Post of the Day
Global greenhouse gas emissions are supposed to be coming down. We just hit a record high
Fossil carbon emissions bounced back to a record high this year and are likely to keep climbing, with scientists saying we’ll cross 1.5C of warming early next decade.
On This Day
Ecological Observance
National Tree Day – Luxembourg
Tit Day – Russia
Climate Change
Climate activists target Norway’s most famous painting, Edvard Munch’s The Scream
In a video, one protester shouts “I scream for people dying”, and the other calls out “I scream when lawmakers ignore science”.
Frankie the Dinosaur warns of climate extinction at COP27 – video
He may be a dinosaur, but he hates fossil fuels. Frankie the Dinosaur is saying “don’t choose extinction” to warn world leaders at the COP27 climate conference.
Cop27: Biden says leaders ‘can no longer plead ignorance’ over climate crisis
US president announces plan to cut methane emissions as he urges major economies to ‘step up’ efforts to keep global heating to 1.5C
Cop27 must pave the way for ‘a Paris moment’ for nature, says UN
Outcome of climate summit is crucial to ensuring strong targets at Cop15 in December, warns biodiversity head
Global carbon emissions will reach record levels this year. These six charts explain why
Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels will reach a record high this year after the COVID pandemic, with no sign of the deep reductions urgently needed to tackle global warming.
Biden pushes to require big federal contractors to cut climate pollution
The proposed rule marks a significant step toward greening the government’s sprawling operations and one that could ripple across the U.S. supply chain.
World has nine years to avert catastrophic global warming, study shows
As nations meet at COP27 in Egypt, studies show the world on track exhaust its carbon budget in nine years — and new gas projects could accelerate that trend.
Biden’s COP27 climate message might not be the one the world wants
The president is expected to hail the new U.S. climate law on Friday at the COP27 summit in Egypt. Other countries want to talk money.
Fridays for Future protest and a ‘die-in’: day five at Cop27 – in pictures
Activists call for money to support climate action and Joe Biden meets Egypt’s Abdel Fatah al-Sisi
Pep Canadell et al
Global carbon dioxide emissions from all human activities remain at record highs in 2022, and fossil fuel emissions have risen above pre-pandemic levels, according to a new analysis by an international body of scientists.
What is being decided at COP27? [$]
Mike Seccombe
As the number of climate-related disasters almost doubles, and refugee numbers surge, the UN climate summit is finally asking a key question: How do you make the countries that caused the crisis pay?
Time to be brave: Investors ponder massive fossil free investments in steel and hydrogen
Anna Freeman
How fast can industry bring massive decarbonisation projects to market? It’s one of the big questions for the likes of CWP and Vattenfall at Egypt’s COP27.
Reparations on the agenda at world’s biggest trade fair [$]
Graham Lloyd
It’s become clear in Egypt is that as the UN continues to stoke despair about what the future climate might hold, including the world being ‘on a highway to climate hell’, demands for ‘climate justice’ are rising strongly.
National
Federal government, CSIRO and Google join forces to research ocean carbon sinks
The federal government will partner with the CSIRO and Google to study how marine ecosystems in the Indo-Pacific are absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Gas price cap on the table: Albanese
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese admits Australians need relief on soaring energy prices and says a price cap on gas is one option on the table as his government seeks solutions.
Renewed flooding threat for Victoria, NSW
Victorian communities are preparing for yet another flood emergency this weekend, as authorities in NSW also warn of “dangerous” conditions across the state.
Australians facing prohibitive insurance premiums after climate-related disasters
Costs are rising nationwide but especially in flood-hit parts of the nation, and low-income residents are worst affected
Frustrated EV buyers stuck on year-long waiting lists want government to act on supply
EV buyers are sick of waiting over a year for cars that are being sent to Europe or New Zealand because of Australia’s lax vehicle emissions standards.
Does a lack of consensus on what water security looks like spell trouble for Australia’s future?
In Australia, a land of drought and flooding rains, the institutions and government departments responsible for water policy have no common definition of water security.
Coal, gas export levy ‘simpler’ [$]
An energy expert says a temporary windfall profits tax on the coal and gas sector would be most easily implemented if it took the form of a levy on exports.
Not-so-dead parrot back from brink [$]
Amid the doom and gloom of species extinctions, one little bird with a bright orange spot has defied the odds to take a step back from the brink of oblivion.
Rich countries like Australia shouldn’t balk at climate spending – it will soon pay for itself
Frank Jotzo
‘Loss and damage’ finance for developing nations and domestic support for clean energy industries may be politically difficult – but they are necessary investments
We can still act on plastic: 18 tips and tricks to use right now
Emma Young
We can’t afford to bury our heads in the sand. Here are some easy, cheap and practical ways you can curb even the most rampant plastic consumption habit.
Treasury thinks the unthinkable: Yes, intervene in coal and gas markets
Ross Gittins
How to respond when a shock rattles the economic holy grail of the price mechanism?
Climate elite say struggling Aussies must COP the cost [$]
Vikki Campion
While despots and dictators demand $100 billion for a future fund to deal with climate change, Aussie mums are struggling to put food on the table right now.
‘Toxic cover-up’: 6 lessons Australia can draw from the UN’s scathing report on greenwashing
Keegan Robertson et al
The United Nations this week slammed corporate “greenwashing” and said organisations cannot claim to be net-zero while supporting fossil fuel projects.
U.S. slammed for decrying Australia’s anti-nuke stance
Julia Conley
As Australia considers signing a treaty against nuclear weapons, the United States has taken a bullying approach against the Albanese Government.
Australia must make its own decision on Nuclear Weapons Treaty
Gem Romuld
US Embassy officials in Canberra have warned Australia against signing and ratifying the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, saying it would be inconsistent with Australia’s policy of nuclear deterrence.
Batteries of gravity and water: 1,500 pumped hydro sites identified
Andrew Blakers et al
In eight years, Australia wants to be four-fifths powered by renewables. Solar and wind investment is pouring in. But to firm the renewables and overcome the intermittency, we need overnight energy storage. That’s why there’s so much interest in pumped hydro.
Rachel Withers
Is it possible to tax the coal and gas industries without the conservative media crying “mining tax”?
Will the mass uptake of EVs blow up the power grid?
Amalyah Hart
Report says sensible – and smart – policies will support the huge new load on the power system as Australia transitions to battery-electric cars.
Green zealotry will not save battlers from power pain [$]
Gemma Tognini
The loudest voices outside of government pushing the green dream are elites who, from Australia’s largest homes, private planes, islands and yachts, lecture to the rest of us.
Victoria
‘At arm’s length’: Minister denies conflict of interest in Visy fundraiser
Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio insists there is no conflict of interest in the tender process for the state’s $500 million container deposit scheme.
‘A brown tinge’: Why the water quality at our best beaches is so on the nose
Partially treated sewage is being pumped out near some of Victoria’s iconic beaches, while rivers and creeks are carrying dirty flood water into bays and the ocean.
No one in Victoria has heard this bird for almost 40 years. Have a listen
“The excitement went from zero to 100”: The rare white-bellied whipbird has been recorded in the state for the first time in decades.
Victoria Labor promises another 100 neighbourhood batteries to soak up rooftop solar
Daniel Andrews promises to install 100 neighbourhood batteries across the state if re-elected later this month, to make the most of the state’s rooftop solar resource.
New South Wales
Increased Hume Dam releases spark community flood concern
Flooded downriver communities are on high alert as more water is set to be released from the Hume Dam, and more heavy rain predicted.
Record baby boom of near-extinct species ‘like a modern Jurassic Park’, breeders say
Conservationists are celebrating a record number of eastern quoll joeys born at a Barrington Tops wildlife sanctuary this season, as efforts to save the endangered species continue.
Short duration rainfall expected to increase as climate warms
A new study has used radar data to show short, heavy bursts of rain have become far more common over Sydney in the past 20 years.
‘Critical’: Five-year light rail delay revelation mars ‘milestone’ project
The second stage of the Parramatta light rail is on track but frustrations are growing over the long delay for the project’s start date. Read the list of stops proposed.
Santos to meet NSW premier over Narrabri
The boss of Santos will meet the NSW premier to resolve confusion and delays to the $3.6 billion Narrabri Gas Project.
Queensland
At least 35 barramundi are living in the Brisbane River
Climate change in Far North Queensland and migration from the Sunshine Coast may be responsible for a population of barramundi living in the Brisbane River.
Coal projects in Great Barrier Reef catchments approved without environmental impact statements
Environmental groups call on Queensland government to end exemptions, with six mining ventures already given green light
Queenslanders’ top transport priorities ahead of 2032 Games revealed [$]
Queenslanders say they can do without innovative new solutions like futuristic air taxis, as they reveal exactly what the priorities should be when it comes to the legacy projects of Brisbane 2032.
Crucial Sunshine Coast rail link route remains under a cloud [$]
The future route of the Sunshine Coast Rail remains a mystery as political games and delays plague the long-discussed project, despite the tight deadline to get it delivered ahead of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Queensland’s secret toxic water scandal [$]
Dangerous levels of toxic chemicals have been found in groundwater outside one of Australia’s worst contamination disaster sites, but the information has been kept secret from landholders.
South Australia
The company that bulldozed this sacred Aboriginal site had a year to apologise. It didn’t
Multinational energy company ElectraNet was last year told to engage with the Traditional Owners of a site in South Australia after destroying it to build a powerline. They say they’ve heard nothing since.
Tasmania
TWS takes legal action on eastern forests
The Wilderness Society has lodged an urgent application for pre-action discovery with the Tasmanian Supreme Court seeking the “forest practices plans” from Forestry Tasmania (trading as Sustainable Timber Tasmania (STT)) for the Snow Hill logging coupes at the Eastern Tiers. The matter is now set down to be heard on Wednesday 16 November.
Consider alternatives to Huonville Bypass
Circular Economy Huon
The transport needs of Tasmanians have been poorly catered for over the years, despite $3bn/year of taxpayer money directed towards roads on measures to alleviate congestion and ease freight movement.
Renewed call to refuse renewal of Long Bay salmon farming lease
Media release – Tasman Peninsula Marine Protection
The Taman community has been running a campaign to “Give Back Long Bay” since July and asking that Tassal remove its pens and cease the environmental harm being done to the bay.
Western Australia
Culture comes alive: revitalising bushcraft in an achingly beautiful Kimberley landscape
A new project led by the Ngarinyin people aims to reinvigorate the meticulous craft of traditional harvesting practices for generations to come
Walyalup Climate Action says no new fossil fuels
The newly formed community Walyalup Climate Action drew around 300 people to its inaugural event — “Real climate action means no new fossil fuels”
Sustainability
While many parts of the world struggle to get behind the wheel of an electric vehicle because of cost, India makes it a mission to make them affordable to many of its 1.3 billion people.
Russia’s war in Ukraine leaves behind worsening environmental damage
Pollution and toxins released during the eight-month-old war have caused environmental devastation, leaving more than six million people without clean water and thousands of hectares of forest burnt.
Thanks to new legal pathways, people around the world could sue plastics manufacturers for damages totalling more than $20 billion by 2030, with most lawsuits originating in the U.S., according to a new study.
Plastics pose a problem in waterways. Could chemical recycling be a solution?
A recent study suggests enlisting bioengineered microbes to solve the mixed-use plastic recycling problem.
A challenge for cities: going green, without gentrification
Community displacement has emerged as an unintended cost of climate resilience efforts. Here’s how cities can boost both livability and equity.
The wrong stuff: The misplaced focus on plastics recycling
Howard Husock
Virgin plastic is cheap to produce so recycling plastics requires subsidies to discourage the use of such products.
Has the population bomb exploded? [$]
Julian Cribb
On November 15, according to the UN, human being number 8,000,000,000 will enter the world. But what sort of a world will they inherit?
Nature Conservation
Voting on the future of the shark fin trade
A vote next week will decide whether to overhaul the regulation and monitoring of the international shark fin trade.
Good news! You’re Florida’s new governor. Bad news: Now you have to save our environment
Craig Pittman
Water pollution, dead manatees, climate change — here’s a list of what to tackle.
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