Daily Links Oct 26

‘Net zero by 2050’ is not the main game, we’ll probably see by the numbers of consecutive extreme heats days this summer or in the next inventory of global biodiversity loss the nature of the main game. For all of the huffing, puffing and hot air from the Coalition over these last few weeks, to end up with an agreement ‘in support of a process towards’ caring for the future of humanity and all other species is reprehensible. Keith Pitt’s new position versus a process and the planet, what is your choice?

If you’re the sort of person who can’t get enough climate news you should have a feast today.

Post of the Day

The world is nowhere near to kicking its dirtiest habit

Thomas Biesheuvel and Samuel Dodge

Never in human history has a tonne of coal cost more. Governments and utilities across the globe are willing to pay record sums to literally keep the lights on. That’s the bruising reality that global leaders must face at the high-stakes climate talks in Glasgow this month as hopes fade for a deal to end the world’s reliance on the dirtiest fuel.

 

On This Day

October 26

 

Climate Change

UN warns world ‘way off track’ as greenhouse gases grow

Greenhouse gas concentrations hit a new record in 2020, the U.N. weather agency said on Monday, warning that the world was “way off track” for capping rising temperatures.

Key moments from decades of climate conferences

This year’s U.N. climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, marks the 26th time since 1995 that world leaders have gathered to confront global warming. But the realization that industrial activity was causing climate change, and discussions about what to do about it, began much earlier.

 

‘We are way off track’: Greenhouse gas concentrations hit record high in 2020

A report by the United Nations World Meteorological Organization showed carbon dioxide levels surged in 2020, despite a temporary dip in emissions during COVID-19 lockdowns.

 

Survey finds ‘climate anxiety’ rife in young people – video

A landmark survey has found about three in four young people feel anxious about their future, with 45 per cent of responds saying anxiety about climate change was affecting daily life.

 

‘We have left it too late’: COP26 unlikely to limit warming to 1.5C, scientists warn

Scientists say a target of 2C of warming will be nearly impossible to reach unless the world commits to reaching net zero emissions even sooner.

 

Climate finance for poor countries to hit $100bn target by 2023, says report

Annual target going unmet has endangered developing nations’ trust in Paris deal, say experts

 

Boris Johnson says chances of Cop26 success are ‘touch and go’

PM urges firms to reduce use of single-use plastics and dismisses recycling as ‘a red herring’

 

Urban areas across the US are undercounting greenhouse gas emissions

Methane emissions from the distribution and use of natural gas across U.S. cities are 2 to 10 times higher than recent estimates from the Environmental Protect Agency, according to a new study from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). In Boston, methane emissions from the natural gas system are six times higher than recent estimates by the Massachusetts DEP and have not significantly changed in eight years, despite legislation aimed at repairing leaks in natural gas pipelines.

 

Tiny microscopic hunters could be a crystal ball for climate change

Tiny unicellular creatures called protists could keep greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere by gobbling up bacteria that emit CO2, researchers say. Now, a Duke University-led study finds that a few simple measures of a protist’s size and shape can be powerful predictors of how they might respond to global warming themselves.

 

Clues from the ancient past can help predict abrupt climate change

Climate ‘tipping points’ can be better understood and predicted using climate change data taken from the ancient past, new research shows.

 

As it happened: our experts answered your questions about crucial climate summit Cop26

Fiona Harvey, Professor Saleemul Huq, Lucy Siegle, Hannah Martin, Professor Mary Gagen and Damian Carrington answered your questions on Cop26

 

To sustain humanity COP26 must lead on both climate and biodiversity

David Shearman

A recent UN Biodiversity Conference set the task of “putting biodiversity on a path to recovery is a defining challenge of this decade.”

 

The world is nowhere near to kicking its dirtiest habit

Thomas Biesheuvel and Samuel Dodge

Never in human history has a tonne of coal cost more. Governments and utilities across the globe are willing to pay record sums to literally keep the lights on. That’s the bruising reality that global leaders must face at the high-stakes climate talks in Glasgow this month as hopes fade for a deal to end the world’s reliance on the dirtiest fuel.

 

National

Modeller used to attack Labor policies hired to “verify” Taylor’s net zero modelling

Consultant who produced modelling used to attack Labor Party climate policies hired to “validate” Morrison government’s net zero modelling.

Taylor refuses Senate order to release net zero modelling, says not in public interest

Taylor to reject Senate order to release the government’s modelling of a zero net emissions target for 2050, claiming ‘public interest immunity’.

“Scotty from Marketing” splurges $12.9m advertising climate policies

Scott Morrison spends nearly $13 million promoting uptake of renewables in Australia, mostly through policies his government tried to destroy.

 

Scott Morrison books in economic check-ups for regions [$]

The Productivity Commission will conduct five-year reviews assessing the economic impacts of a 2050 net-zero-emissions target on regional and rural communities under a climate change safeguard mechanism adopted by cabinet on Monday night.

 

Here’s what we know (and don’t) about the Nationals net zero deal

The deal between the Nationals and the Liberals to secure a net zero emissions by 2050 target is mostly under wraps, but this is what we know about it so far and when we’ll know more.

 

Labor accuses Nationals of trading opposition to net zero for extra cabinet position

Barnaby Joyce says ‘decision is settled’ as resources minister Keith Pitt – who opposed 2050 target – is promoted within Coalition cabinet

 

Boris Johnson hails Scott Morrison’s ‘heroic’ net zero policy

The British Prime Minister singled out political events in Canberra as a sign world leaders were beginning to take climate change seriously. 

 

Farmers fear that Australian climate inaction could jeopardise future export potential

For some Australian farmers, climate change is not just a moral or environmental issue – it’s an economic issue.

 

Energy spending, electric cars, cleaner fuel in Coalition’s emissions plan

Mammoth spending on new energy projects will underpin the federal government’s efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions to net zero levels by 2050.

 

Thousands of electric cars and home batteries are being recalled in Australia. This is what’s happening to the waste

Australians may have only just started buying electric cars and household batteries – but several product recalls are showing that a national plan for dealing with renewable energy waste may already be needed.

 

Delivering fit-for-purpose Murray-Darling Basin water markets

The Australian Government has announced a key appointment to help improve Murray-Darling Basin water markets and provide greater confidence to irrigators and communities.

 

$8.6 million for marine parks

The Morrison Government’s commitment to Australian Marine Parks and healthier oceans takes another step today with the opening of an $8.6 million round of Our Marine Parks Grants.

 

How life will change due to net zero target

There could be big changes to how Australians live thanks to the net zero by 2050 target — and they’re likely to happen very quickly.

 

Net zero detail thin on the ground among ASX 200

Australian investors are pushing listed companies for more detail on their carbon reduction strategies but more than 60 per cent of ASX businesses have not shared a net-zero emissions plan with their shareholders.

 

Australian voters rethinking immigration in wake of extended border closures, poll suggests

Issue remains divisive, but number believing levels are too high has dropped from 64% in 2018 to 37%

 

PM ‘won’t be lectured’ by other nations on emissions [$]

Scott Morrison has vowed to dodge international pressure on Australia’s 2030 emissions target, saying “we won’t be lectured by others who do not understand Australia”.

 

Barnaby Joyce can’t be trusted now, claims Labor [$]

Labor has condemned Barnaby Joyce as an untrustworthy advocate for a net-zero emissions policy given his previous criticism of the target, with the Nationals leader saying as recently as two years ago it would close down the coal industry.

 

Nuclear energy possible answer to net zero – video

Nuclear power is often a controversial topic but some believe it could be what Australia needs to meet its net zero by 2050 emissions target.

 

Australia v the climate part 2: CopenhagenFull Story podcast

After Kevin Rudd becomes prime minister in 2007 he decides to turn his full attention to helping the world tackle the climate crisis. But for all the work Australia puts in, the world takes a turn for the worst at the climate summit in Copenhagen. In the second episode in the series, we ask: what could happen if Australia decides to be a good global citizen on climate?

 

Offshore oil and gas guidance updates: have your say

Australia. Department of Industry

We are inviting industry feedback on guidelines and factsheets to support changes to the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006.

 

All pain, no gain: the full cost of the National Party’s climate stance

The Australia Institute

While it has been widely rumoured that the cost of securing National Party support for Scott Morrison’s commitment to net zero could be up to $20 billion in in budget spending for projects in National Party seats, the real cost of the deal is, according to an analysis of various recent climate change modelling done by Deloitte Access Economics (DAE), likely to be more than ten times that figure at around $210 billion.

 

The Liberals must call Nationals’ bluff on climate

Tim Thornton

The Morrison Government is widely understood to be held hostage on climate targets by National Party politicians in its ranks.

 

Australia’s stumbling, last-minute dash for climate respectability doesn’t negate a decade of abject failure

Lesley Hughes and Will Steffen

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is poised to announce Australia will adopt a target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The pledge is long overdue – but the science tells us 2050 is about a decade too late to reach net-zero.

 

The Morrison government is set to finally announce a 2050 net-zero commitment. Here’s a ‘to do’ list for each sector

Anna Skarbek and Anna Malos

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has finally struck a deal with the Nationals and is expected to take a pledge of net-zero greenhouse emissions by 2050 to the Glasgow climate conference. So what must Australia do to actually meet this target?

 

Billionaires taking action on climate change are part of a long tradition

David Tuffley

If governments won’t act quickly enough on climate change, who will?

 

Why 2030 is a bridge too near for climate culprit politicians [$]

Bernard Keane

Why is the government so reluctant to embrace a worthwhile 2030 emissions target, but happy to talk up big changes by 2050? Because 2030 is uncomfortably close for the current generation of ministers.

 

After a secret deal, Nats agree to net zero. Just don’t ask how much they’re getting in return [$]

Kishor Napier-Raman

Don’t be fooled: the Nationals haven’t given up fighting tooth and nail to support the fossil fuel industry.

 

The market will push Australia to net zero — even if our politicians won’t [$]

Richard Holden

Unstoppable forces, social and economic, will get Australia to net zero. But will the journey be smooth or wrenching?

 

Our environmental failures go further than net zero. They begin in our backyard

Euan Ritchie

It’s not just our inaction on climate change: our governments’ reluctance to listen to the experts or spend much-needed money on conservation has us doing other kinds of environmental damage too

 

Australia’s big miners have already left the government behind on climate change

Ian Verrender

Barnaby Joyce and his key lieutenants may have finally given in after months of internal bickering, but their decision to endorse a carbon emissions reduction target exposes a party increasingly at odds with its key constituents

 

Morrison gets his net zero deal but the likely billion dollar cost remains secret

Brett Worthington

The Nationals are either walking towards a compromise on net zero or away from what they’ve been saying in recent months. They’re just in no rush to say which it is

 

Net-zero detail

Rachel Withers

The Nationals are so proud of the concessions they have won for the regions that they are unwilling to share them

 

Building just and prosperous zero-carbon regions

John Wiseman and Linda Wollersheim

Australian and international successes highlight the key factors for accelerating just and well-managed regional energy transitions

 

Morrison’s big win over the Nationals looking more like a pyrrhic victory

Paul Bongiorno

On the face of it Scott Morrison has stared down Barnaby Joyce and heads to the Glasgow climate summit with his Coalition government locked into a net-zero emissions target by 2050. However, there are clear signs that was the easy part for the Prime Minister.

 

Barnaby’s net zero ‘ransom note’ outrageous – not just because of pork barrelling

Robert MacDonald

The National party’s eleventh hour deal to support net zero emisssions by 2050 highlights the Morrison Government’s lack of planning for a “just transition”.

 

PM: We must get the balance right on climate change

Scott Morrison

Governments have been brought down by climate policies, but the Coalition believes we have found a path for progress without pain.

 

Nationals each-way bet on climate a risky move

Canberra Times editorial

If Barnaby Joyce and his followers expect the thanks of a grateful nation for finally conditionally agreeing to net zero carbon emissions by 2050 before the Prime Minister leaves for Glasgow they are in for a wait.

 

In the company of despots

Peter Boyer

Having made an art form out of avoiding hard decisions, the Morrison government’s refusal to strengthen Australia’s very modest, out of date emissions target for 2030 is no surprise. 

 

Why net zero by 2050 is good but not good enough

Helen McGregor

The deeper the cuts now the better off we will be.

 

Are Australia’s emissions reduction commitments to COP26 a copout?

Bianca Hall

Environment reporter Miki Perkins joins Bianca Hall to discuss the COP26 Glasgow summit, and the urgency of the global push to limit warming to 1.5 degrees.

 

Will Barnaby Joyce be less ‘on board’ with net zero when he’s in the backblocks?

Michelle Grattan

Barnaby Joyce is finding the taste of his success in landing the net zero deal rather more bitter than sweet.

 

Australia can no longer afford to kick carbon adjustment down the road [$]

Warwick McKibbin and Frank Jotzo

As the world heads towards net zero at Glasgow, Australia’s fossil fuel-based economy has a lot to lose if the government misses the chance to get the transition policies right.

 

Barnaby Joyce opposed his party’s decision on net zero [$]

Phillip Coorey

Had Barnaby Joyce put his leadership of the National Party on the line over net zero, he would have been rolled.

 

A carbon path without pain [$]

Daily Telegraph editorial

Until this point, much of the debate about climate change in Australia has been big on vows but low on reality and detail.

 

Details of net-zero deal are needed now to win support [$]

Australian editorial

Scott Morrison deserves credit for holding his nerve and delivering a net-zero target for 2050 in co-operation with the Nationals.

 

Nationals’ 2050 target contortions extract net zero pork

AFR editorial

A giant taxpayer-financed slush fund for the junior Coalition partner now risks become part of the collateral damage and deadweight loss of the climate wars of the past 15 years.

 

The climate wars aren’t over yet — there are just new battlegrounds

Dennis Shanahan

Having the Labor Party and the Coalition both committed to a net-zero carbon emissions target by 2050 is not the end of the climate wars. Far from it.

 

Forestry needs a place in the climate debate [$]

Joel Fitzgibbon

The sector is good for the environment, good for jobs, and good for our economy. Why, then, does it receive little mention when we talk about climate change?

 

Our energy suicide note now on steroids [$]

Terry McCrann

It really is quite extraordinary – the way almost the entire political class has declared economic war on their own country and not just the current 26m Australians but all future generations as well.

 

A net-zero target means net-zero development [$]

Matt Canavan

A few weeks before the 2019 election, some publicans were having a beer over dinner in the small town of Clermont. They were discussing a front-page story that day, which reported that some people, in the “Bob Brown, Stop Adani” rally, had called Queenslanders rednecks and Nazis.

 

Big Australia myths leave locals in limbo [$]

Judith Sloan

Of all the public policy areas in which the views of ordinary folk are continuously trampled by the preferences of the political class and self-serving elites, immigration is surely the standout.

 

Barnaby Joyce is two-faced, and both lack the conviction Scott Morrison needs [$]

Paul Kelly

Barnaby Joyce is now a politician with two identities — as Nationals leader he supports net zero at 2050 but within the party room he opposes it.

 

The deal – cartoon

Cathy Wilcox

 

New South Wales

Australian low-carbon lithium processing tech aims for “sustainable” battery market

NSW start-up aims to establish a foothold in the massive global battery supply chain with its Australian made, low-carbon lithium processing technology.

 

How your beer could lower methane emissions, slow global warming

Young Henrys craft brewery, nestled in the heart of the hip suburb of Newtown, have teamed up with scientists to investigate if micro-algae can be used reduce methane emissions from cattle.

 

Two years ago this marsh was a barren wasteland, now it’s brimming with life

Drought and fire lay waste to Macquarie Marshes, west of Dubbo, but an annual birdlife survey shows the wetlands are now flourishing and the birds are coming back to breed.

 

NSW councils urged to allow land clearing [$]

NSW Emergency Services Minister David Elliott has strongly urged local councils in the state to allow residents in bushfire-prone areas to clear firebreaks around their properties, following revelations that some councils have ­refused to enact a new code designed to protect fire-ravaged communities.

 

Time for NSW to get a scoot on e-scooters

Stephen Taylor

A change of transport minister provides the opportunity to revisit the use of e-scooters.

 

Queensland

Traditional Owners distressed over plans for artefacts at Adani mine

There’s been calls for work to be stopped at the central Queensland mine over fears a culturally significant tool-making site will be destroyed.

 

Changing colours: Coal mining seats tell Libs they want to go green

A self-described ‘centre-right think-tank’ with deep ties to the Liberal Party has polled three coal and gas mining electorates in Queensland, extracting views that indicate a strong liking for clean energy industries.

 

Bold plan to turn Brisbane River from brown to blue now at risk [$]

A plan to turn the Brisbane River from brown to blue and improve the quality of local waterways is at risk due to a political feud.

 

‘Coal jobs well beyond 2040’: Net zero details revealed [$]

Despite senior Morrison Government ministers pledging that Queensland coal miners will have a job “well beyond 2040 and probably well beyond 2050”, regional MPs remain concerned about how the net zero plan will be received.

 

Queensland Nationals candidate Colin Boyce to campaign against net zero [$]

The Nationals candidate in the battleground central Queensland seat of Flynn, Colin Boyce, will campaign openly against the government’s net-zero policy.

 

South Australia

Solar meets more than 100 per cent of local demand in South Australia again

Solar meets more than 100 per cent of South Australia state demand again. Rooftop solar alone may also reach that benchmark anytime soon.

 

Parklands planning battle: What would change along the river [$]

Adelaide City Council is set to fight back against government planners trying to rush through big changes to riverbank zoning laws – see the details of what’s planned.

 

Renewables rollout bolstered by system ‘shock absorbers’ in South Australia

Five years on from South Australia’s statewide blackout, technology to further stabilise the energy grid has been successfully installed at two sites in the state’s north.

 

Tasmania

Tasmanian salmon company set for Brazilian ownership

Salmon giant Huon Aquaculture appears almost certain to become foreign controlled, after Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board green-lit a takeover plan from Brazilian meat-processor JBS.

 

Towards a climate-positive Tasmania: State’s 2030 net-zero target examined

Richard Eccleston and Lachlan Johnson

There is a growing consensus about the need for more urgent and aggressive climate action.

 

Tasmania’s transport and agriculture emissions must be reduced to maintain net zero target: UTAS [$]

Tasmania must set a clear commitment to reducing emissions from transport, agriculture and industrial processes to ensure it maintains its net zero status in 2030, a University of Tasmania report has argued.

 

Tasmanian Gas Pipeline wants Labor to help ‘save’ key unit

Tasmania’s energy security and its potential hydrogen power industry are under threat, a gas company is warning state MPs.

 

Carbon credits scheme set to expand across Tasmania [$]

Plantation forests across most of Tasmania will now be eligible under the nation’s carbon credits scheme.

 

Greens push to eliminate sawlog quota

Cassy O’Connor

In Greens private members time this week we’ll be moving to repeal the legislated minimum saw-log quota.

 

Northern Territory

Why northern Australia’s waters and islands need more protection

One of Australia’s most biodiverse hotspots is under threat from marine rubbish, overfishing and climate change. Now Aboriginal traditional owners and scientists are working together to find out how to better protect their whales, dolphins, turtles and other wildlife.

 

As selected NT Aboriginal custodians prepare to negotiate with major mining company, others are frustrated

After years of battle, negotiations to broker a deal between Aboriginal custodians and the McArthur River Mine are edging closer but one clan’s members have expressed frustration they will not be at the bargaining table.

 

Western Australia

Woodside unveils $1bn “clean” hydrogen plan based on gas, CCS and offsets

Woodside opts to base massive Western Australia “clean” hydrogen plans on gas, using offsets and CCS technologies to market it as net-zero emissions.

 

Split opinions over green credentials of Woodside’s new Kwinana hydrogen hub

Gas giant Woodside says a $1 billion hydrogen and ammonia plant will set WA up as a global clean energy powerhouse, as the Conservation Council of WA questions the project’s green credentials. 

 

Proposed mine wants to double its taxpayer loan but ditch promised port upgrade

The federal government’s NAIF will scrutinise its support for the proposed Thunderbird mineral sands mine following the announcement of a joint venture with a Chinese company and a significant change of scope

 

Sustainability

Chart: Offshore wind is poised for massive global expansion

Developer-announced commercial wind projects are booming in offshore waters around the globe, with China and the U.K. in the lead.

 

‘I’m melting, melting’ — environmentally hazardous coal waste diminished by harmless citric acid

— In one of nature’s unexpected bounties, a harmless food-grade solvent has been used to extract highly sought rare-earth metals from coal ash, reducing the amount of ash without damaging the environment and at the same time increasing an important national resource.

 

New research finds air pollution reduces sperm counts through brain inflammation

Researchers have long known that air pollution can increase the risk of disorders such as obesity, diabetes, and fertility, but they did not know the exact mechanism for how it can lead to these health conditions. Now, University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers have shown how air pollution reduces sperm count in mice by causing inflammation in the brain.

 

Nature Conservation

‘Natural infrastructure’ could save billions a year in climate crisis response

Planting trees and preserving mangrove swamps and wetlands are cheap and effective but overlooked, report says

 

Scientists reveal genetic secrets of stress-tolerant mangrove trees

Researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) have decoded the genome of the mangrove tree, Bruguiera gymnorhiza, and revealed how this species regulates its genes in order to cope with stress.

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