Date: 8 November 2022 at 8:41:43 am AEDT
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Subject: Daily Links Nov 8
Post of the Day
Australia’s secret pacts militarise global warming
Erik Paul
Australia’s secretive military pact with the US and UK (AUKUS) is an offensive Anglosphere war megamachine shield from growing human and political upheavals of global warming and expanding inequity in global governance. Climate change constitutes an existential threat to humanity and a peaceful world order.
On This Day
Birth of Guru Nanak Dev Sahib Ji – Sikhism
Ecological Observance
Climate Change
Nearly 200 countries gathering for the UN climate conference in Egypt are expected to lock horns over whether rich nations should pay compensation to vulnerable states hit by climate-fuelled disasters.
New study warns Arctic fires could release catastrophic amounts of CO2
Global warming is responsible for increasingly large fires in Siberia, and in the decades ahead the blazes could release huge amounts of carbon currently trapped in the soil, according to a new report.
UN chief’s disturbing ‘suicide pact’ warning as the world on ‘highway to climate hell’
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has urged to the world to come together in solidary — not a “Collective Suicide Pact” — in an alarming address to the COP27 summit.
The U.N. holds a climate summit every year. Is it actually working?
Nations have made ambition carbon-cutting promises. But the money question is proving to be a challenge.
Countries made bold climate promises last year. How are they doing?
At last year’s U.N. climate summit in Glasgow, world leaders pledged to halt deforestation, phase out fossil fuel subsidies and offer up more climate aid. Following through has been tough.
5 tensions that could derail the climate conference
Set against a backdrop of severe weather disasters, this year’s gathering of world leaders collides with soaring energy costs, food insecurity and a looming recession.
Energy hungry EU must regain the trust of poorer countries at COP27
European countries stand accused of climate hypocrisy as they buy up the world’s fossil fuel resources to secure domestic energy supply.
IMF chief calls for global carbon price by 2030
The price of carbon needs to average at least $US75 ($115) a tonne globally by the end of the decade for global climate goals to succeed, the head of the International Monetary Fund says.
Germany, Belgium pledge funds to tackle climate ‘loss and damage’
Germany and Belgium on Monday joined a small number of wealthy countries to commit funding to help developing nations facing damage and losses caused by climate change, committing 170 million euros and 2.5 million euros
Meloni says Italy will stick to Paris climate targets
Italy’s new right-wing government remains committed to decarbonisation in line with the Paris climate agreement, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told the COP27 summit on Monday.
COP27: Accounts of climate crisis victims underscore urgency of action
With the latest reports stating that the world is hurtling toward global warming levels of at least 2.5°C, a new briefing by Amnesty International illustrates the devastation that the climate crisis is already causing.
Opening days of the Cop27 climate summit – in pictures
Images from Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt where world leaders are gathering to discuss the climate crisis
Will COP27 end up as just a lot of hot air? – podcast
World leaders are gathering for the COP-27 climate summit in Egypt. But with a rapidly changing climate and a conference marked by key absences, questions are being raised about how much can truly be achieved.
A look back at COP26 before pitching forward at COP27 [$]
Julia Bergin
COP26 leaned into four big buzzwords: mitigation, adaptation, finance and collaboration. Are nations on track going into COP27?
National
Volvo won’t sell petrol cars here by 2026. Will the likes of Toyota and Ford follow their lead?
Automotive lobbyists are applauding Volvo’s decision to stop selling petrol powered cars in Australia within four years, but say this sort of commitment will be tougher for brands that sell cheaper cars en masse.
Biodiscovery bill to include Indigenous voices on copyright
First Nations people have shared their thoughts on a Biodiscovery bill to copyright their knowledge of bush foods.
Australians households and businesses are expected to speed up the transition to renewables as energy prices soar and payback periods for solar and batteries shorten.
Aussie super-rich named among worst polluters
Australian billionaires have made the list of the world’s richest people with the worst carbon emissions amid calls for governments to “tackle this urgently” as the COP27 summit gets underway.
Torres Strait Islanders build seawall at parliament
More than 100 kilometres away from the coast, a seawall of sandbags stands outside federal parliament.
Whopping pollie power bill revealed
Aussie taxpayers have foot the bill for eye-watering charges to power Parliament House, and there are fears the costs will only grow higher.
Beach Energy warns price curbs could ‘turn off the tap’ to new gas
Gas producer Beach Energy says the threat of intervention over soaring energy bills could further inflame the east-coast gas crisis.
Burping cows hoping to save the climate
Australia has committed to a global pledge to reduce methane, a potent greenhouse gas, by 30 per cent on 2020 levels by the end of the decade.
But it’s ruled out a “burp tax” like the one proposed by New Zealand, which will levy farmers for emissions from their cows – at both ends of the animal.
Where the jobs are: Regional Australia set to boom on the back of renewables
The regional Australia of the future will be home to more millennials and migrants, with economies bolstered by a boom in jobs in the renewable energy sector, experts say.
Holmes à Court’s candid views laid bare
A new book gives readers an inside perspective on Climate 200’s fundraising and the wave of independents elected to the 47th Parliament.
Greta Thunberg isn’t alone in rejecting the UN climate conference, but we still have to be there
Adam Morton
Thunberg thinks the summit is about ‘greenwashing, lying and cheating’, but it could force the Albanese government to back rhetoric with new pledges
Here’s a simple way to get more EVs on Australian roads
Jennifer Rayner
The cheapest EV currently on the Australian market costs almost $50,000. That can seem a hard sell when an average new small Australian car costs about $26,000, or $44,000 for an average new sedan or SUV.
Leading economists back federal government action to curb rising gas and electricity prices
Peter Martin
Australia’s top economists have overwhelmingly endorsed intervention to restrain gas and electricity prices, with only three of the 47 leading economists surveyed believing the best thing the government can do is to leave things to the market.
Leaders, keep regional Australia front of mind at COP27
Ellie Mitchell
Last week, ACM released the 2022 Young and Regional reporting series: Our Climate Future. We looked at what the future will look like for the regions with a rapidly warming climate.
Bill Hare
It’s small wonder a major fossil fuel producer like Australia has relied so heavily on carbon offsets. Plant new forests – or say you will avoid clearing old ones – and you can keep approving new gas and coal developments. This year, whistleblower Professor Andrew McIntosh claimed up to 80% of these offsets weren’t real.
What is COP and what does it mean for me?
Neil Pharaoh unpacks the impact of COP27 for the for-purpose sector.
Coal exports are the elephant in the climate policy room [$]
Adrian Blundell-Wignall
Australia’s carbon reduction targets are dwarfed by the coal shipped to be burnt elsewhere. Taxes are the only answer.
Victoria
Results show high traces of E-coli in floodwaters as residents report cases of gastro
Water quality testing done by the Environment Protection Authority over the past week shows high than usual traces of E.coli in floodwaters.
‘Smells like sewage’: blackwater from Victorian floods causes mass fish deaths
‘We’re measuring for E.coli,’ says state’s chief environmental scientist who advises: ‘stay out of the water’
The Camberwell bridge that cyclists want, and critics warn could cost $30 million
Hawthorn has some of Melbourne’s best transport infrastructure, but a local cycling group says the seat needs some crucial upgrades, including a bridge to cross a major road.
The suburbs that will suffer most from Melbourne’s planning failure
Two authors of the blueprint guiding Melbourne’s future expansion say government needs to redirect population growth away from the city’s outer fringe and towards middle suburbs.
Interactive map shows how Bass Coast will look with offshore wind turbines
The company behind the biggest offshore wind project in the Bass Strait has released images and videos depicting how the turbines will look from various vantage points.
New South Wales
Government failed to act: Report calls for an immediate end to Indigenous fishing prosecutions
A damning report has found the 13-year-delay in commencing Indigenous cultural fishing legislation reveals the need for cultural change within NSW government.
Light rail class action to teach NSW govt ‘a lesson’
The lead organiser of a class action taking NSW’s transport agency to court over the city’s light rail has asked officials to plan future projects with “common sense” as the case begins.
Former Waverton bowling club site to be handed back to Indigenous owners
The site is the first successful Aboriginal land claim in the North Sydney area, the Metropolitan Aboriginal Land Council says.
Coalition ‘at risk in six seats’ on climate [$]
Seat-by-seat polling suggests the NSW Coalition is in danger of losing several electorates to teal independents at the March election.
ACT
ACT government looks to expand container deposit scheme [$]
Wine, spirit and cordial bottles could soon be recycled at Canberra container deposits, as the ACT government looks to grow the scheme.
Queensland
Queensland-developed battery technology a potential game changer for energy industry
A Brisbane company could change the face of Australia’s energy landscape forever with an eco-friendly, carbon neutral cell that charges 70 times faster than a lithium ion battery and can be reused thousands of times.
No blackouts: Minister’s pledge as power station remains offline [$]
The Queensland government has promised the state will not be plunged into blackouts this summer despite failings at major power station.
South Australia
Solar export scheme designed to prevent blackouts delayed by more than six months
A rooftop solar initiative designed to protect South Australia’s electricity grid from instability and the risk of blackouts caused by excess generation is running six months behind schedule because of manufacturing delays to inverter technology.
What turned this Adelaide creek milky white? Residents want answers
Residents near Third Creek in Adelaide’s eastern suburbs say they’re in the dark over what caused the waterway to turn white earlier this year, after the EPA’s assessment comes back inconclusive.
The Murray at its mightiest: A sight all South Aussies should see [$]
Michael McGuire
Forget the doom and gloom for a moment – the Murray in full flood is truly an awe-inspiring sight.
Tasmania
‘People just wanted it simpler’: Tasmania’s new fire danger system to be brought in this season
Gone is Tasmania’s old six-level fire danger warning system designed in the 1960s, and in is the new four-level fire rating system. So, what is the new system and how does it work?
Locals raise millions to buy ‘jewel in the crown’ property
A stunning property with significant natural values has been snapped up by an independent Tasmanian not-for-profit, thanks to millions of dollars in donations from the public.
Tasmanian green technology group to address COP27 in Egypt [$]
Tasmanian seaweed cultivation group Sea Forest will address world leaders in the upcoming COP27 meeting in Egypt.
Mining hopeful secures more ground for tin and lithium hunt [$]
Lithium and tin are on the menu for a Tasmanian mining hopeful which has added to its extensive exploration tenements.
Northern Territory
Frustrated business owners organise public crime meeting as another business ram-raided overnight
Dozens of small business owners in the Greater Darwin region have organised a public meeting on Tuesday to discuss their ongoing frustrations with out-of-control crime, as another business was ram-raided overnight with one teen on bail arrested and another on the run.
Western Australia
Andrew Forrest says big companies are ‘forcing’ customers to ‘destroy the planet’
Australian mining magnate Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest has accused energy companies and businesses selling single-use plastics of forcing customers to “destroy the planet”.
Diesel generators may be needed during summer scorcher as WA energy crisis deepens
The body that runs Western Australia’s biggest power system may have to spend tens of millions of dollars hiring diesel-fired backup generators as part of desperate efforts to keep the power on.
Western Australia is home to some of the world’s most interesting orchids
They have fascinated biologists and botanists for centuries and the rise of social media has led to a flood of enthusiasts sharing images of the mesmerising plants
Rio investment fuels far-reaching Pilbara Indigenous ranger program
Rio Tinto will invest $5.6 million over five years into the Pilbara Cultural Land Management Project helping to enable Traditional Owners in the Pilbara to preserve country and culture.
Sustainability
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.
‘It’s greenwash’: most home compostable plastics don’t work, says study
Materials put into domestic compost are failing to disintegrate after six months – the only solution is to use less.
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