Date: 22 June 2021 at 8:48:25 am AEST
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Jun 22
Post of the Day
Within hours, three big changes may have heralded the end of Australia’s $300bn gas boom
It was meant to be a way out of the nation’s coal dilemma, but global climate change forces mean there are big questions about the gas industry’s very future.
On This Day
Ecological Observance
Climate Change
Founding of Indigenous Climate Action – podcast
In this episode, ICA’s Executive Director, Eriel, speaks to the first meeting that led to the formation of Indigenous Climate Action.
A bright future: Using visible light to decompose CO2 with high efficiency
To tackle the challenge of global warming, scientists have been looking into green and sustainable methods of breaking down carbon dioxide in emissions and in the atmosphere. Now, a group of researchers have developed a novel, easy to synthesize composite compound that enables the efficient use of solar energy to reduce carbon dioxide, taking us one step closer to achieving a green economy.
National
Barnaby Joyce says he is “humbled” to be elected by his National Party colleagues back into the top spot at a vote this morning.
Biloela, coal and climate change: How Barnaby Joyce could drastically shake-up the Coalition
Scott Morrison cannot expect the same smooth working relationship he had with Michael McCormack to continue with the return of Barnaby Joyce.
National to seek more control over climate policies after return of Barnaby Joyce
Barnaby Joyce will demand greater control over future climate change policy and push for more senior ministerial portfolios in a new pre-election Coalition agreement with Scott Morrison after ousting Michael McCormack as Nationals leader.
Guardian Essential poll: majority of voters fear Australia will be left behind on climate change
Poll finds 59% believe Australia needs to follow the lead of other countries and make action a priority
‘Batteries on wheels’: The smart-charging tech in garages needed to drive EV boom
One of Australia’s biggest power companies has called on governments to promote smart chargers in garages to prevent EV motorists from overloading the grid.
Within hours, three big changes may have heralded the end of Australia’s $300bn gas boom
It was meant to be a way out of the nation’s coal dilemma, but global climate change forces mean there are big questions about the gas industry’s very future.
Barnaby Joyce’s Nationals threaten to blow up any climate ambition, and it’s making life hard
Gabrielle Chan
The Nationals could shrink our markets for agricultural exports in less than two years
Return of climate wars brings Barnaby back [$]
AFR editorial
Climate populist Barnaby Joyce’s rehabilitation leaves the Nationals with little room to play a constructive role in shaping Australia’s transition to the new energy economy in the best interests of regional Australians.
Scott Morrison arrives at climate showdown after return of Barnaby Joyce [$]
Paul Kelly
The new Morrison-Joyce leadership team confronts a diabolical dilemma.
NSW shows the way forward on climate. With Barnaby back, don’t expect that on the national stage [$]
Bernard Keane
It’s less important who leads the Nationals than how they thwart climate action. But as NSW shows, it doesn’t have to be this way.
David Ritter
Greenpeace Australia Pacific CEO David Ritter reflects on the outcome of AGL’s recent law-suit against the charity and the widespread media coverage it generated.
Australia’s policy recipe for expensive and unreliable electricity
David Leitch
In 2021 we are learning that relying on a few old coal generators, owned by an oligopoly, makes electricity expensive and unreliable – and how AEMO and China aren’t helping.
Australia will likely adopt a net-zero target by COP26. It will be a bad target
Ketan Joshi
It doesn’t matter who’s leader of the Nationals – the Morrison government’s net-zero greenwashing narrative is already written and is very, very easy to predict.
Victoria
A waste dump that became so choked with rubbish it was declared a “catastrophic fire risk” is now halfway to being cleared as tough new “waste crime” laws give authorities extra powers.
Victoria in slow lane as NSW takes lead on electric vehicles
Victoria’s drive to get electric cars on the road has been left far behind by NSW’s plan to accelerate sales.
New South Wales
Could algal blooms in the state’s dry heart harbour a fatal disease?
Every month, Griffith resident Tania Magoci voluntarily collects urine samples of known sufferers of the motor neurone disease in her region and couriers them to Sydney seven hours away by road.
Coal boss declines role after ‘unjust’ backlash to university chancellor offer
Mark Vaile, the chairman of Whitehaven Coal, will not become chancellor of the University of Newcastle following intense criticism on his climate change credentials.
Small retailers welcome investigation into Snowy gas plant bidding practices
Smaller energy retailers welcome ACCC and AER investigations into potential market gaming by Snowy Hydro gas plant.
ACT
Indian myna birds declared as pest by ACT government
Indian myna birds have been labelled as a prohibited pest animal by the ACT government, in a move environmentalists have said will provide better protection to native species.
Queensland
Why Queensland’s money-making machines could end up costing us billions
Queensland’s energy companies, Stanwell and CS Energy are no longer the reliable cash cows they once were. Robert MacDonald examines the implications.
Olympics to reheat council push for underground Brisbane Metro station
Lord mayor Adrian Schrinner has raised capacity concerns over the above-ground design for his council’s flagship Brisbane Metro stations south of the CBD, after “settling” on the option with the state government last year.
South Australia
SA nuclear waste dump clears Senate hurdle [$]
The Federal Government is now expected to name Kimba as the site of the facility after a key vote in Canberra.
$40m ‘blue’ hydrogen plan for Katnook slammed [$]
A controversial gas plant is key to the nation’s hydrogen revolution according a Adelaide start-up, but a lobby group has hit out at the plan, saying it’s not green enough.
Tasmania
‘We’ll fight it all the way’: Aboriginal group lodges anti-cable car submission
Aboriginal Heritage Officers have lodged a joint submission with the Hobart City Council against the kunanyi/Mt Wellington cable car proposal, criticising the Aboriginal heritage assessment conducted by an interstate consultant.
A new national centre of excellence for forestry innovation which could create new industries will be housed in Tasmania if a new University for Tasmania proposal is successful.
University of Tasmania plans for $200m forestry centre supported by Launceston Council and Forico
Key stakeholders have come out in support of the University of Tasmania and the Australian Forest Products Association’s proposed $200 million forestry centre of excellence.
TMAG seeking advice on return of more ancient Aboriginal rock carvings taken from West Coast
The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery is preparing advice about the potential return of further Aboriginal rock carvings taken from the West Coast in the 1960s, in addition to those taken from Preminghana.
The proponent of the Lake Malbena tourism proposal says a Parks and Wildlife report mapping tourism-based flights over Tasmania’s wilderness areas shows that his venture would have minimal impact on wilderness values.
Tassie’s new hydrogen plant one step closer after deal at Bell Bay [$]
A company has struck a land deal at Bell Bay that could see the construction of what would be Australia’s first green hydrogen plant. P
Media release – Tasmanian Alliance for Marine Protection
Tasmania’s Primary Industry minister, Guy Barnett, has to go. If he won’t resign, Premier Gutwein should sack him.
Northern Territory
ICAC boss’s comments about whistleblower were ‘unwise’, NT Chief Minister says
NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner says critical comments made by anti-corruption boss Ken Fleming about a whistleblower were “unwise” given an active investigation is underway regarding a complaint about a conflict-of-interest matter within the ICAC office.
Western Australia
Federal government rejects plans for massive renewable energy hub
A major renewable energy project has hit a roadblock, with the federal government blocking the latest plans.
Global green energy hub in WA knocked back over toxic ‘dead zone’ risk
It’s not easy being green: a globally significant renewables project also represents a risk of continuous and catastrophic spills of a highly toxic ammonia mix.
Backlash over axed $48bn renewables plan [$]
A massive $US36bn ($48bn) wind and solar farm in the Pilbara is in limbo after federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley used rarely exercised powers to knock back the development plan.
Why is it raining in the middle of northern WA’s dry season?
A heavy band of cloud is producing unusual, out-of-season rain over parts of WA’s north — and forecasters say the climatic driver behind the phenomenon may just be getting started.
Sustainability
Iran initiates unexplained emergency shutdown of nuclear power plant
Iran ceases operation at the country’s sole nuclear power plant without explanation in the first emergency shutdown since the Bushehr reactor went online in 2011.
Green finance: sustainability funds fail to live up to their name
Sustainability funds hardly redirect capital to sustainable activities compared to conventional funds, according to a new study commissioned by Greenpeace Switzerland and Greenpeace Luxembourg, and published today.
Microbes and solar power ‘could produce 10 times more food than plants’
The system would also have very little impact on the environment, in contrast to livestock farming, scientists say
New EU rules would permit use of most polymers without checks, experts warn
Proposals would allow common plastics to be used despite valid concerns about possible harms, scientists say
Changes in farming practices could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 70% by 2036
Team used Argonne’s GREET model to simulate changes, predict outcomes.
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering used a Computational Fluid Dynamics model to find ways to decrease cost and increase usage of cooler surfaces. The paper, published in the journal Nature Communicat
7 cleantech segments beyond wind and solar that are luring investors
Investing in wind and solar is all the rage. But what other cleantech categories are catching the eye of investors in 2021?
New software for designing sustainable cities
By 2050, more than 70% of the world’s population will live in cities. Researchers have developed software that shows city planners where to invest in nature to improve people’s lives and save billions of dollars.
Scientists have used a compound made from a starch derivative and baking soda to help convert mechanical to electrical energy. The approach is cost-effective and biocompatible, and can help charge low-energy electronics like calculators and watches.
Ikea and Rockefeller foundations pledge $1B to seed distributed clean energy in developing nations
The funding seeks to empower 1 billion of the estimated 2.5 billion who lack access to reliable electricity.
Computers help researchers find materials to turn solar power into hydrogen
Finding materials that boost hydrogen production is a step toward competing economically with carbon-based fuels
Strategist who coined ‘climate change’ wants new name for capitalism
He’s the veteran American pollster whose advice led to the US government abandoning the term “global warming” and he’s got a new goal.
Global Climate and Health Alliance
In 2019, extensive forest fires in the Amazon followed by the worst bushfires in Australia in living memory, fires which raged for five months, sparked international concern. Both devastating events took place to a backdrop of wildfires recorded around the world in 2019 and 2020.
G7 Summit – uniting for a fairer, greener and prosperous future
Christian Turner
The G7 grouping of countries is an easy one to criticise. As someone who has attended several of these summits, I know well the risks of them becoming talking shops with wordy communiques that are forgotten the moment the ink dries.
Disaster looms as millions of solar panels reach use-by-date
Mike O’Connor
Millions of us thought we were saving the planet, but we’ve created a new environmental hazard.
Court rulings add pressure, but it’s the market that will drive fossil fuel giants to change
Paul Griffin
It might sound like the fossil fuel industry is on the defensive after a landmark court ruling and two shareholder votes, but how much power do these decisions really carry?
If we want to fight the climate crisis, we must embrace nuclear power
Bhaskar Sunkara
A powerful form of clean energy already exists – and it is far more reliable than wind and solar.
The pandemic has revived hope that a more sustainable world is possible
Jeremy Caradonna
Economic growth is inextricably linked to the climate crisis, but the past year has taught us that such growth isn’t essential.
Farm plan poses ‘catastrophic’ threat to Zambian park vital for fruit bats
Conservationists warn of impact on world’s largest mammal migration, key to seed dispersal across Africa
New oilfield in African wilderness threatens lives of 130,000 elephants
Tens of thousands of African elephants are under threat from plans for a massive new oilfield in one of the continent’s last great wildernesses, experts have warned.
Orchids, vultures and walruses: The rare species turning up in the UK
The arrival of rare species of plants and animals can be due to a variety of reasons, including natural fluke (it has been suggested the orchid seeds could have been brought up from Africa by the same air currents which bring Saharan dust to Britain), as well as the impacts of the climate crisis and human activity.
Smaller bodies, longer wings, earlier migrations: Untangling the multiple impacts of climate warming
When a University of Michigan-led research team reported last year that North American migratory birds have been getting smaller over the past four decades and that their wings have gotten a bit longer, the scientists wondered if they were seeing the fingerprint of earlier spring migrations.
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