https://insideclimatenews.org/news/03012023/republicans-disclosure-rules-esg/
Post of the Day
This will be a critical year for several endangered and threatened species, as well as a time of opportunity for others.
On This Day
Climate Change
Climate activists, police clash in German village set to be demolished for a mine
Activists throw fireworks, bottles and stones at police outside Luetzerath, which is due to be demolished to make way for the Garzweiler lignite mine.
How plastic pollution causes climate change
In addition to the trash that piles up in cities and clogs oceans, the world’s plastic habit has another, invisible toll: climate-warming greenhouse gases.
This startup captures CO2 by injecting it straight into volcanic rock
In a remote, barren part of northern Kenya, a new pilot project will soon begin injecting CO2 more than 1,300 feet underground into volcanic rocks, where the greenhouse gas will also turn to stone.
The year extreme weather events seeped into international law
The ties between human-caused climate change and extreme weather events became even more obvious in 2022 — and, for the first time, played a starring role in climate diplomacy.
The worst climate disasters of 2022
The year 2022 brought disaster after disaster across the planet with scientists increasingly able to point to the climate crisis as the root cause.
Sweden is home to one of Europe’s largest carbon sinks – but is it being cared for properly?
Despite being a strong backer of the EU’s green policies, Sweden has been criticised for having a climate-damaging approach to cutting down trees.
NY Times: Your climate actions in 2023
We asked how the past year had shaped your thinking about climate and your plans for the next 12 months. Today, we share some responses.
From Umoja, Kenya to India, climate change has led to domestic violence
From Kenya to the Philippines, women and girls face threats of domestic violence as climate change makes extreme weather events more intense and frequent.
Slime for the climate, delivered by brown algae
In form of fucoidan, brown algae could remove up to 0.55 gigatons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year
John Kerry: rich countries must respond to developing world anger over climate
US climate envoy says there needs to be work on details of ‘loss and damage’ fund in 2023
National
Hungry and on the march as the climate heats up: Termites in Australia
The continent’s unique giant northern termite has a highly destructive appetite and expanding range. Like other loathsome insects, it loves a warmer planet.
Australia could swing from three years of La Niña to hot and dry El Niño in 2023
Australia could swing from three years of above average rainfall to one of the hottest, driest El Niño periods on record, as models show an increasing likelihood the climate driver may form in the Pacific in 2023.
Population to reach 30m two years later than expected
New figures also show the population is on track to be 1.2 million smaller by June 2031 than forecast in the mid-year economic outlook for 2019-20.
Australians reconsider having children due to climate change – video
Australia’s fertility rate has bounced back to pre-pandemic levels. During 2020, the fertility rate fell to 1.58 babies per woman, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. But new data released today by the Federal Government shows that one year on, the fertility rate is calculated to have risen to 1.66. Despite the post-COVID rebound – the overall long-term trend suggests a decline in the birth rate. Now, a new study is looking into how climate change is influencing peoples’ decisions to have children.
Labor’s environmental denialism? Should we limit population and economic growth?
Roger Beale
The call for a steady state global and national economy and even degrowth is a distraction unhelpful to the environmental cause. The challenge is to inspire and sustain ingenious strategies to decouple economic growth from environmental harm. The sorts of programs championed by Environment Minister Plibersek are heading in the right direction.
Energy package costs soar as taxpayers fund coal price caps [$]
Australian editorial
Compensation and electric appliances will drain consolidated revenue.
Captive breeding to prevent extinction
Mikaeylah Davidson
New research into the embryo health of captive bred Southern Corroboree frogs may help their survival and guide conservation efforts
Victoria
Kids but no car: Meet one of the rarest families in Melbourne
Susie and Dion Oryzak take their sons to school on an electric cargo bike and catch trains and trams, just like they did in San Francisco.
E-scooter trial rolls on despite fears from the footpath
Melbourne will need parking spots and better bike lanes for e-scooters if they are legalised, advocates for the disabled and elderly say, with the machines still being ridden along footpaths and left strewn underfoot.
New South Wales
State coal power to reap $500m
NSW coal-fired power stations are likely to receive more than $500m in compensation for projected losses incurred under Anthony Albanese’s energy plan.
ACT
Research underway to determine traditional owner’s native title claim
A group of Ngunawal Traditional Owners have advanced the process of submitting a native title claim for a region incorporating the ACT, picking up on a long-running claim dropped from the federal courts almost 20 years ago.
Cause of recycling facility blaze ‘may not be established’ [$]
A definitive cause of the fire which gutted a major recycling facility in Hume last week may not be established in ongoing investigations, the ACT government says
Queensland
Unlike past campaigns, today’s concern for the Great Barrier Reef is stuck in neutral
Rohan Lloyd
There seems to be little accord about what saving the reef means and how that is to be achieved
South Australia
River Murray flooding prompts SA’s biggest disaster relief funding
Flooded and struggling River Murray communities will be supported by a $178 million relief package heralded as the largest disaster recovery funding in the state’s history.
Fuel subsidy boost for SA regional health travel
Regional South Australians who travel long distances for specialist medical services will be hundreds of dollars a year better off after a state government fuel subsidy was doubled.
Tasmania
‘Hammered by dogs’: Penguins savaged once more [$]
Six Little Penguins have been found dead on a Tasmanian beach, the victims of what is believed to be a vicious dog attack.
Northern Territory
As the federal government considers whether to bulldoze 130 hectares of endangered Gouldian finch habitat for a Defence housing development, bird watchers say the decision is being made based on a survey done outside their peak breeding season.
Western Australia
Fire burns at Collie coal mine for a day before DFES alerted [$]
Stockpiled coal has caught alight in Collie marking yet another blow in the abashed efforts to sure-up WA’s supplies amid a shortage and power generation concerns.
State of emergency declared as Fitzroy Valley hit by flooding
Communities in Fitzroy Valley, in Western Australia’s north, are concerned about food, power and other vital supplies as floods swamp the area.
Sustainability
South Korea fines Tesla for exaggerating driving range of its EVs in cold temperatures
The driving range of most electric vehicles drop by up to 40 per cent in cold temperatures, with Tesla suffering even more.
Mumbai’s plan to curb noise pollution? No-honking days, sound barriers
Living in Mumbai requires an inexhaustible tolerance for noise. Activists say their efforts to quiet India’s financial capital can show the way for other loud places.
Environmental cases to watch in 2023
Youth plaintiffs who claim pro-fossil fuel government policies violate the law will head to trial for the first time, marking one of several important climate and environmental cases in the coming year alongside a potential blockbuster year at the U.S. Supreme Court.
In the Pacific, outcry over Japan’s plan to release Fukushima wastewater
The proposal has angered many of Japan’s neighbors, particularly those with the most direct experience of unexpected exposure to dangerous levels of radiation.
Amazon packages burn in India, last stop in broken plastic recycling system
Plastic wrappers and parcels that start off in Americans’ recycling bins end up at illegal dumpsites and industrial furnaces — and inside the lungs of people in Muzaffarnagar.
5 threats to sustainable investing in 2023
Sustainable investing is in the mainstream now but navigating ESG will remain a challenge in the New Year.
The steep cost of bio-based plastics
Growing crops to make plastic may theoretically reduce reliance on fossil fuels, but at an enormous environmental cost.
The food chain should be a food circle
Regenerative farming and upcycled ingredients are both on the menu for a resilient food system that’s better for humans and nature alike.
The 17 best EVs coming in 2023
Electric vehicles went mainstream in 2022, so 2023’s designs will be bold, weird, and wonderful. Here are a few flashes of inspiration.
Conservative politicians argue that environmental, social and governance principles—known as “ESG”—are diverting asset managers from their duties to investors, and may even amount to illegal collusion.
Creating smart sensors to embed in our everyday objects and environments for the Internet of Things (IoT) would vastly improve daily life—but requires trillions of such small devices.
What’s next for grid storage after a booming but chaotic year?
Grid-scale batteries are finally taking off — but now supply can’t keep up with demand. Here’s a recap of what went down in 2022 and a preview of the year ahead.
Nature Conservation
Inside Israel and Jordan’s new bid to rehabilitate the Jordan River
‘In Israel, what’s happening now is a bit like a dream come true,’ one Israeli environmental activist said. ‘If you came here 10 years ago, nobody would have thought that such a thing could happen.’
Countries resolve to protect cetaceans from marine plastic pollution
At IWC 68, member nations adopted a resolution to support international negotiations on a treaty to tackle marine plastic pollution.
Nearly 200 countries have signed off on an agreement that embeds the promotion of human rights and the “rights of nature” into a plan to protect and restore biodiversity through 2030.
Assistant Professor John Palmore has received $340,000 from the Army Corps of Engineers’ Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) to create new tools using sound waves to control the movement of invasive species of Asian carp.
Can Lula save the Amazon? His record shows he might just pull it off
Andre Pagliarini
Lula must deliver on the immense promise represented by his third term in office. Brazil’s standing on the world stage and the continued vitality of Brazilian democracy might just depend on it.
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