Date: 4 December 2021 at 8:53:59 am AEDT
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Dec 4
Post of the Day
Labor’s climate policy puts Australia in the race
Jacqueline Peel and Rebekkah Markey-Towler
The Labor Opposition’s climate policy is more ambitious and in line with COP26, but will need accelerated action
Today’s Celebration
Presentation of Mary – Eastern Christianity
Eid il-Burbara (Saint Barbara’s Day) – Middle Eastern Christianity
Feast Day of Thaddeus and Bartholomew the Apostles – Armenia
Ecological Observance
World Wildlife Conservation Day
Climate Change
Explaining climate change to young children without sparking fear
Experts say it’s important to talk that children understand climate change. But how young should a child be to start that conversation, and how can parents navigate the discussion without frightening them?
Climate change turned Venus into a hellscape. Is Earth next?
Some scientists suspect Venus was once much like Earth, with a liquid water ocean like the ones that support life on our planet. So what happened?
Cop26 could be a watershed in greening the financial sector
Howard Davies
New initiatives could give bankers the tools to help their clients fund and manage the green transition
National
Diesel crisis threatens to grind Australia to a halt, transport industry warns
The transport industry is warning of a potential crisis that could stall the nation’s diesel trucking fleet, as a key chemical used to remove pollution from their exhausts is running out.
Labor announces 2030 emissions reductions target
Federal Labor is committing to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 43 per cent by 2030 if it wins government at the next election.
Farmers and miners join a psychology researcher’s campaign to engage in the debate over climate change and the plan to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
‘The more you cut, the better’: experts measure up Labor’s emissions reduction policy
Labor’s emission reduction policy of 43 per cent by 2030 is a step in the right direction but falls short of what the science calls for, experts say.
Deja vu in Scott Morrison’s assault on Labor’s lofty climate policy [$]
Scott Morrison and Angus Taylor are preparing an all-out assault on Anthony Albanese’s 43 per cent emissions cut by 2030 and how it will cost jobs and destroy the regions.
Polluters stung if they don’t get going
The nation’s heavy polluters would have to work harder to reduce emissions and trade more in carbon offsets under an Albanese government, after Labor proposed to strengthen the “safeguard mechanism” setting a cap on pollution that, if exceeded, imposes extra costs on business.
Emissions Reduction Fund introduces new soil carbon method
The Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) now includes an improved method to credit eligible projects that increase carbon storage in agricultural soil.
Big business welcomes Labor’s industry-focused climate policy
Labor aims to exceed the federal government’s climate plan with more renewable energy and caps on industrial pollution, which big business groups support.
82% Renewables By 2030: Smart Energy Council welcomes Labor’s smart Powering Australia Plan
Smart Energy Council media release
The Smart Energy Council has welcomed Federal Labor’s Powering Australia Plan, which will see a Labor Government lift the share of cheap renewable energy in the National Electricity Market to 82% by 2030.
Labor shows its serious but climate policy is not fast enough nor fair for people on low incomes
ACOSS media release
While Labor’s Climate Policy is a step up from the current polices of the Coalition government it does not go fast enough nor far enough to put people with the least, impacted workers and communities at the front.
Labor’s climate policy builds momentum but stronger 2030 target needed for our Reef
AMCS media release
Federal Labor’s new target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 43 per cent by 2030 is a significant improvement on the Coalition’s policy, but we need greater ambition to ensure the survival of our Great Barrier Reef and the tens of thousands of jobs that depend on its health.
ALP joins business, global allies and states in race to net zero, but moving too slow
Climate Council media release
Labor’s new suite of climate policies would create jobs and economic prosperity – particularly in the regions – and could get Australia off the sidelines and back in the race to net zero.
Veterinarians for Climate Action media release
Veterinarians for Climate Action welcomes ALP’s climate targets while calling for policies that respect science and protect Australia’s animals
Federal Labor misses mark with weak climate policy
Greenpeace media release
The Federal Labor party has released its climate policy with a 2030 emissions reduction target of 43% by 2030, which Greenpeace Australia Pacific says is a missed opportunity to effectively tackle the climate crisis.
Why aren’t more people predicting a Coalition election loss?
Laura Tingle
The Opposition’s climate offering includes the sorts of tangible policies that voters can easily grasp, and limits obvious opportunities for political attack from the Coalition.
Why we need an independent climate body
Michael Pascoe
Mr Abbott ‘poisoned the well’ to the extent that major parties cannot propose rational, efficient climate policy.
Katharine Murphy
The prime minister wants a fight with Labor to help his re-election chances and Anthony Albanese has finally given him one
Labor’s climate plan can’t fix 12 years of broken politics – but it’s a floor to what’s possible
Adam Morton
With parts of the business community ready to move on emissions, the opposition’s modest goal could be easily met – or surpassed
Albanese is looking for cover with emissions target
Michelle Grattan
Labor’s “Powering Australia” climate policy, released on Friday, is carefully calibrated to the politics.
Weapons are drawn with climate debate stacked on jobs
Gerard Cockburn
Federal Labor’s climate pledge has unveiled weapons of mass economic growth will be deployed to win votes at next year’s election.
Labor takes an each-way bet on 2030 climate target
Canberra Times editorial
Labor’s 2030 emissions reductions target of 43 per cent is an each-way bet unlikely to inspire those pushing for stronger action on climate change or to mollify those fearful a too-rapid transition away from fossil fuels will cost them their livelihoods.
ALP’s climate plan is weak but better than the Coalition
SMH editorial
Anthony Albanese has opted for an economically safe plan that should appeal to the middle ground.
Labor turns to the market to fix climate [$]
AFR editorial
Labor’s plan to use the safeguard mechanism as a carbon price will cut the cost of decarbonising and open up the opportunities it brings.
Labor takes its lead from business on climate policy [$]
Australian editorial
Anthony Albanese has promised to deliver a climate change policy modelled on what business says it wants.
Nerves aplenty over climate policy powderkeg
David Crowe
Labor MPs know the party’s new climate target will bring them under attack from both sides for doing too little or too much.
Wesley Morgan
The Labor opposition has pledged to reduce Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions by 43% this decade based on 2005 levels, claiming the plan will create jobs, cut power bills, boost renewables and provide business certainty.
Ingrid Burfurd
Many people believe Australia’s shift to electric vehicles is stuck in the slow lane – another strollout, rather than a rollout. But while federal policies are still lacklustre, most Australians themselves are ready for the shift, according to our recent research.
Climate pitch risky as Albanese opens the door for scare campaign [$]
Graham Lloyd
Labor has declared itself the party of business on climate with a policy that green groups have welcomed as an opening offer but not a deal.
Climate tussle will dominate the election [$]
James Campbell
Ambitious climate targets have lost elections for the ALP since 2007, so Anthony Albanese’s plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 43pc in the next decade is a bold move.
Labor’s climate policy puts Australia in the race
Jacqueline Peel and Rebekkah Markey-Towler
The Labor Opposition’s climate policy is more ambitious and in line with COP26, but will need accelerated action
Rachel Withers
How did Labor end up with an emissions-reduction target of just 43 per cent?
Albo goes for ‘Goldilocks zone’ on emissions [$]
David Mills
Anthony Albanese has opted for a 2030 emissions target that is not too soft and not too hard.
The smallest man in the room [$]
Saturday Paper editorial
In February last year, Mike Seccombe reported what at the time seemed incredible: Australia had a net-zero emissions target for 2050. This was in spite of the Morrison government. The story added up the commitments of every state and territory and found that Australia would reach the global target irrespective of Scott Morrison’s then refusal to endorse it.
The evolution of Australian climate policy – cartoon
David Pope
Victoria
Supplies of toilet paper no problem, timber pallets to transport them another story
A shortage of Victorian-made wooden pallets threatens supermarket supplies ahead of Christmas and for years come, say timber mills, CFMEU and Food and Grocery Council.
Victorian motorists to pay as they go [$]
Drivers will face a distance-based road user charge after the state government backed a major long-term fee overhaul.
New South Wales
NSW announces Hunter-Central coast renewable energy zone, eyes $32b investment
NSW is pinning its hopes on renewable technologies to turn the Hunter and Central Coast into an “energy superpower”.
Chalk paint and police raids: why climate activists are under fire
Heavy police tactics, punitive bail conditions, private lawsuits and anti-protest laws are being used to silence dissent, human rights advocates say
Grants for greener neighbourhoods
The NSW Government’s Greener Neighbourhoods program will provide up to $1.65 million in total funding to Greater Sydney’s 33 councils to enhance tree canopy in local neighbourhoods.
‘Without our country, we don’t have life’: A new era for Great Keppel Island
The Native Title determination includes areas coveted by developers and close to a resort proposed by billionaire miner Gina Rinehart.
Pristine Illawarra coastal reserve given protected status
The eight-kilometre stretch of coastline contains small tracts of rainforest, wetlands and two beloved surf beaches.
Plunging energy prices sink Vales Point power station [$]
Power barons Trevor St Baker and Brian Flannery have slashed the value of the Vales Point power station after a 93 per cent fall in annual profits.
Queensland
They’re barely visible, but these tiny IVF coral ‘babies’ are breathing new life onto desolate reefs
Coral IVF is behind the first signs of coral life in years at this section of the Great Barrier Reef, bringing hope to many.
What Native Title win means for famous Qld islands [$]
Traditional owners have today been granted exclusive use to parts of one of Queensland’s most renowned group of tropical islands.
‘Without our country, we don’t have life’: A new era for Great Keppel Island
The Native Title determination includes areas coveted by developers and close to a resort proposed by billionaire miner Gina Rinehart.
Adani protester given suspended prison sentence, latest example of escalating repression
A new report by Greenpeace, Global Warning: the threat to climate defenders in Australia, has identified an alarming escalation in repression against climate activists.
Squibbed it: How Queensland has fallen behind in the renewables race
John McCarthy
While the Morrison Government has copped political fallout for its spectral climate change policy the Queensland Government has so far managed to avoid criticism. It’s a remarkable escape act.
Too much coral is not enough – but it’s not good either [$]
Peter Ridd
Fabulous news about the Great Barrier Reef poses only a minor problem for those who have convinced the world that the reef is on its last legs.
South Australia
Shade shame: Adelaide has ‘worst’ tree protection laws in nation [$]
Adelaide is the leafy, shady green city, right? Maybe not, with a report saying we need a major rethink on our tree laws before it’s too late.
Northern Territory
‘Mesmerising’: a massive murmuration of budgies is turning central Australia green and gold
After a bumper wet season, huge flocks of budgerigars are on the move in the deserts of the Northern Territory
Western Australia
In a major victory for the WA environment, Premier Mark McGowan, Minister for Environment, Amber-Jade Sanderson, and Minister for Fisheries, Don Punch, announced today that the WA Government will protect Exmouth Gulf, Ningaloo with important conservation measures. These commitments include new conservation reserves in areas where major industrial developments have been proposed.
Woodside’s new Western Australian gas project ‘a bet against’ global 1.5C goal, report finds
Climate Analytics says Scarborough project’s emissions expected to be 1.37bn tonnes of CO2, which would slow push to reach net zero
Exmouth port developer confident project can go ahead despite new protections, marine park
A new marine park, which would be jointly managed with the Nganhurra Thanardi Garrbu Aboriginal Corporation, will also run adjacent to a salt mining proposal.
No uranium mine at Mulga Rock, say protesters
Protesters gathered on November 26 to oppose Vimy Resources’ proposal to mine uranium at Mulga Rock
Sustainability
Fashion must stick to climate pledges to prevent waste crisis, says UK economist
Dame Vivian Hunt warns of overproduction at summit attended by Tommy Hilfiger and Kris Jenner
Green beauty product testing finds more than 60% have PFAS indicators
Green cosmetic makers know their audience. One manufacturer, in addition to the standard lines about how long-lasting and colorful their product is, says that their lip tint is “cruelty-free,” vegan, and made from wholesome ingredients like coconut oil and shea butter.
Millions more people got access to clean drinking water. Can they drink it?
The U.N. pledged to halve the proportion of the world without access to clean drinking water by 2015.
Rising costs may erase years of renewables’ progress
The global rise in commodity prices is chipping away at the confidence of clean energy analysts, who say they are increasingly uncertain that renewables and batteries can sustain their long-running price declines.
Amazon mining threatens dozens of uncontacted Indigenous groups, study shows
Mining interests in the Brazilian Amazon pose an imminent threat to Indigenous groups, a new study shows, causing “incalculable damage” for 43 isolated groups if a bill legalizing mining on Indigenous land is approved.
Nature Conservation
David Attenborough’s unending mission to save our planet
“We tend to think we are the be all and end all—but we’re not. The sooner we can realize that the natural world goes its way, not our way, the better.”
Scientists are running out of salmon to study
With west coast salmon populations withering, these researchers are heading for the Great Lakes.
Last-minute attempt to stop Shell’s oil exploration of whale breeding grounds
An 11th hour attempt has been launched to try to halt plans by Shell to explore for oil in vital whale breeding grounds along the Wild Coast of eastern South Africa.
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