Post of the Day
The climate emergency is here. The media needs to act like it
Ahead of Earth Day, the Guardian is partnering with newsrooms around the world in a joint initiative calling on journalists to treat the climate crisis like the emergency it is
On This Day
First Day of Ramadan – Islam (ends May 12)
Climate Change
Net zero emissions must be reached before 2030 for 2°C target, new analysis says
New analysis of climate projections finds carbon budgets are virtually meaningless, and the impacts of global warming have been underestimated.
As part of climate push, French politicians vote to ban short flights on routes covered by trains
The move is part of a broader climate bill that aims to cut French carbon emissions by 40 per cent in 2030 from 1990 levels
Ocean bacteria release carbon into the atmosphere
A team led by University of Minnesota researchers has discovered that deep-sea bacteria dissolve carbon-containing rocks, releasing excess carbon into the ocean and atmosphere. The findings will allow scientists to better estimate the amount of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere, a main driver of global warming.
World’s first study to evaluate greenhouse gas emissions from Chinese inland waters
As a primary greenhouse gas that drives global climate change, carbon dioxide emissions from inland waters play a key role in assessing the global carbon cycle. Researchers at the University of Hong Kong, together with global collaborators, have for the first-time, quantified CO2 emissions from streams, rivers, lakes, and reservoirs in China over the last three decades and compared two time periods: 1980s and 2010s, during which China experienced unprecedented environmental and socio-economic changes.
Human-induced drying trend in Central Asia since the 1950s
A new study shows that human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and aerosols in other regions of the world can also impact Central Asian precipitation and water resources by modulating the key atmospheric circulation.
The climate emergency is here. The media needs to act like it
Ahead of Earth Day, the Guardian is partnering with newsrooms around the world in a joint initiative calling on journalists to treat the climate crisis like the emergency it is
Greta Thunberg’s happy crusade
From a Stockholm safe house, the teen-age activist discusses her disappointment in Biden and Merkel, her new documentary, “A Year to Change the World,” and “Rickrolling” her Twitter followers and pranking her parents for April Fool’s Day.
Out of Trump’s shadow, World Bank president embraces climate fight
David Malpass, who was met with skepticism when he got the job in 2019, has become increasingly vocal about the risk of climate change.
Fighting climate change with venture capital is different this time
Silicon Valley got a black eye a decade ago when its big venture capital foray into expensive and nascent cleantech didn’t pan out—but its recently renewed interest in a wider scope of technologies that can tackle the climate crisis could be different this time around.
US-China summit in Alaska shows road to fighting climate change is paved with political minefields
Christine Loh
Is it possible for diplomats on the one hand to fervently criticise their counterparts and on the other hand, drop the animosity when it comes to dealing with climate change?
Racked with guilt and grief and climate despair – how do we go on!?
First Dog on the Moon
We are not surrendering! Just the opposite in fact, we are getting on with it despite everything
National
Michael Mann slams Murdoch press for “horrifying” misinformation on climate and bushfires
“The Murdoch media have spent decades poisoning both our political and literal atmosphere,” climate scientist tells media diversity inquiry.
Why is DFAT using US wind farm to promote Australia’s climate efforts?
Morrison government uses footage of a Californian wind and solar project while attempting to promote Australia’s climate efforts.
Australia’s main grid hits record renewables high of 56 per cent on Sunday
Australia’s main grid hits record share of renewables on Sunday, despite many wind and solar farms switching off to dodge negative prices.
Protecting our coral reefs: why this ethical sunscreen brand moved away from the big banks
Meet Tom Hiney and his partner Sacha Guggenheimer, marine biologists who are banking on a greener, more sustainable future, with their sunscreen brand that doesn’t harm coral reefs or ocean life
Cleanaway deal scrapped after French giants agree to merger
Cleanaway’s transformative $2.5 billion deal to acquire the Australian recycling assets of Suez has been binned after the French waste giant agreed to end hostilities with suitor Veolia and agreed to a merger.
BHP to ride EV, green power revolution as copper, nickel demand set to soar
Australia’s top miner expects demand for copper to double and nickel to quadruple on the accelerating rollout of electric cars, solar panels and wind farms.
Power grid can be rid of coal ‘without price rises, outages’
Eliminating coal from Australia’s energy system within 20 years would not significantly increase the risk of blackouts or price spikes, according to new modelling that counters the claim that coal-fired generation is key to ensuring affordable and reliable electricity.
Scott Morrison getting warmer on net-zero target with new climate tsar James Larsen [$]
Scott Morrison’s department has created a senior position to co-ordinate the government’s climate strategy and provide advice about emissions reductions, raising expectations within Coalition ranks that the Prime Minister will endorse a target of net-zero by 2050 within months.
Chart of the day: Coal mining relies on implausible growth forecasts
Ketan Joshi
Australia’s government has consistently forecasted rising coal exports, but the reality has been vey different.
Grattan’s grid report could do with plenty more ambition
Ketan Joshi
It doesn’t seem to be sinking in: Australia’s grid needs to be zero carbon by 2030 to align with a 1.5C temperature target.
Softly, softly on climate may deliver elusive results [$]
Australian editorial
The Morrison government is demonstrating a quiet determination to progress the nation’s climate change response through good process and considered action rather than grand gesture and public posturing.
Cheryl Durrant
Climate change is a hot topic in Australian security circles, as it poses an emerging threat to our national resilience and way of life. As a new report from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) last week warned, the federal government is unprepared to meet these challenges.
Victoria
Victoria’s getting a container deposit scheme, but there’s a battle over who should run it
Victoria will be the last Australian state to introduce a container deposit scheme, but there’s a fight between Coca Cola and the waste and recycling industries over how it will operate.
Council takes legal action to stop dumped spoil in Bulla
Hume City Council will take legal action against the decision to approve an amendment to the Hume Planning Scheme which will facilitate the use of the HiQuality site in Bulla to store contaminated spoil from the West Gate Tunnel Project.
Developers, heritage protectors line up over airport rail bridge plans
Plans to build a viaduct to carry Melbourne’s airport rail link within metres of a historic flour mill have alarmed developers and a leading heritage lobby group.
$24m to fix Orbost gas plant [$]
APA Group and Cooper Energy will inject $24m into the troubled Orbost gas plant, which continues to limit production from the Sole gas project in the Gippsland Basin.
Young penguins wash ashore in Victoria after weekend of hazardous coastal conditions [$]
From Warrnambool to Phillip Island, exhausted young penguins are washing up on beaches in Victoria after hazardous coastal conditions at the weekend.
Major problem to halt city’s most-used trams [$]
Delays are expected to impact passengers on multiple tram routes with authorities discovering a major problem with the city’s most-used trams.
‘Horrendous’ seas whip huge boulders across roads, leave family stranded
Strong seas have battered a Victorian town, sweeping huge rocks up to 30m from the coastline. The event has reignited concerns about the impact of climate change on ocean swells and coastal erosion.
New South Wales
Blue Mountains Council slashes carbon emissions by a quarter
Council reduced its 2019/20 operational carbon footprint by 25 per cent, compared to the 2015/16 base year.
Lessons learned from wildlife recovery group’s final report
Blue Mountains councillors received the final report from the Wildlife Recovery Mayoral Reference Working Group (WRMRWG), at the 30 March Ordinary Council Meeting.
Labor picks union official for byelection as polling shows support for moratorium on new mines
NSW Labor officials have endorsed the coalminer and union official as its candidate for the Upper Hunter byelection.
Leave our blue collar workers alone [$]
Mark Latham
A Liberal-Labor-Greens-union climate coalition wants to bring down NSW coal, despite the horrific consequences for Hunter Valley businesses and workers.
Queensland
Gold Coast to create its own ‘Central Park’ in city’s push for green space
The Gold Coast has begun the biggest park construction program in the city’s history to create its own version of New York’s famous Central Park and balance its rapid population growth with open space.
Battery technology firm gets $300m valuation from capital raising
A company with a potentially revolutionary battery technology has earned a notional value of $300 million after a capital raising.
Adani’s $1 billion loan still pending as SBI gets cold feet
Adani Australia is still waiting for India’s largest bank to approve a $US1 billion loan amid investor pressure over the Carmichael coal project in central Queensland.
Warning over political donors as minister rejects claim he favoured gas
An anti-corruption advocate is warning political donations are undermining public confidence in plans for a gas-fired economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
‘The future, now’: Solar-powered bus takes first passengers
An electric bus that runs completely on solar-generated power hit the streets of Brisbane on Monday after impressive performance in trials.
State’s super highway drives surge in electric vehicles [$]
Electric vehicle uptake in Queensland increased more than 140 per cent in a year as motorists took advantage of the state’s rapidly growing Electric Super Highway.
Katter power line would rescue Forrest’s struggling wind-solar farm [$]
Billionaire mining baron Andrew Forrest would be one of the beneficiaries of a $1.7 billion subsidised power line owned by MP Bob Katter’s close relatives.
South Australia
Green hydrogen will triple South Australia wind and solar output by 2030
South Australia could reach 200 pct renewables by 2030 in green hydrogen scenario, but the outlook not so rosy in other modelling by AEMO.
Hydrogen to Adelaide homes in just weeks [$]
The state’s hydrogen power rollout will start in May, with 700 southern suburbs houses to be heated partially with locally produced hydrogen at Tonsley.
Total fire bans set across nine South Australian districts for Tuesday
Total fire bans have been issued across nine South Australian districts on Tuesday, as “very strong northerly winds” are predicted to cause dangerous fire weather conditions.
SA to send recyclables to Sydney after fire at major Visy facility
Adelaide residents could be forced to store their own recyclables after a fire caused extensive damage to one of SA’s major recycling facilities, with councils also preparing to send material to Sydney.
Birds latest victim of St Kilda mangroves salinity disgrace [$]
Adelaide’s internationally significant migratory shorebirds could be the latest casualty of the St Kilda mangrove salt disaster.
Kimba waste dump push the latest chapter of SA nuclear legacy
Katherine Aigner
Decades after nuclear testing in outback SA, Indigenous people are again being affected by and excluded from a nuclear decision in their backyard.
Tasmania
Tamar sedimentation scientific report to be delayed until after the election
A scientific report into sedimentation management options in the upper Tamar will not be released before the election, despite it being expected in the first quarter of 2021.
Dr. Lisa Searle from the Bob Brown Foundation received a community corrections order
A Bob Brown Foundation protestor has been sentenced after being arrested at the Riley Creek mine site in takayna/Tarkine.
The wild fisheries sector was hard hit by COVID-19
Tasmania’s wild fisheries sector is set to reel in a $3 million catch if the Liberal party are re-elected.
‘Lake Malbena proposal would degrade 5,000ha of wilderness’
The Wilderness Society Tasmania has obtained, through a freedom of information request, a copy of the previously secret ‘wilderness quality assessment’ by the Tasmanian Government’s Parks and Wildlife Service.
‘Is it wilderness anymore?’ Details of Tasmania’s secret tourism proposals revealed
Tasmania’s major parties are being accused of turning the state into a “development wonderland” after documents reveal the state government has received dozens of proposals to turn wilderness areas into tourism developments. report raised concerns about a lack of appropriate documentation accompanying some proposals.
Western Australia
A tourist town in WA’s Midwest Coast is facing a marathon clean-up after the region was smashed by category three Cyclone Seroja.
Registrar ‘failed to save Juukan Gorge caves’ [$]
The traditional owners of Juukan Gorge have accused Western Australia’s Aboriginal sacred sites registrar of grossly misrepresenting what was known about the significance of the rock shelters before they were blown up by Rio Tinto.
Pressure builds on Woodside to shed its climate stance; expect AGM fireworks
Elizabeth Minter
Climate groups have repeatedly criticised Woodside over its climate denial over many years. Under heavy pressure from shareholders, will the company finally shed its laggard ways at its AGM on Thursday
Cyclone Seroja just demolished parts of WA – and our warming world will bring more of the same
Jonathan Nott
Tropical Cyclone Seroja battered parts of Western Australia’s coast on Sunday night, badly damaging buildings and leaving thousands of people without power. While the full extent of the damage caused by the Category 3 system is not yet known, the event was unusual.
Sustainability
Human hair can boost perovskite solar cell performance, new study finds
QUT researchers use human hair snippets gathered from Brisbane barber to create carbon dots and improve stability of perovskite solar cells.
One simple solution: why choosing less makes your life both greener and easier
From capsule wardrobes to veggie boxes to a carbon-neutral phone plan: here’s our list of the best eco-friendly hacks to help you live sustainably
Airborne plastic pollution ‘spiralling around the globe’, study finds
Rising levels of microplastic pollution raise questions about the impact on human health, experts say
Iran warns Israel it will take revenge after sabotage attack on nuclear facility
Iran blames Israel for what it says was a sabotage attack on its underground Natanz nuclear facility that damaged the centrifuges it uses to enrich uranium there, warning it will take revenge.
Having your desalination and eating it, too
A small-scale experiment shows that brine waste from desalination can be turned into fertilizer for hydroponic plants.
Why investing in fossil fuels is so tricky
Demand for oil and gas is rising, yet it is expected to decline in the future as the world responds to global warming. Where does that leave investors?
Driven by industry, more states are passing tough laws aimed at pipeline protesters
Bills to increase penalties for “impeding” the operations of a pipeline or power plant—in many cases elevating the offense to a felony—are pending in at least five states and have been enacted in 15 others.
Indian Point is shutting down. That means more fossil fuel
When the Indian Point nuclear power plant shuts, its lost output will be filled primarily by generators that burn fuels that contribute to climate change.
Solar and wind power could mitigate conflict in northeast Africa
Research from KU Leuven and VUB on sensitive geopolitical conflict around Ethiopian mega-dam
Road salts and other human sources are threatening world’s freshwater supplies
UMD-led study warns cascading effects of salts require coordinated management and regulation to avoid contaminating natural resources
Keeping livestock: Can we end the cage age?
Switch to cage-free alternatives for farm animals is possible, but only with appropriate supporting measures
Policy decisions will affect coastal communities’ risk more than climate change
Coastal communities face increasing danger from rising water and storms, but the level of risk will be more closely tied to policy decisions regarding development than the varying conditions associated with climate change.
Plastic planet: Tracking pervasive microplastics across the globe
Really big systems, like ocean currents and weather, work on really big scales. And so too does your plastic waste, according to new research from Janice Brahney from the Department of Watershed Sciences.
We resolve to continue the prince’s efforts to help secure a prosperous and equitable planet, write CEO of WWF-UK Tanya Steele and director general of WWF International Marco Lambertini
Thawing permafrost cools Arctic currents: This might affect fish stocks
A new study finds that thawing permafrost in Alaska causes colder water in smaller rivers and streams. This surprising consequence of climate change could affect the survival of fish species in the Arctic’s offshore waters.
Conservationists may be unintentionally spreading pathogens between threatened animal populations
Moving endangered species to new locations is often used as part of species conservation strategies, and can help to restore degraded ecosystems. But scientists say there is a high risk that these relocations are accidentally spreading diseases and parasites.
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