Date: 28 November 2022 at 8:55:43 am AEDT
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Nov 28
Post of the Day
Climate concern the main reason voters swung to independents at federal election, study finds
Nearly half of voters who switched to an independent candidate at 2022 election did so because of climate fears, researchers say
On This Day
Climate Change
How COP27 nearly foundered as fossil fuel lobbyists were busy greenwashing
The COP27 ambitions were modest and the outcomes even more so. The many fossil fuel lobbyists in attendance did little to buyo the mood.
Just Stop Oil expected to begin two weeks of action in London from Monday
Scotland Yard believes environmental activist group will launch two weeks of ‘disruption’ in the capital before Christmas
National
Economics has helped to destroy the environment. Can it be used to save it?
If we can’t value the environment, human activity on earth is “going to come crashing down”. Luckily, we can, according to former Treasury boss Ken Henry.
Climate council predicts disastrous summer
The Climate Council and Emergency Leaders for Climate Action are calling for action before a disastrous summer of weather events.
Coal miners mount fight with government as they deny role in rising power bills
The biggest clash between the mining industry and federal government in more than a decade is brewing over a cap on fossil fuel prices after the Australian Energy Regulator confirmed rising coal prices are a key driver of soaring power bills, a claim the miners have fiercely denied.
ANZ defends oil and gas lending as it vows to cut emissions
ANZ Bank has left the door open to increasing lending to the oil and gas sector even as it warned it could cut off funding for heavy polluters without credible plans to cut emissions.
Mars bars, Snickers gets paper makeover amid soft plastic recycling crisis
The new-look Mars, Snickers and Milky Way bars are expected to hit shelves by April 2023.
Energy measures broader in scope [$]
Cabinet this week will discuss a proposal to intervene in the energy market and bring down power prices, with the canvassed set of measures to be broader than a hit on gas producers.
Recycling company faces secret landfill dump claims [$]
One of the nation’s largest recycling companies has been accused of secretly dumping more than 260 tonnes of plastics into landfill.
Who will foot the bill for global climate disasters? – Full Story Podcast
Developing countries had a win at this year’s international climate summit Cop27, with developed countries agreeing to chip in to a fund to cover loss and damage from climate disasters.
Tech, lies and videotape: fake news is rising
Chris Mitchell
The ABC and Guardian Australia continue to peddle false lines from Labor that renewables are the cheapest form of energy, and its IR reforms are the best way to secure pay rises for workers.
Addressing a wasteful problem [$]
Australian editorial
Those who make the effort to recycle want to know it is worthwhile.
Future climate targets are all a massive COP-out [$]
Nicholas Stuart
Australia’s government must act now on climate, not set meaningless future targets
Victoria
Victorian election results to be finalised as counting resumes in wake of Labor victory
Counting is resuming to determine the final make-up of the state’s leadership, in the wake of a Labor victory which has left the Coalition fractured and the future of the Liberal Party uncertain.
‘Teal wave’ turns out to be barely a ripple as number of Victorian independents goes backwards
Of four state election candidates backed by Climate 200, two remain in contention – but both trail Liberals
Left-wing parties could hold power in Victoria’s upper house
Micro parties tied to the so-called ‘preference whisperer’ Glenn Druery were performing poorly in the early count of upper house votes on Sunday afternoon.
Liberals too scared to fight for their principles [$]
Andrew Bolt
Victorian Liberals have become a spectacular example of why pandering to global warming alarmists and woke causes doesn’t work.
Is the energy market ready for Dan Andrews 3.0? [$]
Eric Johnston
The Victorian premier will use his third term to play a bigger role than ever in shaping national energy policy.
New South Wales
Oxford Street cycleway construction to begin after WorldPride festival
The state government is injecting almost $12 million into the long-awaited cycleway which will connect to bike paths in Sydney’s CBD.
We’re nowhere near prepared for next climate disasters
After a succession of “unnatural disasters”, we know climate-related emergencies will only get worse and cost many billions of dollars. Where will we get that kind of money? I know just the place.
Cities, just not as we know them – get ready for NSW’s Six Cities Region
Geoff Roberts
Australia’s first multi-city region, the Six Cities Region, is being developed in New South Wales. A multi-city region, also known as a mega-region, establishes an integrated network of globally and locally connected cities.
ACT
Garran residents not giving up golf club fight [$]
A protracted fight over the Federal Golf Club’s proposal to build a retirement village has entered its next chapter, as a local group objects to the next step in a two-decade long development attempt.
ACT ‘running out of time’ to head off spiralling bushfire threat [$]
As swathes of lush green growth envelop the bush capital, one of the region’s foremost bushfire experts has warned of complacency around preparedness for the hot, dry seasons ahead which again will inevitably place the ACT under fire threat.
Effective fire management critical to health and survival of Australian forests
Tony Bartlett
Recent reporting about the risks of conducting prescribed burning in the ACT’s forests fails to recognise the critical role fire plays in maintaining the health of Australian forest ecosystems and ignores the lived history of bushfires in the ACT.
Queensland
Climate change has cost Australia billions. And one state is bearing the brunt of it
A Climate Council report released today reveals Queensland suffered higher economic damages from extreme weather disasters than any other Australian state or territory.
Dirty dozen: Qld coalmines to stay open beyond net-zero deadline [$]
Internal government correspondence reveals 12 Queensland coalmines will continue operating beyond the 2020 net-zero deadline.
The environmental price of building new wind farms [$]
Ark Energy has scaled back its $1 billion Chalumbin wind farm in North Queensland after environmentalists said it was too close to World Heritage rainforests.
Tasmania
Baby steps to restore giant kelp forest [$]
Baby giant kelps were planted across 7000 square metres of reef in southeast Tasmania last month, in the first attempt at ‘forest-scale’ kelp restoration in the Southern Hemisphere.
Northern Territory
Meeting minutes reveal a government-appointed committee feels “backed into a corner” over a soon-to-be-released plan covering Australia’s largest water licence.
Western Australia
Native title body uses police to eject critics from meeting amid calls for new directors
MG Corporation is Kununurra’s main native title organisation, but there’s anger among members over the appointment of directors and the use of police to remove some vocal traditional owners from meetings.
How climate change will drive students out of the classroom this summer
Heatwaves will be more likely across much of the state, including Perth this summer, with the hotter and drier conditions pointing to a difficult bushfire season.
Perth fossil fuel explorer plans another crack at a Kimberley frack
Plans to drill in the Kimberley using hydraulic fracturing technology have been scrapped by a tiny Perth-based oil company that once promoted a vision of a $77 billion development
Sustainability
As cruise companies head into their busiest season, they say they have ambitious plans to curb greenhouse emissions and find cleaner sources of fuel. But critics say the progress is too slow.
U.N. report calls for the ban of mercury trade and its use in gold mining
Small-scale gold mining is the key driver of global mercury demand, according to a U.N. report on the highly toxic metal, with South America accounting for 39% of this demand.
Increasing vulnerability, inadequate regulations, decaying infrastructure, social and economic inequality, and climate change demand a revamping of U.S. efforts to prevent or prepare for disasters, the author argues.
White House releases environmental justice screening tool
The tool, months in the making, is supposed to help the administration identify communities in need of federal assistance.
Costly proof energy autonomy gone with the wind (and sun) [$]
James Philips
Oil, coal and gas are found in many places. The materials required for renewables are mostly produced in China. This will mean more dependence, not less.
Marine parks not whale safe havens
Marine protected areas are failing to keep marine life safe as commercial shipping routes go directly through them, research shows.
Sharks, songbirds and species depleted by pet trade given extra protections
Cites treaty, adopted in 1963, protects more than 500 species, many exploited by unsustainable or illegal trade
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