Post of the Day
‘Good ideas, good work and good luck’: Australian grassroots campaigners on how they got it done
From town hall meetings to QR codes and crowdfunding, three environmental campaigners share the practical tips that helped make their work effective
Today’s Celebration
Feast of Saint Nicholas of Flüe – Switzerland
Ecological Observance
National Public Lands Day – USA
Climate Change
Low-lying nations have been demanding greater climate action at the UN this week
The United Nations General Assembly this week has heard desperate pleas for greater action on climate change from a raft of vulnerable nations.
Can astronomers limit climate change?
Can astronomers mitigate climate change? This is what Leiden astronomer Leonard Burtscher and his colleagues discussed at the annual meeting of the European Astronomical Society. For the second year in a row, the meeting was online.
Global climate strike: thousands join coordinated action across world
Rally to demand government action on climate crisis is first worldwide since start of pandemic
Young global climate strikers vow change is coming – from the streets
Mass youth protests to hit more than 1,400 locations weeks before Cop26 climate summit.
In ageing Germany, the young get desperate over climate
In one of the world’s most aged countries, some young people are resorting to drastic measures to voice their frustration at politicians’ failure to tackle climate change.
Sri Lanka to cease building coal-fired plants, aims to be net-zero emitter by 2050
Sri Lanka will cease building new coal-fired power plants and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said in an address to the United Nations International Energy Forum on Friday.
National
Josh Frydenberg publicly backs 2050 net zero emissions target, Barnaby Joyce gives tacit support
The government is inching closer to accepting a target to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050, with its most senior Cabinet member so far publicly backing a commitment.
Australia and India strike deal on low-emissions technology
Clean energy was among the topics discussed by the two leaders in their first face-to-face meeting since the pandemic started.
‘Good ideas, good work and good luck’: Australian grassroots campaigners on how they got it done
From town hall meetings to QR codes and crowdfunding, three environmental campaigners share the practical tips that helped make their work effective
IMF urges Australia to tighten controls on industrial polluters
IMF Australia mission chief Harald Finger says given Australia is not using a carbon price to drive down greenhouse gases, it should toughen the rules around industrial emissions.
Former fire chief calls for paid firefighting reserve to fight mega blazes
Australia must rethink how it battles bushfires supercharged by climate change, says Greg Mullins, who was the commissioner of Fire and Rescue NSW for 14 years until 2017.
Barnaby Joyce’s ‘net zero’ move irks Nationals [$]
The Deputy Prime Minister’s shift faces resistance from colleagues, who warn that time is running out to assess the impact of net zero on rural people and industries.
Growing calls for net-zero emissions [$]
Liberal MPs, superannuation fund chiefs and business leaders are calling on Scott Morrison to commit to net-zero emissions by 2050 and raise ambition on 2030 targets after Josh Frydenberg warned there would be economic consequences if Australia was perceived to be a climate laggard.
Records smashed again on Australia’s grid as renewables share reaches 61.7 pct
As state energy ministers met to discuss the future of the grid, records tumbled again with renewables reaching a share of 61.7 per cent.
Turnbull and Forrest push “green only” hydrogen, dismiss carbon capture
Former PM Turnbull and mining billionaire Andrew Forrest launch new body to advocate for green only hydrogen sector, both slamming CCS as a failure.
An encounter with a wedge-tailed eagle filled me with awe and a sense of danger
Georgia Angus
Birdwatching reminds Georgia Angus of the importance of appreciating our non-human co-inhabitants of this big spinning rock
Net zero target will smooth carbon exit [$]
AFR editorial
Europe is showing what happens when there is no orderly path from old to new generation.
Energy ministers to rethink contentious rule changes, as Schott moves on
Giles Parkinson
Ministers push “coalkeeper” and “solar stopper” reforms to one side in major win for supports of a rapid clean energy transition.
Morrison and Joyce need to follow the trillions shifting to zero emissions
Michael Mazengarb
Regardless of whether Morrison and Joyce can come to a deal, investors are already shifting trillions of dollars in preparation for net zero.
Barnaby Joyce falls (sort of) into step for the ‘net zero’ march
Michelle Grattan
The Coalition brigade is assembling, readying for the final march to a place it once regarded as enemy territory and poisoned ground, too dangerous to approach.
As Frydenberg peddles net-zero, it’s still all about… coal [$]
Bernard Keane
The Morrison government’s climate policy recipe calls for lots of voter delusion but just a dash of political reality.
The exorbitant cost of getting the Nationals on board with net zero [$]
Kishor Napier-Raman
Barnaby Joyce is the biggest roadblock to Australia committing to real climate action. But perhaps he could be persuaded…
New South Wales
Changes to Snowy Hydro route please some, leaves others ‘sick in the guts’
TransGrid refines the footprint for the HumeLink project in southern NSW that will connect the $5 billion expanded Snowy Hydro project to the grid.
Anabranch to see water once again
Water is being released down the Darling-Anabranch in Far West New South Wales today for the first time since 2017.
Conservation group takes high-tech timber hub DA to court [$]
A $14.5 million hi-tech timber optimisation hub will deliver jobs on the far south coast but a conversation group is worried about logging native forests in Eden already suffering from the fires.
Broken Hill is about to get a 50MW big battery to support wind and solar
AGL gets planning approval for a 50MW battery at Broken Hill, but its fate may still depend on network and storage choices by Transgrid.
What’s floodplain harvesting and why should we care? [$]
John Hanscombe
Bill Ashby is pumping the last of the water out of the homestead pool.
‘Seismic and exciting’: Sydney’s COVID-given chance to dump the CBD
Elizabeth Farrelly
Working from home is an opportunity to reimagine the modern city,
ACT
Canberrans captivated by local wildlife during lockdown
Stories from the last weeks of lockdown would lead you to believe that wildlife have overrun the national capital.
Queensland
‘Thought bubble’: Miles sceptical about Clive Palmer’s outback power station
Deputy Premier Steven Miles says Clive Palmer’s plans for a new coal-fired power station in outback Queensland might be just a “thought bubble”.
Carbon sinks bubble up the dollars for state’s rural economy
Queensland farmers have a new, lucrative, high-volume, but invisible crop within their reach, where the opportunities seem ripe for the picking in a carbon constrained world.
Clean energy now a home loan lure
Suncorp will use clean energy as a lure for more business by offering a $3000 cashback to home loan borrowers who have solar installed.
Adani prepares to export first coal as final piece of puzzle arrives [$]
Trains destined to haul coal from mining giant Adani’s Carmichael project have arrived in Queensland, marking the final piece of the puzzle for the resource to be exported.
South Australia
One of Australia’s longest-running native title claims now over
The Barngarla people are granted native title over the city of Port Augusta during a ceremonial sitting of the Federal Court at one of their most significant meeting places.
The ‘glitzy Glenelg’ development that has the Fleurieu fired up [$]
A multimillion-dollar plan to spruce up the foreshore of a popular seaside holiday spot has stirred a passionate response from some locals with no interest in becoming a tourist hub.
Tasmania
Neuron Mobility will provided the e-scooters in Launceston and Hobart
Electric scooter operator Neuron Mobility will provide e-scooters to the City of Launceston as part of a 12-month trial due to begin later this year.
Local businesses want a slice of the hydrogen fuel pie
Clean energy providers are preparing for a hydrogen energy boom after the state government announced it would trial up to three hydrogen-fueled buses over five years.
Wildlife killed in RSPCA scheme [$]
RSPCA Australia has privately conceded its certification scheme for Tasmanian salmon allows the deaths of dozens of seabirds and seals each year, and the use of explosive “crackers” against seals.
Northern Territory
Could feral Northern Territory buffalo be our new beef?
Is it possible Top End Buffalo could be our next wagyu? One Northern Territory producer says they have all the ingredients to be top-notch eating meat.
Western Australia
‘Reputation shredded’: Investors warned off backing Woodside’s Pluto
Woodside wants $US3b from selling down Pluto LNG to ease the financial burden of its $US12b Scarborough investment, but environmental groups are mobilising to thwart the deal.
WA’s zero emissions targets soon to be set, but big polluter may be left off
The move is a rare sign of significant action on greenhouse gas emissions from the McGowan government since it sided with the gas industry in March 2019 to quash an EPA proposal for all new large projects offset all emissions.
Sustainability
What’s behind coking coal’s massive price boom?
Metallurgical coal for steel-making has hit a new price record, with trade bans and supply interruptions hampering China’s mills.
New commitments at UN energy summit major stride towards affordable and clean energy
New multi-billion-dollar commitments to increase renewables and access to electricity and clean cooking technologies were announced today at a critical UN energy summit aimed at boosting efforts to reduce the ranks of nearly 800 million people living in energy poverty while setting the world on a trajectory towards net-zero-emissions by 2050.
Electric trucks could handle millions of short-haul routes across North America
Half of U.S. truck routes cover less than 100 miles. Recent road tests of a bevy of battery-powered trucks show they’re ready to take over.
A story 300 million years in the making, from its beginnings as prehistoric rotting plants to the world’s dirtiest little fuel.
The myth of regenerative cattle grazing
The purveyors of “grass-fed” beef want you to believe that it solves meat’s environmental problem. But this is merely a branding exercise, not a climate solution.
The Government of Nepal and development partners endorsed the landmark ‘Kathmandu Declaration’ yesterday to develop a strategic action plan for Nepal towards Green, Resilient, and Inclusive Development (GRID).
Maritime rope could be adding billions of microplastics to the ocean every year
The hauling of rope on maritime vessels could result in billions of microplastic fragments entering the ocean every year, according to new research.
Nature Conservation
Remnant forests struggle to survive amid oil palm plantations, study shows
Most forest trees that persist in areas dominated by oil palm plantations die before they can mature, a new study shows.
Jane Goodall launches effort in support of planting 1 trillion trees by 2030
Primatologist and conservation icon Jane Goodall has formally joined a global effort to counter climate change and the extinction crisis by planting a trillion trees within a decade.
—
return email, delete it from your system and destroy any copies.