Date: 14 July 2023 at 9:08:31 am AEST
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Jul 14
Post of the Day
What are the economic impacts of climate change and extreme weather?
We’re hearing so many stories about extreme weather this summer, but we want to assess the big picture.
On This Day
Ecological Observance
Climate Change
US will ‘under no circumstances’ pay climate reparations to developing countries
John Kerry, the US special envoy on climate change, told a congressional hearing the government would not contribute to a fund to pay countries that have been damaged by climate-driven disasters.
National
Will resorting to coal come back and bite Labor leaders? [$]
Climate vs coal — could this battle be the undoing of Labor governments now desperate to keep the lights on?
Voters say cost of living should trump climate [$]
Concern about cost of living is at its highest for a decade, but confidence in the energy transition has slipped, according to a new Ipsos survey.
Labor turns dark on coal despite export boom [$]
Labor has dumped supportive references to coal in its draft policy platform ahead of next month’s national conference, despite the sector’s $124bn in export revenues.
Fossil fuel giants “gaslighting” on emissions, Climate Council calls for greenwash ban
Climate Council calls for federal government intervention as Australia’s biggest polluters set net zero targets while expanding further into fossil fuels.
Tight grid reliability standard extended to deal with “tail risk” and extreme weather events
Tighter reliability standards extended to deal with growing threat of “tail risk” events amid climate change, ageing fossil power plants, and the switch to wind and solar.
AAP Fact Check: Off-limit Indigenous sites claim is way off the mark
It’s being claimed that only Aboriginal people can legally visit the likes of Uluru, the Three Sisters and Skull Rock.
ALP repeating past coal mistakes [$]
Australian editorial
Platform a show of hubris from a government struggling to deliver.
Climate Change: Australia’s fashion industry needs urgent, transformative action
Anne Hurley
How many times does Australia need to be told that national actions by all stakeholders across industries or sectors are urgently needed to address climate change challenges and to avoid the destructive impacts of GHG emissions?
Victoria
Water authority says spilling not the same as flooding as residents sweat on lake’s flows
Lake Eppalock started spilling before last year’s devastating October floods but authorities say it has spilled many times without flooding.
New South Wales
Newcastle ‘hydrogen hub’ a step closer as federal government commits $70 million
The 55-megawatt hydrogen electrolyser will be built at Kooragang Island, with Energy Minister Chris Bowen saying he also wants the project to create pathways towards renewable hydrogen exports.
As the race to find new ways of sequestering carbon dioxide from trees intensifies, Wollongong City Council – with the help of students from Dapto High School – is spearheading the creation of tiny forests.
63,000 people will live in this Sydney precinct, but transport hasn’t matched the boom
The City of Sydney has ramped up pressure on the state government to extend the light rail and include a stop here.
Penny’s wise call could have been made years earlier [$]
James O’Doherty
It is now becoming increasingly clear that renewable energy projects designed to replace coal will not be ready in time. Penny Sharpe has made the right call, one her predecessor should have made.
ACT
Indian mynas a major problem in capital [$]
More than 1000 Canberrans have petitioned the ACT government to take stronger action against invasive Indian myna birds.
Queensland
Fire ants on the march from Queensland
Australia’s agriculture ministers have failed to agree on funding for a program to combat invasive fire ants despite identifying the “very real threat”.
Australian lake ranks among world’s most polluted with microplastics
Forest Lake, an urban reservoir near Brisbane, Australia, ranks as the sixth most polluted lake globally in terms of microplastic contamination, according to a landmark international study.
AAP Fact Check: Wires crossed on energy debt notices claim
It is being claimed the federal government sent out debt collection letters to 12,000 Queensland households.
Tasmania
How backyard changes can help protect a Northern bandicoot hotspot [$]
A message that Westbury is a bandicoot hotspot is spreading as more people move into the region
‘We want to make sure Tasmanian timber supports Tasmanian jobs’ [$]
Resources Minister Felix Ellis has asked Sustainable Timber Tasmania to review its decision to award a contract to a Victorian company as he makes an appeal to outspoken MP John Tucker.
The platypus survived megafauna and continental drift, but can it survive us?
The death of a platypus found in a city suburb may reflect the fate of the entire species if we don’t pay closer attention to how this Australian animal is faring.
Outgoing Tasmanian Green not done with creating headaches for Liberals just yet
Adam Langenberg
A tearful Cassy O’Connor had many thinking she was done with politics when she announced she was standing down as Leader of the Tasmanian Greens — in less than a minute it became clear she is just switching targets
Northern Territory
Banks ‘failed human rights’ over Santos NT gas project
Big banks that funded a gas mega-project off the Northern Territory are just as responsible for breaching their human rights as the driller, a group of Tiwi and Larrakia traditional owners says.
Protesters say ‘no’ to Middle Arm gas project
A crowd rallied outside federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek’s office demanding an end to Labor’s support for the Middle Arm gas project in the NT.
Inpex plant restricted to essential staff as part of unexplained safety measures [$]
Access to Inpex’s Darwin Ichthys LNG processing plant has been restricted to essential staff only, as flaring is undertaken as part of “production safety system” measures, the company has said.
Western Australia
Calls for federal action on Woodside
Western Australia’s environmental watchdog’s commitment to let the nation’s largest oil and gas project operate until 2070 has prompted calls for federal government intervention.
Shark barrier plan sparks fears for dolphins in Swan River
As plans progress for a shark-proof enclosure in Perth’s south in the wake of a fatal attack, an expert raises concerns they could leave dolphins more vulnerable to collisions with boats.
Sustainability
Toyota claims it can double the range of electric vehicles. Do those claims stack up?
Toyota has announced a technological breakthrough in batteries, but questions have been raised over the company’s dubious EV track record.
Fungi building a strong case for fireproof cladding
Fungi could be used to fireproof buildings, after researchers found a way to grow them in thin sheets.
What this year’s El Niño means for wheat and global food supply
David Ubilav
The World Meteorological Organization has declared the onset of the first El Niño event in seven years. It estimates 90% probability the climatic phenomenon, involving an unusual warming of the Pacific Ocean, will develop through 2023, and be of moderate strength.
Kai Li Lim and Scott Hardman
You’re ready for your first long road trip with your new electric vehicle. But there are nagging questions in your mind. “What if I can’t find an available charging station when I need it?” “What if the charger doesn’t work?”
How secure is Russia’s nuclear arsenal after Putin? [$]
David C. Gompert
Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mutiny brought into focus the grave nuclear dangers the world faces in the event of Vladimir Putin’s collapse or removal.
Nature Conservation
They saved elephants in Zambia – but at what cost? [$]
Bestselling author Delia Owens and her husband helped save African wildlife but cost communities the way of life they had practised for generations.
Back from the dead: New hope for resurrecting extinct plants
Armed with new technology, botanists are proposing what was once thought impractical: reviving long-lost plant species by using seeds from dried specimens in collections. The challenges remain daunting, but researchers are now searching for the best de-extinction candidates.
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