Post of the Day
Cut meat consumption to two burgers a week to save planet, study suggests
Climate crisis report says ‘we are not winning in any sector’ as experts call for urgent action on fossil fuels
On This Day
Birth of Baha’ullah – Baha’i
Climate Change
EU on track to break pledge to cut methane emissions by 30%, warns report
‘Policy vacuum’ on livestock emissions amid pressure from industry lobbyists blamed for failings
Atmospheric levels of all three greenhouse gases hit record high
Scientists warn world ‘is heading in wrong direction’ amid rise in nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide and methane
Global health at mercy of fossil fuel addiction, warn scientists
Reliance on oil and gas worsening climate impacts and compounding food, energy and cost of living crises
Renewables surge but world not on track for 1.5 degrees
With war on its doorstep, Europe has managed to drive down fossil fuel use and supercharge renewable energy sources, but carbon cuts are still not fast enough.
Greater cloud cover may be narrowing gap between daily high and low temperatures
Greater daytime cloud cover may be shrinking the difference between daily high and low temperatures in parts of the world, new research suggests.
Analysis: Africa’s unreported extreme weather in 2022 and climate change
From deadly floods in Nigeria to devastating drought in Somalia, Africa has faced a run of severe – and sometimes unprecedented – extreme weather events since the start of 2022.
We are having the world’s first global energy crisis. And next year could be worse
Stephen Bartholomeusz
The world is grappling with an energy crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But the International Energy Agency boss warns we may not have seen anything yet.
National
Australia’s longest river system experiencing its wettest October ever
Rain this October across the Murray-Darling Basin is already close to 150 millimetres, nearly four times the average of 43.2mm and well above the old record of 102mm from 1950.
Labor sets scene for war on water as buybacks funded and dams ditched
The government has announced a plan to buy back water from irrigators for the first time in a decade, setting up a showdown between stakeholders in the Murray-Darling Basin.
Australia’s lack of a national climate change and health adaptation plan is putting lives at risk and our transition to renewables is “unacceptably slow”, according to a report.
Climate spending in federal budget welcomed as ‘real milestone’
The funds allocated will cover measures including the adoption of electric cars, restoration of the Climate Change Authority, and the creation of Australia’s first national health and climate strategy.
Rod Sims argues Labor needs to be tougher on energy sector, stating ‘it just needs the threat and I think they will act’
Australian governments urged to scrap ‘one-in-100-year’ flood standard and update risk maps
Experts say flood mapping needs to be standardised and frequently updated amid crisis in NSW and Victoria
Electric cars boosted by $4700 tax cut, charging network
Federal budget tax cuts for electric cars and moves to create a national electric vehicle charging network in Australia have been welcomed by motoring and environmental groups overnight.
Fossil fuel companies spend millions on sport to ‘greenwash’ image, report claims
A new report claims the fossil fuel industry is spending up to $18m a year sponsoring top-level sport in Australia to “greenwash” its image.
‘Zero space for delay’: Labor hunts for curbs on power price surge
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has cleared the ground for new curbs on energy companies to prevent a price shock that could add $1300 to household bills over the next two years as union chiefs demand rapid action from Labor to stop the surge revealed in Tuesday’s budget.
COP27 must ‘bring climate back to top’ of agenda amid energy crisis: investors
Leading Australian sustainable investors are concerned the war in Ukraine and energy crisis have dragged governments’ focus away from achieving decarbonisation targets.
Hip pocket pain: grim reality of soaring electricity prices [$]
Shops will close, businesses fold and home budgets buckle: Aussies reveal the toll of skyrocketing power bills, which fly in the face of the $275 cut they were sold before the election.
Revealed: How much green schemes add to your power bill [$]
A leading charity is urging the state and federal governments to remove the growing cost of environmental schemes and subsidies. See how much they’re adding to your electricity bill.
Government’s $10 million gift for radical climate protesters [$]
Over the next four years the government will give nearly $10 million to the Environmental Defenders Office and Environmental Justice Australia, Budget papers reveal.
Electric car ‘connected highway’ years off
Australian drivers are three years away from taking long road trips in electric vehicles without having to plan around charging stations, according to a national motoring group.
Twelve countries including Germany and New Zealand stepping up to champion the campaign for an…
Forget the myth, here’s why the koala is no marsupial stoner
Koala: A Life in Trees reveals the wider story of an animal that most Australians think they know well but don’t.
How an ‘acquired taste’ could save Australia’s Great Southern Reef from ruin
An ocean harvest that fetches up to $40 a teaspoon in Melbourne restaurants could be the key to reducing reef devastation being caused by sea urchins.
Confidential water fund sends ‘shiver down the spine’ of Murray-Darling Basin communities
The federal government has allocated money to buy back water from irrigators in a bid to meet targets that some have deemed unreachable. Farmers’ groups say basin communities are “triggered” by the news.
The biggest budget surprise is going to hurt – and it’ll get worse soon
David Speers
The most immediate challenge the government faces is soaring energy prices. This was the biggest surprise in the budget – and not a pleasant one
Australians were short-changed on climate action in the budget. Here’s where it went wrong
Timothy Neal
Jim Chalmers unveiled his budget in a precarious economic environment and amid fears of a looming global recession. But while the national conversation is focused on short-term economic pressures, the world is entering unprecedented territory of climate disruption
Australian voters were betrayed on energy prices, but not by Labor’s budget
Katharine Murphy
Before things get totally hysterical over the next few days, let’s talk about what betrayal really looks like
Conservative commentator Erin Molan digs herself into a hole in defence of coal
Graham Readfearn
Fossil fuels simply don’t check out when it comes to tackling Australia’s rising energy prices while lowering emissions
Albanese’s election promise to bring down power bills comes back to bite Chalmers
David Crowe
Labor cannot tell voters if it stands by the claim its policies would cut power bills by $275 a year.
All pain, no gain in Budget’s global warming spending [$]
Andrew Bolt
How dare Anthony Albanese keep Australians ignorant of the danger of our global warming hysteria — the frightening truth was hidden deep in the Budget papers.
Out of bounds: how much does greenwashing cost fossil-fuel sponsors of Australian sport?
Emma Sherry et al
High-profile Australian athletes and supporters across sports such as cricket, netball and Australian Rules football have recently called for their sports to reconsider their partnerships with fossil fuel or mining companies.
Budget restraint? When it comes to transport projects, it’s hard to find
Marion Terrill
“Restraint” – that’s what Treasurer Jim Chalmers claimed as the watchword of Tuesday’s federal budget. Perhaps the claim can be made in general, but when it comes to transport infrastructure, the budget is remarkable not for how different it is to budgets past, but how similar. It has left plenty of opportunities for actual restraint for next time around, in May 2023.
Labor must pull its finger out [$]
Simon Benson
The need for the federal government to step in on gas prices has now become critical.
Corporates put on notice over climate reporting [$]
Glenda Korporaal
The need for a globally compatible, mandatory standard of reporting for Australian companies on their moves to reduce carbon emissions has taken another step forward.
Australia should get more gas out of the ground for home and abroad [$]
AFR editorial
Pulling some kind of gas trigger would increase sovereign and regulatory risk on the investment needed in Australia’s resources sector.
Victoria
Andrews insists renewable energy plan will tamp power prices
Premier Daniel Andrews says his plan to set up a state-controlled renewable energy company will push down power prices, after the federal budget predicted bills will soar by more than half in the next 18 months.
New South Wales
High-tech ‘virtual’ fence could save the lives of native wildlife
A NSW South Coast council builds a virtual fence that notifies animals of approaching cars on the roads.
Feral animal shooting stopped for six weeks amid concern populations will soar
The shooting of feral animals across all NSW national parks has been suspended following an alleged incident in February but farmers are up in arms about the ban.
‘Labor has put up white flag’: Kean to demand relief as energy bills soar
NSW Treasurer Matt Kean says the federal government was briefed weeks ago on soaring power bills but delivered nothing in Tuesday’s budget.
ACT
Commonwealth’s light rail funding not to be fully handed out until 2030 [$]
Discussions between the federal and ACT government around the timing and delivery of light rail are ongoing, as the $85 million set aside for the project in the federal budget will not be fully handed over until 2030.
New rules for food businesses under draft Circular Economy Strategy [$]
Food businesses will be required to divert food waste from landfill and encouraged to reduce their overall waste, as part of the ACT’s Circular Economy Strategy.
Queensland
Relief as Paradise Dam rebuild saved from budget’s sweeping cuts
The federal budget has withdrawn, reduced or deferred funds for several Queensland dams, but work on raising Paradise Dam’s wall has been saved from the chopping block.
Zinc spill reported at mine in Gulf of Carpentaria
A clean-up is underway after a zinc slurry spill from a mine in the Lawn Hill nature preserve. Authorities and Indigenous elders are on scene.
South Australia
Why SA towns are predicted to be spared from the flooding seen in Vic
River Murray flows coming across the SA border from Victoria are steadily increasing, but water levels are not expected to cause “major damages”.
Another Adelaide dam full after spring rain
Kangaroo Creek Reservoir in the Adelaide Hills has reached full capacity after taking on 15 billion litres of water since winter, prompting the first use of a new spillway.
Tunnels gone? Treasurer won’t rule out radical South Rd cuts [$]
Treasurer Stephen Mullighan has refused to rule out a major overhaul of the trouble-plagued Torrens-to-Darlington project – with the twin tunnels possibly cut.
Tasmania
$500K hit: Landslides wreak havoc on Tassie’s mountain bike capital [$]
Two major landslides have caned Tasmania’s mountain biking capital, with a new trail to be possibly abandoned. The mayor says the damage justifies a controversial new council proposal.
Western Australia
WA Police Commissioner alleges Cassius Turvey an ‘innocent victim of a violent attack’
WA’s Police Commissioner asks the public to “refrain from unfounded speculation” on the tragic death of Cassius Turvey, who died in hospital 10 days after being the victim of an alleged violent attack.
Coal mining troubles push WA power prices to record highs
WA is not immune to the rising power prices seen in the east, with expensive gas replacing unreliable coal sending wholesale prices to a record high.
Sustainability
No fart jokes please, this is world-saving science [$]
A team of researchers is developing a revolutionary drinking water delivery system to introduce methane-reducing additives into the diet of cattle
Explainer: How to keep the bills down with the rising cost of living
Steve Evans
Keeping bills down isn’t straightforward. It can mean spending money now to save money later. You have to make decisions about the worth of the investment over the longer term. How much pain today for how much gain tomorrow?
Nature Conservation
Florida teen wins thousands by catching Burmese pythons in bizarre competition
A 19-year-old South Florida man captures 28 Burmese pythons during a 10-day competition that was created to increase awareness about the threats the invasive snakes pose to the state’s ecology.
Businesses call for nature impact disclosures to be mandatory by 2030
H&M, Sainsbury’s and Nestlé are among more than 300 companies urging governments to agree to the pledge at Cop15 in December
Illegal fishing spurs billions in losses for developing countries, study says
Analysis finds global practice is a major driver of marine ecosystems’ destruction and is estimated to run up to $50bn
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