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Date: 28 June 2023 at 8:49:35 am AEST
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Jun 28
Post of the Day
Destruction of world’s pristine rainforests soared in 2022 despite Cop26 pledge
An area of primary rainforest the size of Switzerland was felled last year suggesting world leaders’ commitment to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030 is failing
On This Day
Day of Arafah – Islam
Vidovdan (St. Vitus Day) – Orthodox
Climate Change
‘We could lose our status as a state’: what happens to a people when their land disappears
Small island countries press for guarantees as rising sea levels risk leaving their citizens stateless
Current heatwave across US south made five times more likely by climate crisis
Latest ‘heat dome’ event over Texas and Louisiana, plus much of Mexico, driven by human-cause climate change, scientists find
How high ocean temperatures is affecting the weather
Ocean temperatures are at their highest average levels in 40 years, and it’s having enormous effects on weather systems around the world.
A new report shows that measures the state has taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from buildings could also increase home costs during a widespread housing crisis.
How a small island nation is taking climate change to court
In an exclusive interview, Vanuatu’s climate minister Ralph Regenvanu discusses the country’s leadership on climate reparations and accountability.
The cost of ditching fossil fuels falls mostly on the rich
In the US, aggressive climate action could strand $350 billion of fossil fuel assets—two-thirds of the losses would fall on the wealthiest top 10%.
National
In some states energy prices will rise 25 per cent at the start of the month. Here are some ways to soften the blow.
PwC walks back report used to claim Australia’s nature repair market could be worth $137bn
Report cited by environment minister in support of offset bill was criticised for inflated figures and lack of clarity on outcomes
BHP chief warns race for green metals needs more than subsidy ‘sugar hit’
BHP, the largest Australian miner, says the Albanese government doesn’t need to match the United States’ “sugar hit” of huge subsidies to boost critical minerals, but has fired fresh warnings over regulatory interventions that risk making the country less attractive to investors.
Uber backs pollution caps to slash electric car costs in Australia
The ride-hailing giant says Australians are at risk of being left among the last in the world to be able to buy an electric car for the same as a petrol car.
Inland Rail takes a step forward as freight hub plans unveiled
National Intermodal, the federal government’s developer of critical logistics infrastructure, has acquired a 1100-hectare site at Beveridge, where it plans to build Australia’s largest logistics and shipping container freight hub.
Firms to track and tell all on emissions [$]
Big companies will be forced to track and disclose their carbon emissions and those of their clients and suppliers under a mandatory climate disclosure regime due to start in mid-2024.
Higher power prices the ‘new normal’ as Australia moves towards cleaner future
Australia’s energy transition has reached a tipping point, and experts are warning consumers to brace for a bumpy ride over the next decade.
RAM-a-lama ding-dongs: Australians go crazy for massive trucks [$]
Jason Murphy
Size does matter, apparently, because monstrous and potentially lethal US-style ‘pick-up trucks’ are becoming extremely popular in Australia.
Farmers find good business in the carbon revolution [$]
Jennifer Hewett
Protecting the natural environment, reducing carbon emissions, making more money and still using agricultural land for primary production. What’s for farmers not to like?
Samantha Hepburn
Fossil fuel companies in Australia could ship their carbon dioxide (CO₂) waste overseas for disposal, under changes to the Environment Protection (Sea Dumping) Act 1981 introduced to parliament late last week.
Victoria
VicForests loses appeal against logging bans
Victorian logging bans will likely remain in place until the native timber industry is phased out, after an appeal by state-owned forestry company VicForests was thrown out.
Trio of high-rise towers for $1.7 billion Queen Victoria Market redevelopment
Three high-rise towers will be built in the Queen Victoria Market precinct and the open-air carpark transformed into a public square as part of a $1.7 billion skyline-shaping project by developer Lendlease and Melbourne city council.
Dan failing in bid to get trucks off roads [$]
Shifting more freight to Victoria’s rail network has been a key focus of the state for eight years, but new figures reveal little change has been achieved.
Threats against Victorian politicians on the rise [$]
MPs are calling for greater protection to combat the increase in security incidents including threats, intimidation, vandalism and demonstrations at parliament.
ACT
ACT Labor powers up move away from gas [$]
The Labor government unveils plans to remove gas appliances from residential homes, schools, hospitals and offices.
Queensland
Half of Queensland’s flawed new trains brought up to standard
The work to modify design mistakes in a contract signed by the previous government must be finished in 2024.
Poster boy climate protester in custody for Port of Brisbane stunt [$]
A well-known Blockade Australia activist who was last year sentenced to four months in prison for suspending himself from a 60m-high crane in Sydney has been charged with interfering with transport infrastructure at the Port of Brisbane.
Renewed push to save southern cassowary, Australia’s own ‘living dinosaur’
The endangered southern cassowary looks akin to its prehistoric ancestors and there’s a national push to save this “beautiful” giant bird from disappearing.
Could brightening clouds help tackle climate change? These scientists are trying to find out
Queensland scientists are the first to practically test the cloud brightening theory, shooting sea spray over the Great Barrier Reef.
Make Australia a great place for mining investment
AFR editorial
BHP’s capital strike on investing in Queensland should be a wake-up call.
South Australia
Dam flood alert continues while rain sweeps state’s north
The chance of an Adelaide Hills private dam failing has reduced but a dam at Hope Forest south of Adelaide remains at “high risk” after four days, while heavy rain in the state’s north prompts flood warnings and road closures.
Up and atom: Libs’ call for nuclear royal commission do-over [$]
SA must restart a conversation – and consider a “royal commission 2.0” – on nuclear generation as a source of affordable and reliable power, the state opposition says.
Tasmania
New objections forces tourism proposal on Little Dog Island to change tack [$]
A tourism retreat proposed for an island off Flinders with an active mutton bird rookery is responding to new objections being aired.
‘Do not eat’: Health warning issued for shellfish caught in parts of Tasmania [$]
The state’s health authority has triggered a public alert for people to not eat wild shellfish from parts of south-east Tasmania.
Northern Territory
DV victims left waiting for hours by stretched police force, inquest hears
A senior NT Police dispatcher breaks down while giving evidence at a coronial inquest into the domestic violence death of a woman, telling the NT coroner “all we do for 12 hours is prioritise”.
Spectacular scenes as waterfalls cascade Uluru amid flood watch [$]
Waterfalls have cascaded down Uluru, as the Bureau of Meteorology warns up to 100mm of rainfall is expected in southern and western parts of the Territory in the next four days.
Western Australia
Water birds dying in oil spill south of Perth as authorities probe cause
WA’s environmental watchdog looks for the cause of an engine oil spill that is killing and harming birds in Perth’s southern waterways.
Aboriginal cultural heritage law change delayed after uproar [$]
In the ultimate sign of chaos over the implementation of new Aboriginal cultural heritage laws, backlash against updated survey requirements resulted in a one-year reprieve.
What Cook’s e-petition snub reveals about his Government [$]
Josh Zimmerman
Two events in the past week provide a revealing insight into the Cook Government’s approach to the implementation of updated Aboriginal heritage laws.
Sustainability
Patagonian paradise lost? The environmental hazards of farming fish in a warming world
Marketed as a sustainable protein, farmed salmon generates plastic, nutrient, and chemical pollution that threatens marine ecosystems.
North Sea sees potential shift from oil and gas to renewable energies
The offshore wind industry continues to grow as nations look to change Europe’s oil and gas hub into a major source of renewable energy.
Nuclear power: The industry’s bet on small modular reactors, explained
This year, the US nuclear energy industry did something it hasn’t done in more than 30 years: It built and completed new nuclear power plants as two reactors located at Plant Vogtle in Georgia came online.
Nature Conservation
The Americas’ biggest monkey returns from the brink of extinction
Four decades ago there were just 50 northern mariquis left in Brazil’s Atlantic forest and the Americas’ biggest monkey was threatened with extinction.
Gorillas, jaguars and other wildlife vulnerable to human activity even in nature reserves
Research finds tropical mammals suffer impact of deforestation even if they live in protected areas
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