Post of the Day
Callum Foote
In the tradition of Coalition environment ministers, Sussan Ley has knocked back a large renewable energy project while waving through three new coal mines. Callum Foote reports on a government ministry which has found more renewable projects “clearly unacceptable” than coal mines.
On This Day
Conferment of Guruship to Guru Granth Sahib – Sikhism
Ecological Observance
Arbor Day – Czech Republic
Climate Change
One person is displaced every second by our warming planet. Where will they go?
Rising sea levels, fires, floods and other natural disasters are leaving people with no choice but to move away from their homes.
Alien landscapes and collapsing homes as Siberia’s permafrost thaws
The old airport in the Siberian settlement of Churapcha has been unusable for years, its runway transformed into a swampy field of puffed-up mounds and reliefs. Like cities and towns across northern and north-eastern Russia, Churapcha is suffering the consequence of climate change thawing the permafrost on which everything is built.
Under2 Coalition moves to become ‘net zero coalition’
Today the Under2 Coalition – the world’s largest subnational climate leadership group – has announced its transition to become a ‘net zero coalition’ by 2050.
Ahead of global climate talks, public development banks join forces to boost investments
Responding to an urgent call to increase financing for the world’s poorest farmers who are hardest hit by climate change, a group of Public Development Banks (PDBs) stepped up their commitment to accelerate green investments in agriculture during today’s Finance in Common Summit.
COP26: Antarctic and Southern Ocean maritime protections chance for instant climate credibility’ [$]
World leaders could claim immediate “credibility” for commitments at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow by agreeing to major maritime protection areas promoted by Australia in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, international activists say.
NASA turns technology back toward Earth to focus on climate change
After decades of gazing into space, NASA is turning its technology back toward Earth to study the effects of drought, fire and climate change on the Blue Planet.
To strike a climate deal, poor nations say they need trillions from rich ones
Industrialized countries were already struggling to pay earlier commitments to help with clean-energy development and other infrastructure needs. Now the cost of buying cooperation has skyrocketed.
Path to net zero tougher without major carbon capture investment, watchdog warns
Carbon capture aims to take the emissions from fossil fuel power plants or industrial processes like steel or cement production and to remove the carbon dioxide before it enters the atmosphere, reducing or even eliminating the impact of the economy’s most important sectors.
One minute to midnight: only fresh thinking can tackle climate and biodiversity crises
David Shearman
The world’s biodiversity will continue to is deteriorate even if temperature rise was arrested. The question for the Glasgow summit is whether our emission-driving economic system can respond.
Climate change is a national security issue, but not in the way Scott Morrison imagines
Jeff Sparrow
Global heating and conflict are fundamentally linked. Without peace, there will be no climate action
Boris ‘Bertie Booster’ Johnson serves up climate baloney for breakfast
John Crace
PM forces Bill Gates and other investors to stomach a net zero speech peppered with recycled gags
The Guardian view on UK net zero strategy: not tough enough
Guardian editorial
The plan to decarbonise Britain must be welcomed. But in key areas it falls short
To fight the climate crisis, banks must stop financing factory farming
Kari Hamerschlag and Christopher D Cook
Public development banks are directly undermining UN and Paris climate goals by channeling billions of taxpayer dollars into multinational meat corporations
The EU wants to lead by example, but we are prepared to take more action if necessary
Michael Pulch
The evidence is clear. In August, the world’s scientists concluded once again that immediate action is needed. Climate change is uncomfortably close to all our daily realities no matter where in the world we live
Eco Living Festival: Jonica Newby speaks about climate grief
Jonica Newby
I’d never heard the term ‘climate grief’ until I fell victim to it in 2018.
Explainer: Net zero and the big questions at the heart of the heated climate debate
Dan Jervis-Bardy
It is the buzzword in federal politics and beyond. Net zero. But what does it actually mean, and why is it important?
How one US senator could sink Biden’s climate agenda and COP26
Matthew Knott
With Biden’s climate legislation at risk of collapse in Congress, the US President’s ability to deliver on his emissions reduction target is in serious doubt.
Children deserve answers to their questions about climate change. Here’s how universities can help
Gabi Mocatta and Chloe Lucas
Our children are growing up in a volatile climate. It’s already damaging their health, wealth and well-being. Universities can be leaders in helping young people gain the knowledge they need to navigate this uncertain future.
Nathan Cooper
Last week’s formal recognition by the United Nations Human Rights Council that the right to a healthy environment is an essential human right has been heralded as a historic victory for environmental protection and an important step forward for the world’s most vulnerable people.
National
Nationals still deciding on net zero 2050 climate target
Barnaby Joyce says he remains cautious and cynical about a net zero 2050 target, but concedes Scott Morrison has Liberals’ support for the commitment.
Don’t boost climate deniers: scientist
News media organisations as well as Facebook and Twitter have been urged not to amplify the voices of those opposed to science.
Federation ‘ill-equipped’ to deal with 21st-century challenges as Australia grows ‘vulnerable’
With Australia failing on energy security and its climate change response while simultaneously facing regional security issues, 250 academics and retired defence leaders are calling for a new approach to make it more resilient in an increasingly hostile world.
Minister has ‘almost no’ emissions control [$]
Australia’s environment minister has ‘almost no control’ over global greenhouse gas emissions, a court has been told as the government battles a climate change ruling.
‘Overlooked’: 14,000 invertebrate species lost habitat in Black Summer bushfires, study finds
Scientists say the animals are vital to ecosystem and true number affected is probably far higher
Lack of support for emissions reduction target will ‘punish farmers’, NFF tells Nationals
Party’s final proposal on net zero expected to go to cabinet and joint party room early next week
PM assures that net zero is an economic positive, while Nats debate coal price
Scott Morrison is trying to end a damaging policy split that could last into next week, as key Nationals insist on more time to put forward their demands for regional jobs.
‘Absolutely come’: Billionaire ‘Twiggy’ Forrest calls on Xi Jinping to attend climate summit
Australia’s richest man also accused politicians of perpetrating a “cruel” hoax on voters by resisting the clean energy transformation.
‘Lead by example’: Former UN chief says Morrison must do more on climate
Former world leaders say Australia must step up its 2030 emission reductions targets to do its fair share on the global push to tackle climate change.
Ban Ki Moon and former Ireland President Mary Robinson urge Scott Morrison to transition away from coal.
Fossil fuels face grim future if China, Japan meet climate plans
The future of regional-based fossil fuel exports is grim according to the RBA, creating headaches for the Nationals.
Drastic plastic: Study reveals the major culprit in polluting our beaches
The overwhelming amount of rubbish on Australian beaches is plastic.
Indigenous cultural heritage ‘at risk’ until new protection laws pass
Inquiry committee chair Warren Entsch says he struggled to find any Indigenous cultural sites that are being adequately protected under current laws.
The green wars: Nickel stoush between BHP and Andrew Forrest heats up
Copper and nickel are the new black of environmentally sought after commodities. BHP and Andrew Forrest are chasing one small Canadian company sitting on both.
“Unlawful” ARENA regulations destined for court, after further failed repeal attempts
The failure of fresh attempts to cancel out Angus Taylor’s much criticised ARENA regulations means a court challenge will be the likely next step.
How the Aussie lawn could help us get to net zero [$]
Australians mowing their lawns could be the secret weapon in the quest for net zero. This is what a farming expert says we need to do.
Aussie farmers create lush carbon-negative farm [$]
An Aussie farm has rejected conventional farming to create healthier cattle and a more drought-resilient property that’s carbon-negative.
Net-zero hour as Nats urged to take the nuclear option [$]
A maverick Nationals senator has warned his colleagues they must be open to nuclear power if net-zero is to become a reality.
Greens vow election climate blitz on Liberals and Labor [$]
Greens leader Adam Bandt says Labor must adopt a minimum 50 per cent emissions reduction target by 2030 or “run the risk of fighting the last election and getting the same outcome”, warning the Great Barrier Reef will be destroyed if ambitious medium-term goals are abandoned.
Scott Morrison on the verge of locking in net zero by 2050 target – Please Explain podcast
Chief political correspondent David Crowe joins Bianca Hall to discuss the Morrison government’s long and arduous path to net zero emissions by 2050.
Looking behind News Corp’s climate conversion
Gabi Mocatta
Australia’s Murdoch media is now campaigning to cut emissions by 2050.
Hot air: Why Morrison’s plan for net-zero emissions is all destination and no map
Dennis Atkins
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been talking a good game about his intentions for the Glasgow climate change summit, but the style far outweighs the substance.
Net zero push meaningless without bolder 2030 target
Letters
Scott Morrison is trying to claim that voters are not in favour of a 45per cent cut to emissions by 2030 by saying voters rejected Labor’s embrace of this target at the last election. That’s a fair stretch
The leopard has not changed its spots
Letters
Age readers have their say on the Liberal Party’s negotiations with their coalition partner over climate change policy.
Protection of Indigenous heritage sites needed
SMH editorial
A federal inquiry into mining giant Rio Tinto’s destruction of the rock shelters at Juukan Gorge in May last year has revealed glaring gaps in state and national laws.
PM’s climate shift is overdue but welcome. Now he needs to do more
Age editorial
The Coalition’s preference for politicking over policymaking has again left the nation’s future hostage to the politics of spectacle.
Aussies farmers make the best beef and make carbon pay [$]
Alasdair MacLeod
Aussie farmers are leaders in finding solutions to climate change by capturing and storing carbon in the soil – putting us on a path to net zero.
Water shortfalls mean we can’t wait for 2050 [$]
Chris Barrie and Ian Dunlop
Net-zero emissions by 2050 will be sold as the success story of the Glasgow climate conference next month, but this may be at the expense of commitments for deep emissions cuts this decade that are of primary importance in preserving human and global security.
PM must go nuclear before Glasgow trip [$]
Terry McCrann
The PM must make an aggressive bi-partisan commitment to nuclear power in Australia before he goes to Glasgow promising an ‘utterly stupid’ net zero emissions target.
After Glasgow, climate pain will zero in on Albanese [$]
Australian editorial
The likely prospect that the Morrison government will settle on a net-zero carbon emissions target for 2050 without strengthening its near-term 2030 ambition for the Glasgow summit presents a serious problem for the ALP.
PM navigates between right and left [$]
Paul Kelly
The contours of Scott Morrison’s climate policy transition seem apparent – net-zero emissions by 2050 is done and dusted as the new benchmark, the Nationals will finish with truckloads of concessions and the Prime Minister is turning the climate debate into an economic debate.
Flashback 2015: Coal comfort: The atomic emasculation of Malcolm Turnbull
David Donovan
Australia’s inability to formulate effective climate policy is the result of voters continuing to elect maladroit political leaders.
The crucial work of indigenous rangers
Margaret Ayre et al
New research explores the work of Yolŋu Indigenous Rangers in North-East Arnhem Land to understand their crucial contribution of Indigenous cultural and natural resource management
Rachel Withers
Barnaby Joyce acknowledges that a net-zero target is cabinet’s call. But what exactly is their mandate?
Violent anti-vaxxers are wrong. But can their tactics hold any lessons for climate activists? [$]
Jim Malo
Climate change’s promise of death and destruction is violence, so why shouldn’t its victims be violent in self-defence?
Matt Canavan’s mining cosplay and Twitter trolling are setting him up for reelection [$]
The LNP senator doesn’t need Australians to love him — in fact, he’s counting on the opposite.
Callum Foote
In the tradition of Coalition environment ministers, Sussan Ley has knocked back a large renewable energy project while waving through three new coal mines. Callum Foote reports on a government ministry which has found more renewable projects “clearly unacceptable” than coal mines.
Johanna Nalau and Hannah Melville-Rea
The need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is widely discussed, but the other side of climate action is less often talked about: adapting to impacts already locked in. Even if we drastically reduce emissions, the cost of natural disasters in Australia will reach an estimated A$73 billion per year by 2060.
Victoria
Hazelwood Power Station’s last boiler house demolished [$]
The last remaining boiler house at the shuttered Hazelwood Power Station has been demolished, crashing to the ground in a cloud of dust.
Residents at risk from new gas terminal proposal
A well attended online forum shows the growing community concern against plans for a new gas terminal project in Corio Bay.
Victoria seeks to “de-risk” corporate PPAs, reduce barriers
Andrews government launches consultation into whether an online platform could remove some barriers to PPAs and bring businesses and renewable developers together.
New South Wales
Parks at risk of commercialisation, sell-offs
A coalition of groups are organising to protect parklands in Greater Sydney that are under threat from a new bill that aims to privatise land and buildings.
Queensland
Credit where it’s due: NQ scheme pays farmers for not damaging the reef
The waterways of north Queensland are rewarding farmers who reduce their fertiliser run-off with a new income stream.
Tasmania
Tasmania’s not-for-profit sector has urged the government to rethink its proposed model for a long-awaited 10-cent container refund scheme, fearing they will lose potential revenue to a monopoly waste company.
At 12:00pm Friday October 22 several protesters will take a last bite and start a 7-day hunger strike, Hungry for Climate Action at Parliament House lawns, nipaluna/Hobart.
Northern Territory
Deadly ‘ghost nets’ increase in Gulf of Carpentaria despite years of clean-ups
Study author calls for coordinated efforts to remove discarded fishing nets before they reach threatened marine life in gulf’s ‘high biodiversity region’
The Australian Institute calls for NT govt to abandon ‘integrity-free’ draft emissions offset policy
In a scathing submission, one of Australia’s most influential think tanks says the NT government’s proposed emissions offset policy appears aimed at facilitating fracking in the NT rather than reducing emissions.
Western Australia
Not all farmers are happy with the Nationals’ climate stance
A group of Western Australian farmers are leading calls for the Nationals to commit to ambitious climate targets ahead of an international summit.
‘I’m doing this out of my heart’: the fight for clean water in one remote WA Indigenous town
Community leader Patricia Riley’s daughter drank tap water while pregnant, only to be told it contained unsafe levels of nitrate
WA allows Kimberley fracking export to unlock ‘supergiant’ gas basin
Deputy Premier Roger Cook talks of a “green energy vision” for WA while his department tries to unlock the Kimberley for more gas exploration by allowing gas to be exported.
Juukan: A (pragmatic) way forward
NIT editorial
It is with a heavy heart that we contemplate the final 345-page tome of the Federal Parliamentary inquiry into the Juukan Gorge tragedy.
Sustainability
People should drink way more recycled wastewater
Filtration technology produces water so pure, it would actually harm you if they didn’t put minerals back into it.
The nightmare of India’s tallest rubbish mountain
The “mountains of garbage” dotting India’s cities will soon be replaced with waste treatment plants, Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised earlier this month.
Biden promoting environmental destruction and human rights abuses in new bills
Jay Lehr and Tom Harris
By now, many people are aware of the mass slaughter of wildlife caused by industrial wind turbines. They are nothing less than bird and bat-killing machines that will drive some species to extinction.
Rebecca K. Runting et al
Nations must work with their neighbours to manage and protect species and human rights. An international environmental deal called the Escazú Agreement shows what’s possible.
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