Date: 21 August 2021 at 8:51:46 am AEST
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Aug 21
Post of the Day
More than one billion children at high risk of climate change effects, UN report says
A child takes shelter from rising water in the neighbourhood of Praia Nova in Beira, Mozambique on 22 January 2021. Source: UNICEF/UN0403973/Franco
The report says young people living in the Central African Republic, Chad, Nigeria, Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau are the most at risk.
On This Day
Ecological Observance
Climate Change
More than one billion children at high risk of climate change effects, UN report says
A child takes shelter from rising water in the neighbourhood of Praia Nova in Beira, Mozambique on 22 January 2021. Source: UNICEF/UN0403973/Franco
The report says young people living in the Central African Republic, Chad, Nigeria, Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau are the most at risk.
The climate science behind wildfires: why are they getting worse? – video explainer
We are in an emergency. Wildfires are raging across the world as scorching temperatures and dry conditions fuel the blazes that have cost lives and destroyed livelihoods.
Developing nations push to define ‘unacceptably vague’ adaptation goal
South Africa is proposing a quantitative target for boosting resilience to climate impacts globally, but there are technical and political hurdles.
Siberia’s massive wildfires are unlocking extreme carbon pollution
The Siberian fires have released roughly as much carbon as Germany does in a year and sent plumes of smoke spilling over the North Pole.
Research turning up heat on climate change issues
“We are living in a new climate. What we’re seeing are not just extreme weather events we’re never going to have to deal with again. As the planet continues to warm, eventually we’ll reach a point where they’ll stop being extreme statistically and just become part of the new normal.”
National
Your power bill could rise by hundreds of dollars a year if this proposal goes ahead, analysts warn
Power bills could rise by more than double the carbon price if ageing power plants are paid to remain open, a report warns.
Social media ‘a threat’ to $1.5 billion aquaculture industry
Social media influencers are undermining consumer confidence in Australia’s emerging aquaculture industry by spreading “misinformation,” a peak fisheries body claims.
While humans battle COVID, a fungus is wiping out frogs
Scientists have identified the frogs most likely to become extinct in the next 20 years if more isn’t done to save them.
Britain steps up climate pressure on Australia
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has stressed the importance of ambitious emissions reduction targets to Scott Morrison.
Investing in technology to help renewables connect to grid
A new Morrison Government investment in technology will make it easier and faster for generation projects to connect to the electricity grid.
Oil spill: BHP cleans up its act as climate pressure mounts
Climate change pressure and the need to free up cash to push into green-energy minerals finally made a long-mooted tie-up between BHP and Woodside a reality.
Blowing smoke: Toyota’s emissions advantage splits sector
A stoush has developed among Australia’s car suppliers over the best way to track carbon dioxide emissions as competition between hybrids and EVs heats up.
US and UK keep climate pressure on Australia but Taylor says ‘look at the scoreboard’
Boris Johnson has used a phone call with Scott Morrison to urge him to commit to net zero emissions, while Angus Taylor has hit back at similar pressure from the US.
The great transition turns blue chips into green chips [$]
A big transition is under way in Australia’s biggest export industry, but the divestment trend could perversely expedite development of the nation’s fossil fuels.
After decades of trials, nearly $4 billion of taxpayer money has been spent on carbon capture and storage, and it’s still not at industrial scale. Proponents say they are close, and others say CCS must play a role to reach net zero.
SDG measurement and disclosure 3.0: a study of ASX150 companies
RMIT University
This report, led by an RMIT University research team and developed in collaboration with CPA Australia, provides an analysis of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) disclosure practices in 2020 by the top 150 Australian public-listed companies (ASX150) (by market capitalisation as at 1 July 2019).
Energy reforms are adrift and consumers and the planet will pay
Dan Cass
States have led on Covid-19 response, now they need to step in again to save the NEM reform process from the clumsy mishandling of the federal government.
“Households want gas?” Fossil fuel industry telling tales as it fights for its future
Tim Forcey
The fossil gas industry could plan to wind down as consumers move past fossil fuels. Instead, it has launched a (sometimes comical) public-relations offensive.
Victoria
Desperate call for climate actions
Media release courtesy of South East Councils Climate Change Alliance
Councillors from across Melbourne’s south east have called on Government to support their communities to take urgent action and protect them from the impacts of climate change.
Supporting pole-mounted battery trials in Melbourne’s south east
The Australian Government is supporting a trial of batteries mounted on power poles across Melbourne’s south east to help manage electricity from rooftop solar, and periods of peak demand on the network.
Infrastructure Victoria abandons contentious East West Link
The state’s independent infrastructure adviser has gone cool on the merits of the East West Link, a controversial road project still backed by the Victorian opposition and the Morrison government.
New South Wales
Stop the over-development of Blackwattle Bay
Opposition is mounting to the New South Wales state government’s proposal to demolish and redevelop Sydney’s historic Fish Market at Blackwattle Bay.
ACT
ACT bus and light rail trips fall in Canberra lockdown
Public transport use in the ACT has plummeted in the wake of Canberra’s Covid outbreak, as new figures reveal Canberrans are heeding advice to stay at home during the lockdown.
Queensland
Citizen scientists make ‘mind-blowing’ discovery of massive coral on Great Barrier Reef
A giant boulder coral, standing more than five metres tall and largest in diameter, has been discovered off the north Queensland coast.
Nightmare scenario for Queensland coal industry has just become a reality
The biggest threat to its Queensland coal projects and its 34,000 workers has just come to life.
Working from home throws spanner in works for major Brisbane transport projects
More than 70 per cent of people have told PricewaterhouseCoopers they would prefer to work from home two days a week in the future. What does that mean for mass transit projects?
South Australia
Wind farms face stiff penalties for SA blackout
The operators of four wind farms in South Australia during the 2016 statewide blackout face fines of $3.5 million in a proposed settlement for breaching national electricity rules.
National Park City judges ‘take into account’ Adelaide bid criticism
The UK selection body judging Adelaide’s bid to become a globally recognised National Park City will talk to park lands advocates who have criticised the move, saying community opposition could “potentially impede” the application.
Build this pool in the Torrens to make a splash [$]
A ‘natural pool’ in the River Torrens is exactly what South Australia needs to attract more people to our CBD, says Business SA.
Revealed: SA’s 50 most influential environmental champions [$]
Who’s who in the environment, wielding power and influence in South Australia? We reveal our list of the fifty most influential people in the sector.
Fears St Kilda under threat by rising salt water [$]
St Kilda residents are fearing for the future of their town, as rising salt water floods septic tanks and eats away at concrete.
Tasmania
‘Not helpful’: Industry fires back at Forrest [$]
The state’s salmon industry has launched a stunning rebuke at Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest’s calls for reform, saying the mining magnate “does not care” for industry workers.
Green hydrogen plant to produce up to $18bn for Tassie’s economy [$]
Billionaire Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest’s green hydrogen production plant proposed for Bell Bay would increase Tasmania’s economic output by billions, according to a new analysis.
Northern Territory
Water licence changes ‘could cost taxpayers billions’, advocates warn
Changes to the way the Territory’s water resources are managed that passed parliament last week are setting the government on a collision course with farmers and traditional owners, environmentalists have warned
Morrison ministers lobbied over Beetaloo Basin [$]
Mike Seccombe
The Morrison government has awarded $21 million to a fossil fuel company that helped draft the regulatory regime for the gas reserves it intends to exploit.
Guess who joined Angus Taylor on Empire-funded fracking gas trip to Beetaloo Basin
Michael Mazengarb
Gas company Empire Energy funded a trip for Angus Taylor and a range of prominent Liberal party figures and donors to its Beetaloo Basin project.
Jason Walls
For those who missed it, as part of the Territory Economic Reconstruction (TERC) Bill, the NT government made changes to the Water Act it says will provide certainty for businesses and boost investment as the Territory recovers from the trauma of a global pandemic.
Territory Labor’s energy policy has abandoned the battlers and appeased the wealthy [$]
Matt Cunningham
Territory Labor seems to have forgotten its roots when it comes to the NT’s energy policy, which has abandoned the battlers and appeased the wealthy.
Western Australia
WA ‘counter-terrorism police’ raid climate activists’ homes over chalk graffiti
The activists were charged with property damage and ordered to pay $2000 for writing slogans criticising oil and gas giant Woodside with chalk paint on a pedestrian bridge.
Exmouth Gulf needs ‘very high level’ of protection as a priority: environment watchdog
The findings from a report into the cumulative effects of development on the gulf puts industrial proponents and the state’s environment minister on notice.
No pardons on carbon for WA SMEs [$]
It’s not just the big end of town that needs to bolster its green credentials — small businesses will soon have to prove they are on track to be carbon neutral if they want to be globally competitive.
Kimberley Land Council: New heritage bill is skewed to the mining industry
A 400-strong protest organised by the Kimberley Land Council (KLC) on August 19 demanded the Western Australia government halt its Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act bill (ACH). Traditional Owners have not been consulted on the bill to replace the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 (WA).
Sustainability
Oil firms made ‘false claims’ on blue hydrogen costs, says ex-lobby boss
Chris Jackson believes companies promoted ‘unsustainable’ fossil gas projects to access billions in taxpayer subsidies
Millions of electric car batteries will retire in the next decade. What happens to them?
The quest to prevent batteries – rich in raw materials such as cobalt, lithium and nickel – ending up as a mountain of waste
Wind turbine swoosh “more annoying” at night, new study finds
New research finds “swoosh” sound made by wind turbines is likely to be more noticeable – and more annoying – to nearby residents during the night.
If children are to live with the climate crisis, we must green the curriculum
Meryl Batchelder
It’s clear to me when I teach that sustainability and the environment should be a thread running through every subject
The world is struggling, and tech can’t fix it
Shira Ovide
I’ve been having a crisis of confidence in technology. Not because of the harm that people and companies do with technology, but because tech may not matter very much when it comes to solving the world’s problems.
Two-time central banker on a crusade to turn industry green … gradually
Ticky Fullerton
Mark Carney is the only person to have ever run two central banks: in Canada, then England. After 15 months in the private sector he has a seat at the leaders’ top table as the world economy grinds towards net zero carbon emissions, with a sharp reckoning ahead at the COP26 meeting in Glasgow in October. And he looks forward to the arrival of Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
China will plant trees across an area the size of Belgium every year until 2025
Tree planting is a major part of China’s plans to bring carbon emissions down to net zero by 2060.
Hundreds of Cape Fur seals entangled in fishing lines and nets every year
Fishing line and nets are having a major impact on Cape fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus), the most common marine mammal observed around the coastline of South Africa and Namibia, where they are endemic.
Deforestation in Brazilian Amazon hits highest annual level in a decade
Rainforest lost 10,476 sq km between August 2020 and July 2021, report says, despite increasing global concern
Wildfires used to be helpful. How did they get so hellish?
Fires are supposed to reset ecosystems, paving the way for new growth. But human meddling and climate change have turned them into monsters.
‘It’s doomed’: Louisiana’s wildest parkland turns 100, likely won’t last another century
Rising seas, sinking soil, storms threaten Pass-a-Loutre, once the state’s ‘wickedest spot.’
Africa’s park tourism crash is a wake-up call. Can we find new ways to finance conservation?
Peter Muiruri
As Covid continues to curb visits to see our iconic wildlife, now is the time to move away from western-led funding models
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