Post of the Day
Reduce consumption, or face reality of civilisational collapse
Mark Diesendorf
An important debate is developing in Pearls and Irritations on the need to reduce consumption.
On This Day
Ecological Observance
Nature Reserves and National Parks Day – Russia
Climate Change
Why Pacific Islanders are staying put even as rising seas flood their homes and crops
Whether to stay or go is a question residents are grappling with in Fiji’s Serua Island. Cultural connection to land has made the decision that much harder.
Governments urged to confront effects of climate crisis on migrants
Experts say extreme weather is a growing danger to displaced people and could force more to flee homes
US carbon emissions rose in 2022. Can clean energy get them on track?
Historic investments in renewable energy will help the U.S. get closer to halving emissions by 2030, but there’s a lot more work to do, a new report warns.
Energy affordability in 2023 without climate is a losing message
Christopher Barnard
Over the last year, we watched as energy prices hit record highs in the United States, putting strain on families and communities across the country. As any savvy politician would, Republicans made this a core part of their messaging to voters ahead of the 2022 midterms. After all, it’s the economy, stupid.
William Fletcher And Craig Smith
It is possible to stop global warming. Will we? Renewable energy from wind and solar has the potential to replace most fossil fuel uses. What’s required is an unprecedented level of planning, financing, project management and cooperation at the state, federal and international levels. Efforts to date have several shortcomings.
Some inconvenient truths about the energy transition
Bernard L. Weinstein
Fossil fuels aren’t going away soon, either here or around the globe.
National
The government will revamp a climate mechanism introduced by the Coalition government, proposing a 4.9 per cent cut on allowable emissions for the nation’s biggest emitters each year to 2030.
Australia defies global green bond retreat [$]
Overall sustainable bond volumes fell for the first time on record but Australia has bucked the global trend.
Extinction Rebellion’s next protest target revealed after UK members ‘quit’
The Australian arm of climate activist group Extinction Rebellion says it will protest harder, despite the British wing’s plans to tone down its tactics.
Aussies will need to be convinced on nuclear option [$]
Any push to adopt nuclear energy in Australia will fail to win public support unless Australians can be convinced it will supply cheap power, says Ted O’Brien.
Labor plan will bolster industry’s climate drive, Rio Tinto says
Rio Tinto’s local boss has commended the Albanese government for providing crucial support to heavy industry as it outlines plans for tougher emissions cuts.
“Coal truck-sized loopholes” loom as Labor floats Safeguard Mechanism reforms
Labor unveils proposed suite of reforms to make the Safeguard Mechanism fit for purpose. Greens say, try again.
Big solar smashes Australian generation record, crunches coal, to close out 2022
Utility-scale solar generation notches up biggest month ever in Australia in December of 2022 and helps send NSW black coal output to new low.
Climate charity donors fund $1 MILLION in interest-free climate action loans
Grassroots charity, Citizens Own Renewable Energy Network Australia (CORENA), has achieved the milestone of providing $1,049,234 in interest-free climate action loans to the community and non-profit sector.
How gas price caps blow up investment [$]
Amanda Stoker
Labor’s intervention tells investors in hydrogen that policy can change on a whim if the politics suit it.
Labor lays down $75-a-tonne climate toll [$]
Graham Lloyd
The Albanese goverment have outlined its climate policy, with a near-term target of a 43 per cent cut in emissions by 2030.
How the new government rebuilt an old policy to tackle a poisonous problem
Nick O’Malley
With its updated safeguard mechanism, Labor hopes its climate policy can survive both politically and practically.
Nuclear energy? Who better to ask than Japan [$]
Ted O’Brien
Australians are notoriously reluctant to embrace nuclear energy but it’s a discussion the nation needs to have if it is to achieve its emissions reduction targets.
Bowen lays out new carbon test for big polluters [$]
Eric Johnston
A fundamental shake-up around the treatment of carbon emissions from the biggest emitters had the potential to open another negative front for business.
Carbon price opens talks on trading and protection [$]
Australian editorial
Our interests are best served defending open markets and free trade.
Labor’s scheme to cut industrial emissions is worryingly flexible
Rebecca Pearse
The federal government today proposed new rules to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from Australia’s polluting industrial sector. The rule changes apply to a measure known as the “safeguard mechanism”, and are supposed to stop Australia’s top 215 emitters, such as new coal, oil and gas projects, from emitting over certain thresholds, or “baselines”.
Victoria
‘Years to get it right’: Spotted handfish bred in captivity, far away from wild Tasmanian home
A bid to breed an “ambassador” population of the endangered spotted handfish in captivity in Melbourne has been so successful, there are hopes the program may grow enough to return some to the wild.
Andrews backs smartphone and card payments over myki
Premier Daniel Andrews says paying for public transport trips in Victoria should be easy and convenient.
Finally, an opportunity to fix all that’s wrong with myki
Age editorial
This is our chance to finally equip Melbourne with a contemporary, reliable and scalable ticketing system.
New South Wales
Community dog fight over northern beaches off-leash trial
Many residents hope this will be the year the Northern Beaches Council proceeds with a proposed trial of off-leash hours at two beaches.
Calls grow to put pets on public transport
Sydney’s booming number of pet owners should be met with an overhaul of the rules currently barring them from travelling on our public transport, advocates say.
ACT
Light rail is driving Canberrans into a future of opportunity
Shane Rattenbury, Jo Clay
Canberrans deserve a well-connected city, where they have a choice to live close to work and amenities, and a city built on principles of sustainability.
Queensland
Philanthropist dubbed ‘Saint Peter’ steps in to save Twinnies Pelican and Seabird Rescue centre
A philanthropist offers $1 million to buy the land from where Australia’s best-known identical twins have saved thousands of injured, orphaned and sick native birds after their landlord flagged selling the property.
South Australia
‘Thousands’ of dead wombats, but these are the lucky ones to survive River Murray flood
Crews take to the swollen River Murray in search of wombats in need most days, but only those in the most dire of circumstances can be taken into care.
The row that gets genteel Adelaide fired up: what should become of its parklands?
Alexander Downer rails against a ‘narrow-minded, change-averse’ minority, as the fight over a building proposal ignites diverse views on the future of the city’s prized spaces
It’s back — new health warnings for popular Riverland lake [$]
SA Health says water samples show harmful algae has returned to parts of the well visited swimming and fishing spot.
Tasmania
New study finds heritage areas ‘at risk’ [$]
A new study has found ecosystems on Tasmania’s West Coast and the state’s Central Highlands in Wilderness World Heritage Areas, such as tourist drawcard Cradle Mountain, could be among those most at risk of climate change.
Mystery solved: Why Hobart rivulet turned green [$]
The greenery of the Tasmanian landscape is sight to behold, but when a notable waterway turned green, it left residents concerned and confused. The cause of the change in colour has since been uncovered.
Northern Territory
Success in saving this rare wallaby sparks calls for greater efforts to tackle extinction crisis
Parks Australia staff have worked with Indigenous rangers and Anangu traditional owners to help save the rare mala wallaby from extinction.
Images suggest land being cleared for cotton farming before permits granted
There’s global demand for cotton and big profits to be made for farmers — but the growing industry is putting one of the last tropical savannas and untouched river networks in the world under threat.
Western Australia
Grim reality of ‘mammoth’ flood clean-up laid bare as water recedes in WA’s north
Floodwaters have receded around Fitzroy Crossing, making it much easier for help to arrive. But the departure of water has made the damage painfully clear to see.
East Kimberley could be cut off from everywhere for ‘years’ [$]
A huge expanse of the Kimberley east of Fitzroy Crossing is at risk of being cut off from the rest of WA for months — or even years — as attention turns to repairing a crucial bridge.
A third major gas outage has hit WA. What does it mean for keeping the power on over summer?
WA’s gas supply is facing an “unusual situation”, with three major outages amid a tricky period for the state’s energy system. So what’s the latest challenge, and how does it affect keeping the lights on and air conditioners running?
Sustainability
US farmers win the right to repair their John Deere tractors
US farm machine manufacturer John Deere and the American Farm Bureau Federation sign a memorandum of understanding that ensures farmers have the right to repair their own farm equipment.
Activists sue French food firm Danone over use of plastics
Corporate responsibility lawsuit begun by NGOs accusing Evian brand owner of ‘failing’ to address environmental footprint
Green financing tops fossil fuel investment for first time
More money was raised in the American debt market for climate-focused initiatives than fossil fuel companies for the first time last year, but there’s more to the story, new data reveals.
India’s thermal coal imports up nearly 15 per cent in 2022: Coalmint
Imports of coking coal rose 0.8 per cent to 56.1 million tonnes, anthracite grew 12.2 per cent to 1.79 million tonnes, and PCI coal shipments increased 8 per cent to 13.43 million tonnes.
How idling your vehicle – even for just a few seconds – contributes to climate change
While many of us are accustomed to idling our cars while we wait as a train passes by, in line at the end of a school day or in the morning to warm up our vehicles, the habit creates more smog and greenhouse gases than we might think.
Venice’s lagoon of 2,000 lost boats: the true cost of dumping small vessels
For decades, the city’s wetland has been used as a landfill for discarded wrecks, leaking microplastics and pollutants and posing a risk to others on the water.
Fire contaminants linked to significant physical and mental health issues among UK firefighters
New research has found that toxic contaminants in fires are directly linked to increased rates of cancer and mental health issues among firefighters.
A US federal agency is considering a ban on gas stoves
A study found that almost 13% of current childhood asthma in the US is attributable to gas stove use.
The problem with Silent Spring environmentalism
A new history of the environmental movement places too much emphasis on famous figures like Rachel Carson and shies away from confronting failures.
Energy terrorism threatens countless lives
Stephen Minas
Energy, like the air we breathe, can be taken for granted when abundant but its absence is impossible to ignore. In Ukraine, Russia is attempting to asphyxiate a whole country by denying it energy.
Nature Conservation
Madagascar’s unique wildlife faces imminent wave of extinction, say scientists
Study suggests 23m years of evolutionary history could be wiped out if the island’s endangered mammals go extinct
Forests can help manage water amid development, climate change
Riparian buffers helped maintain stream flow in localized areas of a developing watershed of North Carolina, a recent study found. The study projected the effect of riparian buffers amid development and climate change.
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