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5 ways climate change will affect plants and animals
Warming temperatures, stronger storms and rising seas present a cascade of challenges that researchers are racing to understand.
On This Day
Ecological Observance
Climate Change
Nearly 90 countries join pact to slash planet-warming methane emissions
Nearly 90 countries have joined a U.S.- and EU-led effort to slash emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane 30% by 2030 from 2020 levels, a pact aimed at tackling one of the main causes of climate change, a senior Biden administration official said.
German coalition parties mull more debt to super-charge climate fund
The three German parties working to form a new coalition government are discussing higher federal borrowing next year to allow a one-time, multi-billion-euro injection into the government’s climate investment fund, two sources told Reuters.
How to follow climate health news at COP26: a handy guide
Remy Shergill from the Climate and Health Alliance has compiled a helpful guide to COP26 for those with an interest in health, and has even gone so far as to calculate time differences.
Sir David Attenborough tells world leaders he has witnessed a “terrible decline” during his lifetime, but the 95-year-old is confident that humans, “the greatest problem solvers to have ever existed on Earth”, can oversee a “wonderful recovery”.
‘The Earth is speaking’: Young Amazonian activist’s powerful climate warning at COP26
Two young women – Txai Surui from the Brazilian Amazon and Samoan Brianna Fruean – have delivered striking speeches during the opening of the United Nations’ COP26 climate summit.
Water and Climate Coalition Leaders: we need urgent, integrated action
Water is on the frontline of climate change and top adaptation priority
Doomsday talk of digging our own graves, but can any of these people save our planet?
World leaders have turned up the heat and resorted to end-of-the-world rhetoric in an attempt to bring new urgency to sputtering international climate negotiations.
Scott Morrison meets with ‘dear friend’ Narendra Modi at Cop26
After a series of frosty encounters at the G20 summit in Rome, Scott Morrison has finally found a mate at Cop26.
Global project empowers 80 states and regions to plan for net zero future
One promising development we’ve witnessed since COP25 is an increasing number of countries announcing net zero emissions targets. Combined, these pledges currently account for more than half of global emissions.
What is ‘net-zero’? And 12 other climate buzzwords
As climate change discussions take center stage in Glasgow, here’s a primer on some of the jargon you’re likely to hear a lot.
How shaving half a degree off global warming targets could lessen the effects of climate change
Keeping a 1.5 C limit on global warming ‘within reach’ is one of the key goals of the ongoing United Nations climate summit. That’s the lower of two targets in the Paris Agreement on climate change. But why two targets? What’s the difference in terms of impacts? Are both reachable? Here’s a closer look.
Boris Johnson ‘cautiously optimistic’ but Biden slams China’s ‘big mistake’
In his final speech to the climate summit, Biden said Xi Jinping had “lost the ability to influence people around the world” by not coming to Glasgow.
World leaders announce plan to make green tech cheaper than alternatives
UK, US and China among countries representing two-thirds of global economy to agree to push green energy and cars
Climate change will cut corn yields by a quarter by 2030, NASA says
Rising temperatures and shifts in rainfall will make it harder to grow corn — a staple in global livestock rations — in areas like the Americas, west Africa and China. And the production cuts are occurring sooner than expected versus past studies.
‘You can shove your climate crisis up your arse’: Greta Thunberg sings at Cop26 – video
Climate activist Greta Thunberg had some choice words for the world leaders inside the Cop26 conference in Glasgow.
Does a green deal at Glasgow mean a green light for a growing China?
Jacob Helberg
If the US — and the world — concedes too much to China, it may not be able to stand up to Beijing as conflict intensifies.
COP26: a four-minute guide by a climate scientist
Richard Hodgkins
COP26, which is taking place in Glasgow, is the latest in a series of meetings through which the world’s governments attempt to deal with climate change.
The science everyone needs to know about climate change, in 6 charts
Betsy Weatherhead
With the United Nations’ climate conference in Scotland turning a spotlight on climate change policies and the impact of global warming, it’s useful to understand what the science shows.
Humanity is compressing millions of years of natural change into just a few centuries
Dan Lunt and Darrell Kaufman
Many numbers are swirling around the climate negotiations at the UN climate summit in Glasgow, COP26. These include global warming targets of 1.5℃ and 2.0℃, recent warming of 1.1℃, remaining CO₂ budget of 400 billion tonnes, or current atmospheric CO₂ of 415 parts per million.
COP26 snapshot: Carbon Market Institute
John Connor
Day one of COP26 has concluded with the main development being India’s commitment to net-zero emissions by 2070 and stronger 2030 targets for renewable energy and carbon intensity. This means 84% of global carbon dioxide, 93% of coal use and 75% of gas is covered by net-zero pledges, which will only expand and accelerate over time.
The PM says Australia’s made a safe bet on fixing climate change. World leaders aren’t buying in
Melissa Clarke
While Australians put their money on horses today, Scott Morrison had a wager of his own: An each-way bet that $20 billion in technological investments will either fix the climate crisis, or at least convince other nations Australia is doing enough.
The Guardian view on China and Cop26: do not despair
Guardian editorial
Despite Xi Jinping’s absence in Glasgow, Beijing is taking the climate crisis seriously. It must still go much further
Pacific islanders aren’t just victims – we know how to fight the climate crisis
Brianna Fruean
We are resilient in the face of worsening floods and drought, but refuse to accept more failures from world leaders
We are in Glasgow to demand justice for those most affected by the climate crisis
Bernard Ewekia et al
The Rainbow Warrior has brought us to Cop26 to speak up for the sidelined citizens of the global south. We can’t be ignored
We need radical policies to reach net zero. Here’s a fairer way to do them
Polly Toynbee
A personal carbon allowance was first proposed a decade ago – but leaders haven’t been brave enough to take up this idea
COP26, a grotesque mix of rent seekers, hangers-on and political wannabes
Bevan Shields
In Glasgow, world leaders are only a small slice of a climate carnival best described as part-trade fair and part-public relations opportunity.
Fighting fires at home, Xi Jinping makes a two-way bet on climate
Eryk Bagshaw
Xi Jinping has spent the week working from home, telling his colleagues at the Rome and Glasgow summits that he was “delivering concrete actions”, while quietly trying to put out a fire in his backyard.
Can selective breeding of ‘super kelp’ save our cold water reefs from hotter seas?
Cayne Layton and Melinda Coleman
Australia’s vital kelp forests are disappearing in many areas as our waters warm and our climate changes.
Hot air dissipates to reveal the reality: it’s a fix for business [$]
Graham Lloyd
After all the hoopla, COP26 is over almost before it began. World leaders who did attend are jetting out of Glasgow, leaving the UN climate talkfest to peter out over the next two weeks into a green-tech trade fair cum environmental jamboree.
World needs climate policies before targets: Warwick McKibbin
Ticky Fullerton
For more than two decades as prime ministers were mowed down by climate change politics, Warwick McKibbin has been carefully modelling climate risk and solutions for the government and international agencies such as the IMF.
Xi’s inaction turns globalisation into global warming [$]
Adrian Blundell-Wignall
The true dividend of welcoming of China into the global economic order is a climate catastrophe. The dilemma is what the US and Europe can do about this at COP26.
Great carbon transition must commit to leaving no one behind [$]
Pru Goward
The market sees carbon neutrality as a profitable opportunity. But the greatest costs will be borne by those least able to make the transition.
National
‘Big’ or ‘measly’? Scott Morrison comes to Glasgow bearing gifts, but not everyone’s happy
Scott Morrison pledged hundreds of millions of dollars in climate finance and new steps in the government’s controversial plans for carbon offsets through the Pacific, talking up moves in Glasgow he claimed would make a “big difference” in our region.
Worries linger after PM’s Glasgow address
Scientists and climate action campaigners say Scott Morrison has done nothing to reassure the world that Australia has an achievable and responsible plan to tackle climate change.
Australia reacts to deforestation pledge
Conservation and farming groups are digesting the impact of a pledge by Australia to halt and reverse deforestation and land degradation by the end of the decade.
Carbon offsetting: does it actually work?
In February, Prime Minister Scott Morrison made a speech at the National Press Club and used his strongest language to date to imply that net zero by 2050 was likely to become government policy. “Our goal is to reach net zero emissions as soon as possible, and preferably by 2050,” he said.
Unexplained gas funding timeline a ‘very dark day for the Commonwealth’, Federal Court judge says
Lawyers for environmental advocates question whether the federal government fast-tracked an agreement to provide funding to a gas company in a bid to hinder legal action challenging the grant.
Government backs carbon capture technology despite it being ‘three times the cost’ of renewables
The federal government is relying on carbon capture and storage to help it meet its 2050 emissions targets – a trial proposed on Queensland’s Western Downs could decide whether that plan will work.
Can Australia parlay “dumb luck” of mineral riches to lead world in battery recycling?
Australia has all the minerals needed for battery storage, does it also have the nous to be world-leading, end-to-end battery supply chain?
‘Clean up our own backyard’: Australian miners ramp up plans to cut carbon emissions
Fossil fuels are fast losing favour in Australia as some of the country’s biggest miners shift to a greener business model.
The Australian bushfire survivor taking on Scott Morrison at the Glasgow climate summit
Jo Dodds knows what it is like to be on the climate change frontline, so she went to COP26 to pressure governments into doing more about the crisis.
‘Leave it a better place’: How tourism can help combat climate change
Tourism operators might be hoping for a return to normal but a sustainable tourism expert says there is an even better option.
The three climate claims these experts want Scott Morrison to stop making
Rising bills, jobs losses, and “meeting and beating” targets are three of the federal government’s oft-repeated reasons why it won’t pursue stronger climate action. But some experts and campaigners in the field say the statements don’t tell the whole story.
How Australia’s response to climate change looks abroad
Australia is ranked the worst out of developed nations when it comes to emissions per capita. How do the young climate activists from other countries rate our climate policies?
Low-cost solar added to Australia’s technology plan
The Morrison government has set a goal of producing solar electricity at a third of today’s costs under an updated technology plan.
Conservation and farming groups are digesting the impact of a pledge by Australia to halt and reverse deforestation and land degradation by the end of the decade.
The coal and gas works, if approved, would result in a nearly 30% increase in emissions within Australia
Australia’s next mining boom could be ‘green’ as race to net zero intensifies
Investors are betting the push away from fossil fuels to clean energy will drive a boom in demand for Australia’s supplies of copper, nickel, lithium and cobalt.
We can and must do more on climate: Oxfam
Oxfam Australia Chief Executive Lyn Morgain reacts to the Australian Government’s COP26 announcement on climate finance: “The Australian Government’s lack of ambition at COP26 is gravely disappointing. Without a credible 2030 target, we have no way to prove our commitment to doing our fair share to limit catastrophic warming. And critically, our contributions to support our neighbours in the Pacific and other hard-hit nations through climate finance are still inadequate.”
Climate Change Authority joins new International Climate Councils Network
The Climate Change Authority, on the opening day of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, has joined climate councils around the world in announcing a new collaboration: the International Climate Councils Network (ICCN).
Refining our technology-led approach to emissions reductions
The Australian Government has released its Low Emissions Technology Statement 2021 (LETS 2021).
Australia and Fiji partner on high integrity carbon offsets to reduce emissions
The Morrison Government has welcomed Fiji as the first international partner to join Australia’s recently established Indo-Pacific Carbon Offsets Scheme.
Australia looks like a climate laggard, as other countries ramp-up efforts
Michael Slezak
The government is confident Australia will cut emissions by more than 26 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, but data shows our ambition is insufficient by almost any measure.
Sarah Boulter
One of the four main goals of the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow is how the world adapts to protect communities and habitats. And in Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s policy hand luggage is a new adaptation plan for Australia.
Trying to duck the climate fight has made the next election harder for the Coalition
Graham Young
They have ducked the fight, and now find themselves exposed in the run-up to a federal election to the taunts of their friends, as well as their foes.
Q&A: COP26 and great expectations
Jacqueline Peel and Don Henry
COP26 climate crisis talks have begun in Glasgow and Australia has a lot to lose, facing sustained criticism of its climate targets and lack of regional action
The EU is about to put Australia back on the emissions hook with a carbon tariff
Peter Martin
A carbon tariff is a carbon tax applied to exports from countries like Australia that don’t have one. And Europe is planning to impose one, whether our politicians like it or not.
Australia could become a net negative emissions economy. The technology already exists
Frank Jotzo
To understand our opportunities and pressure points we need an open, inclusive, genuine process
Scott Morrison address to COP 26
Scott Morrison
There is cause for optimism as we gather here.
Who would have guessed that Bill Gates and JB-HiFi had the answers all along
Dennis Atkins
Scott Morrison has had his four minutes on the Glasgow stage. He didn’t tell the COP26 delegates about his JB-HiFi solution but Dennis Atkins has done a shallow dive into the PM’s latest wading pool of policy.
BHP’s exit from thermal coal would be gift wrapped for COP26
Elizabeth Knight
What a nice symbolic bow BHP would tie if over the next ten days it could sign the sale contract for the last of its thermal coal mines, while world leaders take centre stage on climate in Glasgow.
Net zero can’t be reached by magic, but there are ways to ease the pain
Ross Gittins
Only a fool would believe we can avoid pain by doing nothing.
PM needs to tell a good story, not just a strong climate plan
Rebecca Huntley
Scott Morrison talked about technology at COP26 while other leaders expressed passionate concern about the wellbeing of future generations and people living today.
Leadership starts with listening
Peter Boyer
It’s clear the federal government doesn’t take climate change seriously, but hearing delegates to the UN climate summit in Glasgow describing his attitude as “appallingly irresponsible” and “rank cowardice”, prime minister Scott Morrison must now know the world is moving against him.
The Miraculous Australian Way! – cartoon
David Pope
Victoria
Wild horse culls to go ahead in Alpine National Park
Court approves long-delayed plan to tackle increasing damage to unique alpine ecosystems.
Fight to save roos from ‘extinction’ [$]
Thousands of kangaroos are set to be culled across Victoria in an operation that’s been described as putting the animals at risk of being “shot to extinction”.
NSW government seeks offers for renewable hydrogen hubs
NSW seeks expressions of interest in new renewable hydrogen hubs as it seeks to roll out up to $3 billion in government support.
ACT
Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee should use her trip to the UN climate conference in Glasgow to lobby the federal government for more ambitious action to limit climate change, Chief Minister Andrew Barr said.
“Remarkable:” South Australia reached 100 pct renewables nearly every day in October
Wind and solar reached 100 per cent of more of local demand in South Australia in every day in October, bar two.
Attorney-General owns land ‘across the road’ from forest impacted by port decision, committee hears
A former managing director of the company behind a proposed port on Kangaroo Island tells a parliamentary inquiry Attorney-General Vickie Chapman should have excused herself from the decision-making process.
Santos, Beach commit to $220m Moomba carbon capture project
South Australian oil and gas companies Santos and Beach Energy will push ahead with their $220 million Moomba carbon capture and storage project in the state’s north-east.
Whyalla in pole position for hydrogen, and ‘very profitable’ [$]
GFG Alliance executive chairman says the company’s Whyalla operations are hitting records in steelmaking and mining, and says the city has a bright future in hydrogen.
I’m a developer … keep people like me away from the parklands [$]
Theo Maras
Even though he’s a prominent developer, South Australian property mogul Theo Maras believes our unique Adelaide parklands must stay sacrosanct.
Tasmania
Tasmanian dairy giant hit with EPA notices for not cleaning up its effluent issues fast enough
Tasmania’s environmental watchdog will slap one of Australia’s largest dairy farm operators with new environment protection notices for ongoing effluent issues at its farms.
Premier Peter Gutwein gives State of the State address at CEDA luncheon in Hobart
Premier Peter Gutwein has credited the Tasmanian Forests Agreement, torn up by the Liberals, for playing a small part in the state’s low emissions profile.
Mount Roland Cableway company announces project will not continue [$]
One of the North-West’s most ambitious private infrastructure projects has been formally abandoned.
Swift action: Bird enthusiasts disrupt logging operation [$]
Work screeched to a halt on Tuesday morning when bird lovers disrupted a logging operation in the Lonnavale Forests, about an hour southwest of Hobart.
Experts enlisted as Preminghana petroglyph return draws nearer, with precise location found
The Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania is confident of having the ancient Preminghana petroglyphs returned to the precise location of their removal where they would be protected from the elements by sand coverage.
A new feature of the popular AirRater smartphone app, developed by the University of Tasmania’s Menzies Institute for Medical Research, will harness the power of citizen science to help reduce the impacts of bushfire smoke on Australian communities.
EPA approves Heemskirk Quarry expansion
The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has concluded its assessment of a proposal by Gaspersic Pty Ltd for a capacity increase to the Heemskirk Quarry in West Coast Council municipality. The proposal was referred to the Board in August 2021.
Curious Climate Schools Project
Today, to mark the start of COP26 UN climate summit in Glasgow, University of Tasmania climate researchers are launching an unprecedented online resource on climate change for young people in Tasmania.
Swift parrot petition launched to halt Lonnavale logging
Forestry Watch and the Wilderness Society have today launched an ‘Act Swiftly’ petition as Forestry Tasmania has commenced logging of swift parrot habitat in the Lonnavale Forests, while swift parrots are feeding and breeding there. Forest ecosystem defenders have arrived in one of the two active logging coupes and forced the logging to stop.
Call for Tasmania’s employers to offer electric bikes in salary package
Letters
As the federal government’s promises for climate goals at the Glasgow conference make the headlines, in Tasmania we are waiting for the next five-year climate action plan.
Northern Territory
Fracking in NT would increase gas emissions at no economic benefit, trial told
While world leaders gather for climate talks in Glasgow, a Sydney trial has heard a plan to frack in the Northern Territory would drive Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions up.
Western Australia
Thousands of kilometres from COP26, pictures speak a thousand words
Ahead of the COP26 summit, billionaire philanthropists Andrew and Nicola Forrest have funded climate-focused public artworks.
Sustainability
‘Made in China’ might be cheap, but it comes with a human cost
Heavy consumption in the world’s largest economies could be responsible for nearly 2 million premature deaths globally from air pollution every year, according to new modelling.
A senior World Bank Group delegation concluded a four-day visit to Maldives today, reiterating the World Bank’s support for the country’s pandemic recovery and its efforts to capitalize on digital technologies for green, resilient and inclusive development.
South Africa to get billions to speed up shift from coal [$]
President Joe Biden said the US would join with the UK, France, Germany and the EU to help South Africa accelerate its transition from coal.
Beware: Gaia may destroy humans before we destroy the Earth
James Lovelock
Covid-19 may well have been one attempt by the Earth to protect itself. Gaia will try harder next time with something even nastier
Over 100 global leaders pledge to end deforestation by 2030
More than 100 global leaders have pledged to halt and reverse deforestation and land degradation by the end of the decade, underpinned by $19 billion in public and private funds to invest in protecting and restoring forests.
Greenpeace condemns green light for another decade of forest destruction
COP26 today saw a flurry of announcements on forests – among them a new agreement between governments, including Brazil, to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030. But Greenpeace slammed the announcement as a green light for another decade of forest destruction.
Latin American countries join reserves to create vast marine protected area
‘Mega-MPA’ in Pacific will link waters of Ecuador, Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica to protect migratory turtles, whales and sharks from fishing fleets
5 ways climate change will affect plants and animals
Warming temperatures, stronger storms and rising seas present a cascade of challenges that researchers are racing to understand.
Why tackling deforestation is so important for slowing climate change
Tom Pugh
Humanity injects an almost incomprehensible 42 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into the atmosphere every year. The majority of this comes from burning fossil fuels, but a substantial portion, about 16%, arises from how we use the land. Most of these land-use emissions are caused by deforestation, particularly in the tropics.
COP26 omits biodiversity loss from agenda
Sue Arnold
A glaring omission from media releases and political statements relevant to the Glasgow COP 26 meeting is biodiversity loss.
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