Date: 13 September 2022 at 6:42:54 am AWST
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Sep 13
Post of the Day
Study shows ‘unprecedented’ changes to world’s rivers
In the past 40 years, humans have caused unprecedented, consequential changes to river sediment transport, according to a new study by scientists at Dartmouth, supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation and published in Science.
On This Day
Climate Change
Pakistan authorities scramble to protect power station against flooding
Floods from record monsoon rains and glacial melt in the mountainous north have left millions homeless and killed almost 1,400.
Is climate change disrupting maritime boundaries?
Rising sea levels, coupled with the natural variability of atoll islands and coral reefs, is creating new uncertainty in international law, with geopolitical implications.
Megadrought in the American south-west: a climate disaster unseen in 1,200 years
The west is now in uncharted territory, as once singular conditions become the norm.
Why we should forget about the 1.5C global heating target
Bill McGuire
The goal of 1.5C by 2030 is arbitrary and now unachievable – yet working to prevent every 0.1C rise can still give us hope
National
Emissions target of 43pc by 2030? Try 75pc, Climate Council says — and it has a plan to get there
A report from the Climate Council says the government’s 2030 emissions target is too low, and that there are 10 areas we need to focus on to speed up our approach to net-zero.
Group’s weird call to rename Australia
A prominent climate activist group has unleashed a series of posts which claims Australia is a country rooted in oppressive and exploitative systems.
There is a great service called REDcycle available at participating Coles & Woolworth supermarkets where you can deposit soft plastics to keep it out of landfill and reduce the space in your rubbish bin. They recycle the plastic and turn it into products like outdoor benches and alternatives for timber posts. It is also being blended into road and footpath mixes.
Australia’s first sustainability-linked loan for manufacturing sector
Pact Group, a leader in packaging, reuse and recycling, has converted $420 million of loan facilities into a sustainability-linked loan (SLL), the first transaction of its kind in Australia’s manufacturing sector.
Lab-grown milk to hit shelves by 2024 – minus the cow and the carbon
CSIRO-backed start-up Eden Brew aims to fill the growing demand for protein by brewing its animal-free dairy centrally and then shipping it to companies across the globe.
‘Doesn’t seem genuine’: Ex-Pacific leaders question Australia’s climate stance
Former Pacific Island nation presidents have challenged the Albanese government to “walk the talk” on climate action and start phasing out of the fossil fuels which threaten the future of their region.
IFM boss warns of 40pc slump without climate action [$]
The chief executive of the $200 billion fund manager IFM Investors warns of a collapse in superannuation savings of up to 40 per cent if there is no action on climate change.
ESG focus propelling KPMG sustainability success
KPMG Australia is reaching its sustainability and social responsibility goals, according to its latest impact report. So how is it getting the issues over the line?
Australia is failing on electric vehicles
Scott Hardman et al
Among the many similarities between California and Australia, both are impacted by bushfires and climate change, and both are home to larger cars and trucks than is the norm in developed countries. They are dissimilar, though, when it comes to electric vehicles and vehicle regulations. While California has been pursuing low-carbon and electric vehicles for decades, Australia has trailed most developed nations.
Smoke and mirrors: Musk claims ESG is nothing more than a scam. Is he right?
Marion Rae
Progressive, climate-savvy Australians have driven so-called responsible investment to new highs.
Liz Ritchie
If Australia wants to fast track to a more productive and prosperous nation, we need to pivot attention away from Sydney and Melbourne and towards our regions.
Renewables push won’t bring down power prices soon [$]
Judith Sloan
The bottom line is our Prime Minister, even with his economics degree, has a lot to learn about electricity prices.
Now, we begin: 10 simple ways to make Australia’s climate game truly next-level
Wesley Morgan
Australia last week moved to tackle the climate crisis when federal parliament passed Labor’s climate bill. But the new law is just the first step. Over the next eight years to 2030, we must get on a steep trajectory of emissions reductions.
‘Untenable’: Even companies profiting from Australia’s carbon market say system must change
Andrew Macintosh
Several large companies that profit from market rules governing the issuing of carbon credits to some projects are too lax and the market’s integrity should be improved.
Victoria
Replacing gas appliances to cost Victorian households thousands [$]
Victorian households will have to fork out the big bucks to switch off gas and move to fully electric homes
AGL reveals extended outage at broken Loy Yang coal unit
AGL reveals yet another delay in the return to service of the troubled Unit 2 at the Loy Yang A coal generator in Victoria.
Mornington Peninsula Shire media release
The Mornington Peninsula is 70% non-urban yet we are classified as metropolitan. And our community has justifiably asked – why is this?
New South Wales
These traditional owners hope a novel climate change argument will stop a gas giant. Could it work?
When the Gomeroi people refused to consent to the Narrabri Gas Project, Santos started legal proceedings. The traditional owners hope a novel interpretation of native title laws could see them win.
Farm forestry was ‘a saving grace’ during drought for Australia’s Farmer of Year
Australia’s forest industries have congratulated newly crowned Farmer of the Year Michael Taylor and welcomed his comments heralding farm forestry as a ‘saving grace’ during three droughts on his property in the NSW New England district.
Queensland
New changes to vegetation and koala mapping
Queensland State Government has made annual changes to vegetation management, protected plants and koala habitat mapping – and AgForce is urging landowners to stay informed.
‘We haven’t seen this since the early 2000s’: Fears transport may falter as population powers past
The issue is expected to worsen as commuters living in outer suburbs struggle to travel to the CBD, with car parks at some stations starting to fill at 6am.
South Australia
Chemicals are ‘overwhelming’ food chains
Food chains are overwhelmed by the 350,000 chemicals being used around the world, a major contamination conference in Adelaide has heard.
Tasmania
Anglers delight: Strict catch limits for escaped salmon [$]
Looking to reel in a big one after Huon’s mass fish escape? Turns out there are rules about how many you can take home.
Western Australia
Critically endangered tiny frogs reintroduced in South-West
More than 100 white-bellied frogs released into the wild. The tiny frog only grows up to an inch and is found in a small pocket near Boranup
Rooftop solar reaches 72 per cent of demand in world’s biggest isolated grid
Rooftop and distributed solar reaches what appears to be a new record of 72 per cent of demand in W.A., the biggest isolated grid in the world.
Sustainability
Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia power plant has been shut down. Has a meltdown been averted?
Fighting near the plant, one of the 10 biggest atomic power stations in the world, has fuelled fears of a nuclear disaster like the one that took place at Chernobyl in 1986.
IAEA concludes long term operational safety review of Sweden’s Oskarshamn Nuclear Power Plant
An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team of experts has completed a review of long term operational safety at the Oskarshamn Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) Unit 3 in Sweden.
Purdue University researchers have received a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation to help the pharmaceutical industry cost-effectively achieve zero waste in its manufacturing operations.
Soaring energy costs could threaten future of electric cars, experts warn
Industry bosses in Germany say high costs are having an impact on vehicle production and sales
With increasing climate risks, Bangladesh needs to sustain investments to strengthen climate resilience in the coastal zones to protect the development gains, says a new World Bank report launched today.
Government undermining environmental groups in Egypt
The Egyptian government has severely curtailed environmental groups’ ability to carry out independent policy, advocacy, and field work essential to protecting the country’s natural environment, Human Rights Watch said today.
The world’s third-richest man sells a green dream built on coal
Early one evening in April, Asia’s newly minted richest person strode onto the stage of the National Centre for the Performing Arts, in Mumbai. Stocky and mustachioed, Gautam Adani was there to deliver a speech at the India Economic Conclave, a gathering of the country’s financial elite.
South Korea: Green growth or greenwashing?
Theo Mendez
Calling South Korea’s green economic agenda ‘greenwashing’ misrepresents one of the world’s best examples of uniting economic growth and environmental sustainability
Nature Conservation
More than half of all tropical deforestation directly attributable to industrial mining takes place
New peer-reviewed research published in PNAS today showed that, out of 26 countries, Indonesia accounted for 58.2% of the tropical deforestation directly caused by industrial mining activities. Brazil, Ghana and Suriname also stood out in the study, which underscored the need for stronger measures to protect tropical forests from destructive economic activities like mining.
Researchers model benefits of riverfront forest restoration
A new Stanford University-led study(link is external) in Costa Rica reveals that restoring relatively narrow strips of riverfront forests could substantially improve regional water quality and carbon storage. The analysis, available online and set to be published in the October issue of Ecosystem Services, shows that such buffers tend to be most beneficial in steep, erosion-prone, and intensively fertilized landscapes – a finding that could inform similar efforts in other countries.
EU slammed over failure to protect marine life from ‘destructive’ fishing
Strict no-take policies urged by scientists, who note there is less protection in 59% of marine protected areas than outside MPAs
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