoria
Decision on AGL gas hub at Cribb Point looms as unlikely alliance campaigns against the proposal
Groups opposed to a controversial floating gas terminal near an internationally-recognised wetland in Western Port are vowing to fight on even if the Victorian government approves the project.
Battery in, coal-fired power out as energy giant closes plant four years early
Energy Australia will close the Yallourn power station in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley in mid-2028, four years ahead of schedule, and build a giant battery instead.
Surprise coal plant closure fires Morrison government warning to industry
Private energy companies have been put on notice to replace power supplies that will be lost with the early closure of Victoria’s Yallourn coal plant, federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor has warned.
Yallourn exit could be fully offset by energy efficient Victorian homes
New calculations show the 2028 exit of Yallourn from Victoria’s electricity mix could be fully offset by home energy saving measures recently funded by the state government.
Locals shocked by Yallourn closure announcement [$]
The Latrobe Valley community has expressed its shock as locals stare down the end date for another power station in the region.
Yallourn power station: Fear of getting lost on way to new energy [$]
When Ashley Schoer was told the Yallourn power station would be closing in 2028, four years earlier than scheduled, his employer EnergyAustralia offered him no pathway from his job in old energy to the company’s new energy future.
‘These issues are global’: New NGV exhibit connects country and climate
Big Weather, a new exhibition at NGV Australia tells a big story: the sophisticated understanding of weather and climate within Indigenous culture and art.
Yallourn shutdown: Only shock is that it’s not closing earlier [$]
Perry Williams
EnergyAustralia’s decision to close Yallourn four years early had long been anticipated by the industry. The bigger surprise was that the date wasn’t brought forward even further.
New South Wales
Hopes NSW grant of $1.2m will ‘open door’ to finding cause of eucalypt dieback
Researchers know insects are eating the gums but they want to discover the underlying stressor leaving the trees open to attack
Fireplaces targeted in NSW green strategy [$]
The humble wood fire, as well as cars, are in the frame for an overhaul as the Berejiklian government ramps up its bid for green credentials.
The ministerial request that would clear 145,000 football fields of NSW land
More than 140,000 football fields of NSW land, including sections of national parks and state forests, would need to be cleared to adhere to a sweeping ministerial direction that was issued in the wake of the Black Summer bushfires.
Plans to divert Harbour Bridge cycleway set to be dropped after outcry
The state government is considering dropping a plan to divert a major cycleway at the southern end of Sydney Harbour Bridge through residential streets after community outrage at the proposal.
NSW ramps up energy efficiency targets in quest to save $2.4bn in energy costs
NSW government ramps up targets under its Energy Saving Scheme, that could deliver substantial energy savings for households and businesses.
Full cost of ‘expensive’ Warragamba Dam project unclear [$]
NSW Western Sydney Minister Stuart Ayres has defended a controversial proposal to raise the Warragamba Dam wall by 14m, admitting it would be “an expensive project” following reports costs could exceed $1.6bn.
National icon pays price of NSW policies of extinction
Letters
How unfortunate that NSW koalas will no longer be equal under the law.
Telegraph editorial
Kean will shortly present to cabinet a 10-year NSW Clean Air Strategy that couldn’t be greener if it was drafted by the Greens themselves.
John Barilaro reinvents himself after koala showdown
Alexandra Smith
Six months ago, many Liberals were hoping their NSW Nationals colleague John Barilaro would not return from mental health leave after his koala showdown with Gladys Berejiklian.
Queensland
Queensland’s turtles and whales to benefit from plastics ban
Australia’s leading ocean conservation group has congratulated the Queensland government for passing legislation to ban single-use plastics and save marine wildlife like turtles and whales.
Dam levels lowest since 2009 as authorities contemplate water restrictions
South-east Queensland residents are using less water than they were 12 months ago but still face a return to water restrictions if the region’s major dams do not get substantial rain in their catchments soon.
Labor heads to Qld coal country to woo back voters
Labor heavyweight Chris Bowen trip to Australia’s coal heartland on Thursday will be the first by a senior frontbencher to a Queensland coal mine since the 2019 election.
South Australia
How much yard space we need to be self-sufficient [$]
Most Adelaide residential blocks have the space to grow enough vegetables to feed the people living there, according to Adelaide Uni research.
Climate activists glue themselves to city street [$]
The Santos building was vandalised as climate change protesters glued themselves to a city street, causing major peak-hour traffic delays. Six people have been arrested.
Tasmania
Jobs to go as Hydro Tasmania announces restructure
Hydro Tasmania says around 5 per cent of its workforce will go in the next 12 months in a restructure of its operations.
Weeds Action Fund launches large grant applications
Nine weeds are in the firing line to be eradicated or be halted in their tracks under a new round of a funding program.
Western Australia
How will the Juukan Gorge inquiry impact the mining sector? – podcast
On this episode of Please Explain, national editor Tory Maguire and climate and energy correspondent Mike Foley discuss the impact of the Juukan Gorge destruction on the future of mining in Australia.
Sustainability
Nuclear tests exposed almost the ‘entire population’ of French Polynesia to radioactivity
About 110,000 people were infected as the French carried our nuclear tests from 1966-1996, but only 63 have been compensated.
Are we on track for a green recovery? Not Yet
One year from the onset of the pandemic, recovery spending has fallen short of nations’ commitments to build back more sustainably.
Shipping industry proposes ‘moonshot’ fossil fuel levy
Proposed levy, backed by nine governments, would raise funds for developing zero-carbon ships
Online forum: the need for good hydrogen
Did you know that hydrogen can not only generate energy, but can be used to store energy from the likes of solar and wind farms? But, perhaps more importantly, did you know that there is blue, grey, green and even white hydrogen?
What’s the carbon footprint of lab-grown meat?
Cultivated meat is supposed to help mitigate the emissions of our meat-filled diets. But how much better is it?
It’s time to reshape the food pyramid to save the climate
New agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack should change the dietary recommendations to include more plant-based food.
Ten years after Fukushima, Japan remains ill-suited for nuclear power
Roger Pulvers
“Those who go in search of mummies will become mummies themselves.”
So goes the Japanese proverb that has proved prescient in at least one case.
Humans throw away too much crap. It has to stop
First Dog on the Moon
If you bought it, it’s yours and you should be able to get someone to mend it whether it is a tractor, a phone or a trebuchet
How a greasy, smelly mix of chicken and Vaseline fools predators into ignoring an easy meal
Grant Norbury didn’t anticipate his ecology career would see him squirting blobs of stinky concentrated chicken goo from a syringe and spreading it over rocks with a gloved finger. But the greasy paste helps nesting birds hatch more chicks.
Norilsk Nickel pays Russia $2.5 billion in damages over Arctic oil spill
The environmental cost of a massive oil spill in Russia’s Arctic region may continue to be felt for decades but the company responsible has now paid out $2.5 billion to Russia for the damage it caused.
How global sustainable development will affect forests
Global targets to improve the welfare of people across the planet will have mixed impacts on the world’s forests, according to new research.
Peter Banks and Catherine Price
Animals, including humans, depend on accurate information to navigate the world. But we can easily succumb to deliberate misinformation or “fake news”, fooling us into making a poor choice.
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