Date: 2 September 2022 at 6:57:20 am AWST
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Subject: Daily Links Sep 2
Post of the Day
Carbon capture doomed to fail, report says
Pumping carbon under the sea from gas rigs or storing it underground “simply won’t work” as a climate solution, an independent energy researcher warns.
On This Day
Ecological Observance
Climate Change
Pakistan floods highlight need for climate ‘loss and damage’ help, ambassador says
Pakistan contributes less than one percent of global carbon emissions, but this year it has been hit with record high temperatures and one of the worst flooding events on record.
Supporting Europe on path to climate neutrality
A new Horizon Europe project coordinated by IIASA will provide a novel governance model based on multi-level stakeholder dialogues spanning the European Commission, through national and local administrations down to citizens, as well as the necessary tools for co-designing agriculture, forestry, and climate policies in support of the EU’s climate neutrality target.
How ‘prediction markets’ could improve climate risk policies and investment decisions
A market-led approach could be key to guiding policy, research and business decisions about future climate risks, a new study outlines.
Why Greenland’s melting ice should worry us all – podcast
As record-breaking summer temperatures scorched Europe, parts of the Greenland ice sheet have seen their own ‘mini heatwave’. The melting of Greenland’s huge ice sheet is one of the more visible signs of human-caused global warming from the burning of fossil fuels.
Liz Truss puts hard-right ideology above lives – and is backing oil and gas to prove it
Owen Jones
Amid mounting energy and climate crises, the would-be prime minister is burying her head in an eternal culture war
Pakistan floods -The wealthy pollute the world and the poor suffer
Stuart Rees
Global capitalism is ‘a giant poverty producing machine, masterful in its methods of pitting the poor against the very poor or flinging crumbs to the wretched so that they dissipate their energy fighting one another.’
National
Timor Leste President José Ramos-Horta has used a series of media interviews to warn that his country may turn to a Chinese company to fund a contentious gas project if the Australian government doesn’t “intervene” and lean on Woodside.
Renewable-focused energy provider enters voluntary administration
Australian-based energy retailer Elysian Energy enters voluntary administration, becoming the seventh boutique provider this year to succumb to the global energy crisis.
‘What if we stopped?’ How Australian arts tours are changing to save the planet
From booking fewer flights to mending socks, companies are focusing on cutting emissions. Can their small changes add up?
Vast outlay on renewables needed to beat economic funk: Garnaut
Australia emits only about 1 per cent of all greenhouse gases but could equip the world for cutting a further 7 per cent of all global emissions, creating an economic boom in the process, according to an eminent economist.
You’ve met Nina. Now SAM might make spring even wetter
Australians are well acquainted with La Nina and the rain-bearing negative Indian Ocean Dipole. Now there’s another weather pattern to wrap your head around: the Southern Annular Mode.
With Scott Morrison gone, Sussan Ley has taken up the task of baseless EV bashing
Graham Readfearn
The deputy Liberal leader has been taken to task over the ‘totally wrong, wholly incorrect’ claim that no one is making electric utes
Black and white and bad all over – time to confront this urban curse properly
Madonna King
Let’s face it, swooping magpies are a springtime menace in urban areas. The solution is obvious.
Bjorn Sturmberg
This week, the Australian Energy Market Operator warned gaps in electricity supply are likely within three years.
Parwinder Kaur
The native Australian rodent Pseudomys fumeus, named smoky mouse for its colour, was already fighting off extinction when the 2019–20 bushfire season hit.
Australia’s no longer a climate pariah but here’s what we should do next
Janaline Oh
With climate legislation on its way and a clear commitment to decarbonise electricity generation, Australia is no longer an international pariah on climate change. But the government can and must do more to seize the job-creating opportunities offered by a greening global economy.
Our climate strategy must includes the health system
Kathryn Woolfield
Extreme heat is a stark reminder of the increasing dangers of climate change – a reality that is not something in the future, but here and now.
No time to lose in building energy grid of future [$]
Brett Redman
We must act now to accelerate the timeline for when renewables can deliver cheaper, cleaner and more reliable energy.
Victoria
Solar power helps make Victoria University more energy-efficient
New rooftop solar panels are the latest step towards Victoria University’s sustainability goals, joining a series of green initiatives including recycled water and waste-reduction programs.
EPA fines Yarragon farmer almost $2000
EPA Victoria has fined a Gippsland farmer for illegally disposing more than 1000 litres of waste, which he claims wasn’t all his.
People walking along the Yarra riverbank in Melbourne’s CBD over the last few months may have noticed divers hauling mangled shopping trolleys, barnacle-encrusted bikes and large bits of sodden timber onto pontoons. The divers are contractors giving the river a deep clean as part of Parks Victoria’s four-year Maintenance Dredging Program.
Shark nets go back in water at NSW beaches
Shark nets are back in the water in NSW, a day after a surfer was mauled north of Sydney, but conservationists say they are wildlife killing machines that don’t protect humans.
‘Absolutely damning’ report blasts NSW government’s handling of biodiversity offset scheme
The Auditor-General of NSW finds the scheme to offset the environmental impact of development in NSW ineffective and may not be sufficient to offset the losses from major projects.
Federal showdown set for proposed mine expansion to fuel NSW’s last coal-fired power station
A coal mining company will have to satisfy the federal Environment Minister its operation will not cause irreversible damage to world-renowned ecosystems.
Plan for ‘sea of roofs’ will destroy last koala habitat in western Sydney, critics say
Environment groups call on federal minister to reject NSW government’s ‘deeply flawed’ Cumberland Plain Conservation Plan
National Parks and Wildlife Service is looking for volunteers to help conduct the 10th annual night-time koala surveys in Bongil Bongil National Park, south of Coffs Harbour.
Progress report finds strategy delivering big water wins for NSW
Communities across the state have reaped the benefits of the NSW Water Strategy, with the first progress report showing major milestones achieved just 12 months after its launch.
Government pumps $44m into hydro projects to plug energy gaps
The state government has announced $44.8 million in funding for five new pumped hydro schemes, creating 2300 jobs across NSW.
Young landholders in central NSW have been praised for their willingness to work with Indigenous landcarers on cultural and environmental management.
ACT
Canberra shows clean energy switch ‘can be done’: Barr
The ACT government wants to demonstrate to the rest of the nation that the shift to 100 per cent renewables and phasing out of fossil-fueled cars and natural gas can be done, Chief Minister Andrew Barr has said.
Queensland
Queensland approves expansion of Carborough Downs coal project
The Queensland Labor government has approved the expansion of a second coal mine in a week, giving the nod for the Carborough Downs mine to more than double its output and operate until 2033.
Brisbane council ‘getting the city prepared’ as it moves on flood review recommendations
Brisbane City Council says it has completed 12 recommendations from this year’s flood review as the opposition ramps up calls for more sandbagging facilities and details on new evacuation centres.
Architect’s near-net zero dinosaur museum recognised as masterpiece of sustainable design
The Muttaburrasaurus Interpretation Centre was built with local rocks as the main material and requires no power or staff to run, features that won the architect a design award.
Most Acland royalties will be locked away from government
Queensland might be entitled to less than seven per cent of royalties generated by a major thermal coal mine that is one step away from approval.
Adani demands activist’s phone, computer in David v Goliath court fight
Ben Pennings, an environmental activist and former Greens’ lord mayoral candidate, has been fighting the mining giant for two years.
Fire ant biosecurity zones extended to include 60 new suburbs
A fire ant eradication team boss says there are concerns for a few areas of south-east Queensland, but the main worry is stopping them from reaching a major river system
South Australia
‘Environmental challenge’: Govt concern over trees axed for housing
Infill housing in metropolitan Adelaide and the felling of trees for development has prompted concerns about South Australia’s canopy targets, as a university report finds the state’s urban tree protection laws are among the weakest in the nation.
Zero-emission buses and trains in Transport Dept sights
A Transport Department planner says “we can’t keep building lots of roads” and people need to be encouraged to use public transport as a first option, with work underway on a business case for transitioning Adelaide’s entire diesel bus and train fleets to zero-emission.
Tasmania
Surfers urge moratorium on salmon
Media release – Surfing Tasmania
Surfing Tasmania is calling for a moratorium on biomass increases on all existing leases until base line science is completed and the introduction of a mandate for reporting of white pointer shark sightings by salmon farmers.
Northern Territory
Sand miner hatches plan to supply gas companies aiming to frack in Beetaloo Basin
A company has revealed plans to mine sand in the Northern Territory. It is also exploring for silica sand, which it says could be sold to Asian countries for solar panel production
Western Australia
Why this forestry boss says his carbon offset is no rort
Australia’s carbon neutral goals could be met sooner, as forestry companies are now able to sequester and store carbon into existing plantations for profit.
Further support for miners to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
Western Australia accelerating efforts to achieve net zero emission mining
Wittenoom’s last resident has been told to leave, but WA government will not say when
Lorraine Thomas was told to leave this week, but the WA government will not say when it will force her out of her home of 40 years.
Is Twiggy Forrest serious about a major green energy investment in Papua New Guinea?
Jeffrey Wall
But the ‘elephant in the room’ when it comes to investment in Papua New Guinea relates to the intentions of one of our richest industry leaders, Andrew Twiggy Forrest.
Sustainability
Fighting at Ukraine nuclear plant brings chances of a meltdown to a ‘coin toss’
As calls continue for an end to military activity around Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia power plant, experts are warning there’s significant risk of a nuclear accident.
An International Atomic Energy Agency inspection team braves intense shelling to reach the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, arriving after a delay of several hours in a large convoy with a heavy presence of Russian soldiers nearby.
South African court bans offshore oil and gas exploration by Shell
Judgment is huge victory for campaigners concerned about effect of seismic waves on marine life
Loved to death? Why the return of tourism to South-East Asia isn’t all good news
Tourists’ return to South-East Asia will bring economic relief but may it also spell ruin for the region’s iconic locations.
Surprising history of how electric vehicles have played long game and won
Timothy Minchin
Electric vehicles, we are often told, are the future. A whole range of carmakers and nations have plans to go electric.
Why invisible cultures will determine humanity’s future
Richard Eckersley
A deeply flawed culture is spreading throughout the world epitomised by today’s global, technocratic and managerial elite with growing inequality and concentration of wealth and power.
Grand plans to save the planet enough to drive people mad [$]
Bjorn Lomborg
When people are cold, hungry and broke, they rebel. If the elite keeps pushing expensive policies disconnected from the urgent challenges facing most people, brace for chaos.
Nature Conservation
Illegal fires in Brazilian Amazon reach highest number since 2010
Despite an official ban on fires by the federal government, the number of fires in August was 18% higher than the prior year.
Global fish stocks can’t rebuild if nothing done to halt climate change and overfishing
Researchers at UBC, the Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions and University of Bern projected the impact that different global temperature increases and ranges of fishing activity would have on biomass, or the amount of fish by weight in a given area, from 1950 to 2100. Their simulations suggest that climate change has reduced fish stocks in 103 of 226 marine regions studied, including Canada, from their historical levels. These stocks will struggle to rebuild their numbers under projected global warming levels in the 21st century.
15 big issues poised to impact oceans and coasts
Experts from around the world put their heads together to consider effects of emerging trends on marine and coastal biodiversity.
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