Post of the Day
A scientist reacts to State of Environment report
Ayesha Tulloch
Australia’s State of the Environment Report was finally released today – and its findings are a staggering picture of loss and devastation.
On This Day
Climate Change
Water resources to become less predictable with climate change
Water resources will fluctuate increasingly and become more and more difficult to predict in snow-dominated regions across the Northern Hemisphere by later this century, according to a comprehensive new climate change study led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).
Court orders UK government to explain how net zero policies will reach targets
Green activists brought challenge, arguing climate change strategy did not spell out how carbon emissions cuts would be achieved
Fact check: Edited graph obscures truth about global warming
A viral graph of a Greenland ice core is used to falsely claim earth has almost always been warmer over the past 9500 years than today.
Pacific Islands are back on the map, and climate action is not negotiable for would-be allies
Wesley Morgan
This year’s Pacific Islands Forum marked the beginning of a more dangerous era as Pacific leaders tried to find common responses to both the climate crisis and sharpening geostrategic competition.
In Greece, and across Europe, the mercury is rapidly rising. So is the desperation
Clár Ní Chonghaile
The heatwave that hit Greece last year was described as the greatest ecological disaster in decades. This year isn’t looking any better for the country, or the rest of Europe.
This heatwave has eviscerated the idea that small changes can tackle extreme weather
George Monbiot
Let’s stop lying to ourselves and others by pretending that small measures deliver major change. Let’s abandon the timidity and tokenism. Let’s stop bringing buckets of water when only fire engines will do.
Climate craziness: Protests declining around the globe [$]
Tim Blair
The quality of climate protests is sadly declining around the globe, so much so that they are being out-protested by Dutch demo debutant farmers.
What can smug Australians teach the UK about surviving a heatwave? – cartoon
First Dog on the Moon
British buildings are not designed for heat, if you have time knock them down and start again
National
‘Poor and deteriorating’: Australia’s environment is sick and getting sicker
Australia’s environment is sick and getting sicker as the combined effects of climate change, pollution, land clearing and mining take a dangerous toll, a landmark report says.
Climate change, mining, pollution, invasive species and habitat loss are outlined in the five-yearly report that has been released, with Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek laying the blame squarely at the feet of the previous government.
‘We do need to change our laws’: Environment Minister
Tanya Plibersek says voters can expect legislative changes off the back of the latest State of the Environment report, which states Australia has suffered catastrophic losses of wildlife and habitat.
Without Murray-Darling Basin leadership ‘we are all going to suffer’, experts warn
The Murray-Darling Basin has dictated human history in Australia, but now experts fear we are in a “water emergency” — and we don’t have much time to act.
Five graphics that explain the grim findings in the environment report
Australia’s land and sea support more than 600,000 native species – many of which are found nowhere else. But since 2016, more than 200 plants and animals were added to the list of threatened species.
‘Dutton insurance’: crossbench MPs set joint demands on Labor’s climate bill
The seven independents want a mechanism to protect emissions target from ‘future governments’ as they signal desire to negotiate
End of climate wars will fast-track wind, solar: Clean Energy chief [$]
Clean Energy Council chief executive Kane Thornton says Australia needs to accelerate its investment in wind, solar and storage to end the over-reliance on coal and gas.
Negotiate with us, Greens tell PM [$]
ACT Energy Minister Shane Rattenbury has accused Anthony Albanese of being ‘highly combative’ in pursuit of passing his climate change bill through federal parliament.
Chris Bowen open to ratchet mechanism to win Greens over on climate [$]
The climate minister is not against allowing future governments to increase Labor’s 2030 emissions reduction target, if that is what it takes to gain support
Calls to restrict fossil fuel advertising in the name of public health
Calls for a ban in Australia comes as hundreds of people die of heat-related causes in a heat wave across western Europe.
Nuclear energy start-up says CSIRO is wrong about costs [$]
Sydney’s HB11 says that, despite the CSIRO recently dismissing nuclear energy as too expensive, its fusion reactor could one day be the cheapest power on the market.
“Nothing can beat it:” The rise and rise of solar and battery storage
Quinbrook’s David Scaysbrook says the combination of solar and big battery storage is unbeatable for daytime power and evening peaks.
Green groups in last-ditch bid to block UK’s Australia trade deal
Activists file formal complaint alleging government has breached international law in signing deal
Labor names three independent experts to Chubb-led review of carbon credits
Labor names three independent experts to panel reviewing integrity of carbon offsets scheme.
Coalition’s Paris climate target in doubt as emissions fluctuated: report
Experts cast doubt on Australia’s pathway to meeting a Coalition-era commitment to reduce emissions by 26-28 per cent on 2005 levels, despite the Morrison government’s repeated claims the nation was on track to exceed its 2030 target, the newly-released State of the Environment report reveals.
Flood, evacuate, rinse, repeat: A relentless pattern batters Australia
Storms brought 30 inches of rain to areas near Sydney recently, and some residents have seen their homes flooded for the third or fourth time in 16 months.
A scientist reacts to State of Environment report
Ayesha Tulloch
Australia’s State of the Environment Report was finally released today – and its findings are a staggering picture of loss and devastation.
Emma Johnston et al
Climate change is exacerbating pressures on every Australian ecosystem and Australia now has more foreign plant species than native, according to the highly anticipated State of the Environment Report released today.
There’s a smart way to push Labor harder on emissions cuts – without reigniting the climate wars
Adam Simpson
The fate of Labor’s 2030 climate policy hangs in the balance as the Greens and other climate-conscious crossbenchers this week consider pushing the government harder on emissions reduction.
Climate protesters criminalised as climate crisis escalates
Claire Burgess
With anti-protest laws on the rise as our climate crisis worsens, activists are fighting back to raise awareness.
Albanese returns from his honeymoon, bumps into Adam Bandt
Michael West
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s political honeymoon is drawing to an end this week as Parliament resumes and Labor is set to clash with the Greens over carbon emissions. Michael West on Albo’s first two months in office and the looming climate clash.
Rachel Withers
The future of the government’s emissions-reduction bill appears to come down to semantics around ceilings and floors
Five reasons why Australia can lead the world in switch from fossils to renewables
David Leitch
Australia is a world leader in the development of a largely renewable energy system. We have the resources, a plan, and the need.
Labor won’t act urgently on climate unless it’s forced to
Ketan Joshi
Labor should be aiming at emissions cuts of 70 to 80% by 2030. There is no shortage of feasible, detailed and immediately beneficial policies to do this. But they won’t.
Jeff Sparrow
There is no ‘peace’ to be brokered with fossil fuel companies who stand to make billions. Effective policy is to threaten their gains
Australia more willing to catalogue destruction of natural heritage than to preserve it
Nick O’Malley
The nation’s latest environmental report card is out, and the news is bad. Ecosystems are collapsing at a terrifying rate. But the damage can be reversed.
The Coalition hid a major environment report. Now we know why
Dan Jervis-Bardy
The Morrison government hid or remained silent about many things as it desperately clung to power.
Climate change threat is ‘a story of crisis’ [$]
Geoff Chambers
Australia’s economy and wellbeing face unprecedented threats from climate change and extreme weather, with a new government report labelling the nation’s environment as ‘poor and deteriorating’.
Greens the usual suspects holding back climate action [$]
Joe Hildebrand
The Greens once denounced Julia Gillard in a piece of theatre that would have made Stalin himself tear up with pride. A decade later they are doing the exact same thing.
Climate plan must have social licence and keep lights on [$]
Ted O’Brien
As the Coalition enters a period of renewal in Opposition, our approach will be guided by our core values – small government, not big government.
Albo, Bowen in denial on looming energy meltdown [$]
Judith Sloan
Electricity prices have gone up recently but these increases will look like small beer relative to what is coming down the pike at us.
Gas stalemate can be fixed if Bowen moves fast [$]
Robert Gottliebsen
A proposal to fix the ‘blood money’ gas supply disaster and restore the food sector’s trust in the regulator, major producers and retailers is at hand, but the energy minister has to act now.
Why climate change is degrading Australia’s potential [$]
Jacob Greber
Bushfires and climate change are increasingly savaging Australia’s environment, wiping out native vegetation and driving species extinctions at an accelerating pace that is hurting industries, businesses and communities.
Victoria
‘Stripped back’: how a cattle farm became a sustainable coastal community
Developer Brendan Condon was visiting relatives in the small seaside village of Cape Paterson in south Gippsland, Victoria, when an exercise session led to a vision for a regional housing project with a difference.
Soaring demand triggers warning of a fresh gas shortage in Victoria
A key Victorian gas storage facility is being drained to dangerously low levels thanks to soaring demand, raising the prospect of another dramatic market intervention to shore up the supply of electricity.
Real solutions to lock in climate action and build Victoria’s energy system of future
Liberal Party Victoria media release
Victoria’s pathway to a net-zero emissions future will be guaranteed under a key new commitment announced today by the Victorian Liberals and Nationals.
When science is ignored, devastation follows
Letters
Age readers respond to the state government’s attitude to logging.
Cyclist push just a hipster fantasy for Melbourne [$]
Susie O’Brien
Deluded Melbourne leaders believe Lycra-clad cyclists will revive the CBD but we need a vibrant, safe city, not one that alienates drivers.
New South Wales
Sydney councils criticised for shunning e-scooter trial
Residents and tourists in Sydney’s CBD and inner-city suburbs will have to wait for e-scooters to be available as trials are launched in other areas of NSW.
AI and aerial imaging give Indigenous wetland restoration efforts a boost
Traditional management techniques are being combined with modern technology to aid the restoration of vitally important wetlands near Balranald, in south-west New South Wales.
Drones take to skies to ‘plant’ seeds at Australia’s biggest botanic garden
Cutting-edge drone technology is being used at the Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan to restore native vegetation on degraded land.
Revealed: The whopping cost of not raising the dam wall [$]
There are 130 million reasons NSW can’t afford to do nothing about Warragamba Dam, leaked documents show. The annual estimated flood damage bill is eye-watering.
Whitehaven flags record $3 billion profit as coal prices surge
Whitehaven, one of Australia’s largest coal miners, has flagged a record $3 billion annual profit as global demand drives sky-high prices for the fossil fuel and the company’s production rebounded in the June quarter.
Are we approaching a consensus on the need to manage flooding differently?
Chas Keys
It is possible that recent events related to flooding in New South Wales are galvanising a consensus on how we manage the threats floods pose. If that is so, we are on the verge of a phase shift in our management of floods.
ACT
ACT races ahead on clean transport with fossil fuel phase-out
The Australian Capital Territory has introduced Australia’s first policy to phase out fossil fuel powered cars, setting a strong example of climate leadership for the rest of the country to follow.
Fossil-fuel vehicle ban risks driving up prices, outlawing utes, industry warns
A ban on new light vehicles powered by fossil fuels risks driving up prices in the car market and leaving the ACT without access to popular vehicle types, including utes, industry bodies say.
The CEO of the Australian Automotive Dealer Association expresses concerns that a ban on the sale of new petrol cars from 2035 could cause affordability issues for poorer Canberrans.
ACT has sounded a warning. Time to get in line for an electric vehicle [$]
Crispin Hull
The ACT government this week did a big favour to its citizens, and probably Australians generally, by announcing that it would not permit the sale of fossil-fuel cars and small trucks after 2035.
Car ban puts us on right side of history [$]
Canberra Times editorial
Time could very well prove the ACT government’s decision to ban new petrol and diesel powered light vehicles in the territory from 2035 is eminently practical, sensible and affordable. However, critics will turn out in force to claim otherwise.
Queensland
Life grinds to a halt for neighbours of proposed mine near national parks
Householders next to a proposed mine bordering environmentally significant land in central Queensland say their lives have been “put on hold” and any future plans will have to wait until after their day in court.
Gold Coast native title groups lodge claim over The Spit and Burleigh
Elders of local “saltwater” Indigenous groups have lodged a new native title claim with the Federal Court for spectacular unspoiled areas of the Gold Coast including The Spit and Burleigh Headland.
Shark attack plan: Drumlines set to roll out along more of Qld coast [$]
Catch-and-release shark drumlines could be rolled out in new locations along the Queensland coast following positive results from an existing trial that saw more than three times the number of sharks caught being released compared to older methods.
Vital strategy to shape our city’s transport future
Community consultation will begin today on one of the most important issues facing the Gold Coast – transport.
Time to evaluate Federal Reef Trust funding program
Reef producers and other stakeholders previously involved in any of the 44 Federal Reef Trust funded projects over the last five years are invited to provide feedback before 29 July 2022.
Tasmania
Council to push for new major Tasmanian wind farm [$]
Dorset Council will push for a proposed 210-turbine wind farm to be declared a major project for the state, which would have a construction value of $2.7 billion
City of Launceston approves charity waste concessions [$]
More than 30 charitable organisations across Launceston will benefit from a waste disposal allowance.
Government endorses 10 year Tamar plan [$]
A 10-year-vision for long-term sustainable management and development of kanamaluka/Tamar River and the North Esk has been endorsed by the state government and City of Launceston.
’Unacceptable impacts’: Lake hut plans press ahead despite report [$]
A company behind a proposal for a hut at a wilderness lake near Cradle Mountain says it will push on with the project despite negative feedback from the Parks Service.
Beetaloo Basin: More government subsidies proposed for a failing and risky industry
There is much to disagree with in the proposed federal government “ramping up” of funding for the Beetaloo Basin gas expansion.
Western Australia
Minister urged to block work on $4.5b Pilbara urea plant
A group of Traditional Owners for the World Heritage-nominated Burrup Peninsula want recently approved site preparations for the Pilbara project blocked.
Hawaii says goodbye to coal, aloha to big batteries
Hawaii prepares to shut down its last coal burning power plant on its most populous island, to be partially replaced with a Tesla big battery.
Smart electric panels in homes could prevent overtaxing the grid
As more homes are electrified, utility circuits could face major upgrade costs. Or smart panels and controls could help save the day, a new study says.
Could a giant ‘sand battery’ heat homes and offices? Finland says yes
The world’s first commercial “sand battery” stores heat at 500C for months at a time. So how does it work, and should we build them in Australia?
Across the country, Canadian farmers are on the frontlines of climate change. Today, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, announced 28 additional projects under the Agricultural Clean Technology (ACT) Program. This investment of more than $8.7 million will support the adoption of clean technologies across Canada.
One-stop policy shop opens with solutions to end plastic pollution
The Global Plastics Policy Centre (GPPC) online platform is the latest development from the University of Portsmouth’s Revolution Plastics research initiative. Free to all, it is a “one stop shop” of independent, evidence-based advice on plastic policy. The new website is a knowledge sharing platform that comes under the GPPC umbrella, which was launched by Revolution Plastics at COP26.
Proposed change to how Hinkley Point C stores radioactive waste
Pressurised water reactors at Hinkley Point C will use uranium fuel to create heat and generate electricity when operating. Once used within the reactor, nuclear fuel will be stored on-site before being sent off-site to a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF).
Greenpeace radiation investigation at Chornobyl to assess accuracy of IAEA data
Near the ruins of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, an international team of radiation experts led by Greenpeace Germany is examining abandoned Russian positions for radioactive contamination.
Blue hydrogen may be a white elephant: ISS
One of the world’s key proxy advisers has recommended a high degree of caution when considering hydrogen investments, particularly those using carbon capture.
Nicole Allenden et al
What we eat and how we produce food matters. Food systems are responsible for more than a quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Nature Conservation
Lakes in hot water, climate change creating cauldron of issues
As intense heatwaves grip the United Kingdom, Spain, France and Portugal, at times exceeding temperatures 40C, as well as parts of North America and Asia, lakes around the world are feeling the heat from climate change, which is creating a cascade of ecological and environmental issues.
Biodiversity survey finds that more species are threatened with extinction than previously thought
A new survey published in the Journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment and led by Forest Isbell, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota, attempts to fill some of the gaps in understanding by synthesizing the perspectives of thousands of biodiversity experts worldwide.
Over half of threatened species require targeted recovery actions
A staggering 57% of threatened species need targeted recovery actions to ensure their survival, new research has shown.
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