Post of the Day
More Australians are turning to EVs, but a few key issues are hampering uptake
A growing number of Australian car lovers are turning to electric vehicles — but experts and industry figures say more can be done to encourage uptake and lower prices.
On This Day
Ecological Observance
World Antibiotic Awareness Week
Climate Change
Climate promises made in Glasgow now rest with a handful of powerful leaders
In Washington, Beijing, New Delhi and beyond, governments face conflicting forces — political, social and economic — that will shape their next steps in the effort to avert a climate crisis.
Travel industry takes crucial first step toward combating climate change
More than 300 travel companies, tourism boards and countries have signed the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism, the first step for a shared road map to cut carbon emissions.
Tree tales: What tree rings can teach us about climate change
As COP26 made clear, action is needed to address climate change. But those actions must be well-informed, and tree rings can help with that.
Gasbagging in Glasgow: COP26 and phasing down coal
Binoy Kampmark
COP26 president Alok Sharma called the outcome ‘a fragile win’, the outcome of ‘hard work’ and ‘great cooperation’ from the parties.
National
Indigenous renewables plan to bring power and jobs to remote communities
The First Energy Clean Energy Network has lofty ambitions to harness Australia’s vast solar and wind power resources to end energy insecurity in Indigenous communities and create community-owned power projects.
This cottage garden flower is sold widely and loved by many, but there’s a push to declare it a weed
The foxglove is a pretty problem and some want it to be banned from sale as the flower takes over parts of Australia.
An explainer of ScoMo’s climate policy
A lot is being said about Australia’s climate policy, so here’s an explainer of everything Scott Morrison has said so far.
How to sell your strata on sustainability: ‘Think of all the things people might object to’
Making Australia’s freestanding homes greener is mainly a matter of time and money, but for apartment dwellers the process is more complex
Does Angus Taylor’s projection of a 35% 2030 emissions cut really ‘support the Paris agreement’?
If the world followed Australia on emissions reduction, the planet would heat by about 3C, one expert warns
Green hydrogen beats blue on emissions and financial cost, Australian study finds
Greenhouse gas emissions from hydrogen produced using fossil fuels such as natural gas are ‘substantial’, researchers say
Michael McCormack contradicts Barnaby Joyce on Nationals signing Cop26 pact
Ex-Nationals leader McCormack says any government agreement covers party, days after Joyce said ‘I did not sign it’
What is the ‘safeguard mechanism’ and how is it supposed to reduce Australia’s carbon emissions?
Intended as a pollution cutting ‘stick’, government is now ‘trying to paint it orange and pretend it’s a carrot’, says one expert
UK High Commissioner Vicki Treadell issues coal warning to Australia after COP26 climate summit
The UK’s top diplomat in Canberra has warned that all countries including Australia will have to “reassess and recalibrate” their stance on coal after the Glasgow climate summit.
Morrison and Taylor’s golden ticket to net zero gets a reality check [$]
Shifting Australia to renewables and hydrogen will take a transition ‘akin to the industrial revolution’, and the costs will be huge, however it’s done.
Carbon capture and storage ‘has to work’ to reach net zero [$]
Carbon capture and storage has a rubbish track record after more than 15 years of disappointments. But it is considered crucial for industries such as cement to reach net zero.
Morrison’s zero emissions gas power dream a step closer [$]
A pioneering low emissions gas-fired power generator has delivered electricity into an American power grid for the first time, in a boost for one of the technologies nominated by the Morrison government as having potential to help drive national emissions to “net zero”.
Could a skills shortage stall the renewable energy revolution?
Industry insiders warn Australia is struggling to meet demand for both specialised and generalised labour to drive the renewable energy transition.
Market reforms critical for hydro storage in race to renewable grid, CEC says
CEC report makes case for the “forgotten giant” of clean electricity, calls on market regulators and governments to drive investment in hydro storage.
More Australians are turning to EVs, but a few key issues are hampering uptake
A growing number of Australian car lovers are turning to electric vehicles — but experts and industry figures say more can be done to encourage uptake and lower prices.
Overpromise and underdeliver – A brief history of Australian climate plans
Matt Saunders and Richard Denniss
The Morrison Government’s ‘technology not taxes’ approach to climate change policy is little more than new branding for an old strategy – a strategy pioneered by the Howard Government back in the 1990s.
‘Can-do capitalism’ looks an awful lot like socialism [$]
John Kehoe
The perverse reality is the Morrison government’s command-and-control climate and energy policies are encouraging a rent-seeking culture.
We’ve smelted a billion tonnes of recyclable aluminium. Do we need to make more?
Guy Keulemans
Aluminium is light and versatile, but massively energy-intensive to produce, requiring 10% of Australia’s entire electricity output . Recycling it uses just a fraction of the energy. Why aren’t we closing the loop?
The unspoken lesson from the government’s climate modelling
Michael Keating
The government’s modelling leaves some legitimate concerns unanswered, but it does suggest…
Scott Morrison’s cruel indifference to pleas for climate action
Stuart Rees
Too much is at stake to be timid in critiques of the Morrison government’s outrageous ‘Australian Way’ of addressing climate change.
Victoria
It’s a bug’s life: Aussie startup enlists insect army to tackle food waste
A Melbourne startup is hoping to harness the power of insects to transform the world’s food waste into useful products.
‘Wonder and beauty’: New riverkeeper loves the Yarra and is ready to fight for it
Environmental activist Charlotte Sterrett has taken up a position that “ticks all the boxes” for her ideal job – being outdoors, working with people and environmental causes.
New South Wales
Dark roofs ditched, net zero rules set for city’s buildings
All new large commercial buildings designed from next year will be required to operate at net-zero as part of the latest measures to ramp up the NSW emissions reductions response.
Hydrogen in the gas mix in NSW first
Some 23,500 homes and more than 100 commercial and industrial customers in NSW will receive green hydrogen as part of their gas mix with the start-up of a hydrogen project in western Sydney.
Activists blockade Newcastle coal port
Activists from Blockade Australia have stopped coal trains and shut down the world’s largest coal port in Newcastle.
To limit future flooding in Sydney, COP26 pledges need action
Kim Reid et al
Weather events that led to Sydney’s 2021 floods will likely increase by 80 per cent by the end of the 21st Century under both high and moderate emissions scenarios.
Queensland
Critics say a plan to develop a retirement village next to endangered bird habitat will further jeopardise a species in decline, but the developers say they’re being made scapegoats.
Unusual koala sighting a sign of hope in central Queensland
Amid dire predictions for Queensland’s koala population, a central Queensland researcher is optimistic about the future.
King parrots are dying of a cruel disease and you might be making matters worse
Scientists fear birdbaths and backyard feeders may be accelerating the spread of the deadly illness, which renders the cherished natives unable to fly or eat properly.
CCIQ gets a new chief and a new, sustainable strategy
Transurban executive Heidi Cooper will take over the running of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland following the resignation of Stephen Tait.
Fortescue gets quick planning approval for world’s biggest electrolyser factory
Fortescue obtains planning approval for world’s biggest hydrogen electrolyser factory little more than a month after plans first unveiled.
Queensland’s biggest coal export terminal goes 100 pct renewable, with certificates
Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal inks deal with CleanCo to offset 100% of its electricity consumption with the purchase of renewable energy certificates.
Future of SE Qld traffic is clean, green and connected [$]
Sue Johnson
South East Queensland is on track for a climate-positive Olympics, with innovations making transport greener and safer.
South Australia
Cannibal assassin spiders escape extinction
They’ve got elongated necks and jaws to perfectly impale their prey – other spiders – but a chance sighting of these creatures had experts very excited.
Tasmania
Victory University study models economy under a net-zero carbon future for Australia
A university study has found Tasmania would be economically better off when the country transitions to a net-zero carbon emissions arrangement.
Northern Territory
Desert fig, the ancient plant species living in hiding on the slopes of Uluru [$]
A new plant species, the desert fig, has been discovered hiding in plain sight on the slopes of Uluru, at the heart of Australia’s Red Centre.
Western Australia
WA attempts to tap green debt markets branded ‘more icing than cake’ as emissions soar
Western Australia wants to raise debt from so-called green finance markets in a bid to counter views the state is a major source of global pollution.
State government claims bill will protect sites but First Nations people say there has not been genuine consultation
Plan to unlock millions of hectares for renewable hydrogen [$]
Huge swathes of Crown land that’s unused or under pastoral lease is set to be unlocked for ‘green hydrogen’ projects across WA.
WA the only state to have upped emissions since 2005 as people power fuels surge in solar
Gareth Parker
If it’s good enough to label Barnaby Joyce and Matt Canavan as climate criminals for protecting coal jobs in NSW and Queensland, why doesn’t WA Labor cop the same treatment?
Sustainability
The cleanest jet fuel has an explosive history. Would you board a hydrogen plane?
As the world looks for new ways to combat climate change, hydrogen has emerged as a potential saviour for polluting industries like aviation. But will it work?
New Delhi shuts coal-fired plants as it battles toxic air pollution
Indian authorities say they must stop the air quality from deteriorating any further, as Delhi hospitals report a spike in respiratory patients.
Global battery storage market to hit one terawatt hour by 2030, says BNEF
Global battery storage installations will increase 20-fold to more than one terawatt hour by 2030, says BNEF.
New transmission tech can easily double clean energy capacity. Will utilities buy it?
Startup TS Conductor says its product can boost electricity transmission without costly rebuilds. Policy shifts from U.S. regulators would help.
Brain fog: Short-term exposure to pollution impacts memory, research finds
Even short-term exposure to high levels of air pollution has an impact of how well our brain functions, researchers have discovered.
Our meat habit is causing pollution issues—by way of our poops
Agricultural runoff isn’t the only thing polluting waterways worldwide. Our sewage plays a bigger role than you’d think.
To save a seabird, scientists must restore balance to an island ecosystem
On the Farallon Islands, invasive mice and hungry owls are a deadly combination that threatens the endangered ashy storm petrel.
Scientists: Trees are migrating due to climate change and wildfires may be helping
Did you know trees also move to more accommodating climates?
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