|
|
Date: 23 November 2023 at 8:59:12 am AEDT
To: Undisclosed recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Nov 23
Five ways retrofitting cities can help decarbonise our future
Tiana Stefanic
New construction is the source of massive amounts of carbon pollution. Retrofitting existing infrastructure is cleaner, and brings multiple benefits
On This Day
Climate Change
Summit in the sands: COP-28 gathers as glaciers melt
Later this month world leaders, climate experts and environmental activists are meeting in the United Arab Emirates for the COP-28 summit. If they need more proof the world has reached a warming tipping point, they could head to the Italian Alps, where glaciers are vanishing at a record rate.
Ban private jets to address climate crisis, says Thomas Piketty
French economist says class inequality must be at centre of climate response and calls for progressive carbon taxes
Explainer: Why carbon capture is no easy solution to climate change
Technologies that capture carbon dioxide emissions to keep them from the atmosphere are central to the climate strategies of many world governments as they seek to follow through on international commitments to decarbonize by mid-century.
‘The antidote to despair is action’: Lesley Hughes on motivation through a climate crisis – video
Lesley Hughes was one of the first scientists to warn that global heating could lead to species extinctions. Now one of Australia’s most influential climate science advocates, Hughes speaks with Guardian Australia about the importance of hope in the face of a crisis.
If we do it right, we can replant trees and shrubs to store carbon – and restore biodiversity
Rachel Standish
This is how carbon farming works. Farmers plant trees on abandoned farmland. The trees take in carbon from the atmosphere as they grow, acting as a natural sink to offset some emissions. For farmers, these carbon-storing plants pay off with carbon credits.
COP-out: Why the petrostate-hosted climate talkfest will fail
David Spratt and Ian Dunlop
After a succession of record-breaking months of record heat including 1.8°C in September, global warming for 2023 as a whole will likely tip 1.5°C, with 2024 even hotter as the effect of the building El Nino is felt more fully. Already hundreds of thousands have died and millions displaced, primarily in countries least responsible for climate change. The annual economic cost globally is in the hundreds of billions.
Twenty-five billion reasons for ministers to support urgent consumer energy reform
Roger Wilkins
Australians have invested $25 billion in solar and batteries, with plenty more to come. We need policy and regulations to complement the investment.
National
With the clock ticking on efforts to more than double Australia’s renewable energy share by 2030, sources tell the ABC that the government commissioned a secret review of its renewable energy target to see whether it could hit the ambitious goal.
Albanese government to rapidly expand investment scheme for clean energy projects
Officials say intervention is needed for Australia to reach its 2030 renewable energy target, as private investment slows
Network super profits cost consumers up to $400 a year, and slow the shift to renewables
Report finds excessive supernormal profits are becoming the norm for Australia’s regulated networks, harming power affordability and diverting billions from the energy transition.
Greens could sink Labor’s gas industry scheme over concerns it supports fossil fuel expansion
Adam Bandt says party cannot endorse $12 a gigajoule price cap due to exemptions allowing new ‘climate bomb’ gasfields
‘Crime against humanity’: Author Tim Winton lashes oil and gas industry
The award-winning writer and environmental activist used a keynote speech to attack fossil fuel interests for hiding climate science from the public.
Bowen goes all-in with renewables play [$]
Geoff Chambers
Chris Bowen’s market intervention to accelerate the rollout of renewables is a concession that Labor’s pre-election modelling was fanciful.
David Speers
Climate targets were legislated in one of the first acts of the newly elected Albanese government. It was a moment hailed as symbolising the sea-change election result, and now we know Australia is not on track to meet them
In search of the perfect whistleblower: McBride case isn’t as simple as fans think [$]
Bernard Keane
David McBride’s intentions in releasing confidential material might have been ‘complex’, but assessing intentions for whistleblowers is dangerous.
Victoria
State-of-the-art renewable hydrogen refuelling station launched
Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, and Swinburne University of Technology’s Victorian Hydrogen Hub (VH2) have today launched a state-of-the-art clean hydrogen refuelling station, purpose-built for enabling hydrogen research.
Industry experts say renewable energy providers could pay up to 20 times more tax if bill passes
Melbourne Airport pushes cheaper tunnel vision to overcome state’s billion dollar objection
Tullamarine bosses have asked the Commonwealth to consider a new rail link plan they argue would be cheaper than the Victorian government’s sky rail.
AGL’s ‘load flexing’ trial to help keep power grid in shape
Melbourne Airport will be part of a major trial to shift energy demand from peak times and use renewable power when it is more abundant to put downward pressure on the electricity grid.
Australian wind farms a drawcard for green energy heavyweights
Some of the world’s biggest biggest renewable firms are waiting for an imminent decision on wind farm licences in Gippsland.
Landcare’s work at risk due to funding uncertainty [$]
Landcare is urging the Victorian Government to take a long-term view of its work, with the current short-term allocation falling almost $40 million short.
New 130MW solar farm energised in northern Victoria
The 130MW Glenrowan solar farm has been energised in northern Victoria and will soon begin generating enough electricity to power 45,000 homes.
New South Wales
Liddell to host giant battery after AGL and Akaysha win Australia’s biggest capacity tender
BlackRock’s Akaysha to build Australia’s biggest four hour battery, and AGL to install a huge battery at Liddell after winning tender to fill gap from Eraring closure.
ACT
Liberals would halt kangaroo cull, commission independent review [$]
Kangaroo culls in the ACT would be halted by an incoming Canberra Liberals government while an independent review considers the program.
Greater ACT power reliability promised under a renewable power grid boost [$]
The reliability and capacity of the ACT’s renewable electricity supply are being shored up in a nationwide deal to increase the power grid by 50 per cent.
Queensland
‘Alive with the bodies of rats’: Rodents rule the land and sea as plague spreads
Videos show thousands of rats overtaking communities across outback Queensland as residents battle a plague of epic proportions. There are concerns the worst is yet to come.
Clive Palmer has lost a more than three-year legal battle with the Gold Coast City Council, which would have seen 3,000 new dwellings built next to a sewage treatment plant.
Clive Palmer’s company, Waratah Coal, is seeking to build a $3.5 billion, 1,400 megawatt “low emissions” power station on a cattle property in Queensland.
Toowoomba council votes for moratorium on coal seam gas projects
Council becomes sixth in Queensland to oppose development of new wells after farmer concerns about sinking soil and water contamination
How Brisbane will beat the heat as climate change reality bites [$]
As Brisbane gets warmer in the run-up to the 2032 Games, redesigning the city around keeping our cool will be key.
Some like it hot, so let’s embrace Brisbane’s climate [$]
Courier Mail editorial
Brisbane needs to embrace its climate, and there is a long list of ways we can do this
Tasmania
Strahan is famous for salmon farms and tourism. Will both die to save a species?
The plight of the endangered Maugean skate could see a pause to salmon farming in Tasmania’s Macquarie Harbour. But locals warn the flow-on effects to their small community could be disastrous.
Tasmania aims to be the ‘battery of the nation’. But a change of plan has left some ‘bewildered’
A series of billion-dollar projects, ranging from wind farms to an eFuel factory, have been proposed for Tasmania’s north-west. But uncertainty over electricity transmission line upgrades has raised fears their viability could be undermined.
First green hydrogen plant in Tassie close to becoming reality [$]
A renewable energy company is issuing up to 1.8 million new shares in a capital raising exercise it says could lead to the first ever green hydrogen plant being built in Tasmania.
NOFF launches ‘Uncage Our Seas’ campaign
Media release – Neighbours of Fish Farming
NOFF has launched a nationwide advertising campaign in the run up to Christmas, alerting mainland consumers to false marketing of Tasmanian-produced Atlantic salmon as “clean, green, sustainable and healthy”.
Northern Territory
Why Gove clean-up is worth millions to the Territory [$]
Mining giant Rio Tinto has begun cleaning-up as it prepares to leave the Territory.
Western Australia
‘Too late to leave’: Dire warning for Perth’s north as life-threatening bushfire rages
Residents in Perth’s north have been told it is “too late to leave” and urged to seek shelter immediately as a life-threatening bushfire rages on.
Sustainability
Recycled plastics contain more chemicals than original plastics, study finds
An examination of recycled plastic pellets from several countries found they contain hundreds of hazardous chemicals, according to this recent study published by Data in Brief.
Major EJ initiative launched for clean energy and pollution cleanup in underserved communities
The Biden administration has announced a $2 billion program for pollution cleanup and clean energy development in disadvantaged communities, marking a significant step in pushing forward its environmental justice goals.
Northvolt hails sodium-ion battery breakthrough for storage and electric vehicles
Northvolt hails breakthrough in sodium ion batteries, providing big advances for battery storage and ultimately for electric vehicles.
EU population fell by 265K during the pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic ‘played a role’ in the fall, EU’s stats agency says.
Hidden costs of the nuclear age: Navajo Nation’s struggle
Mining uranium for the U.S. nuclear arsenal unknowingly exposed the Diné to grave risks.
Could frequent mobile phone use be affecting your sperm quality?
Over the past five decades, numerous studies have reported declining semen quality. Researchers attribute the sharp decline to a combination of environmental factors and lifestyle habits.
Nature Conservation
‘It is all about listening and sharing’: Indigenous solutions to the carbon divide
Deforestation rates are much lower on Indigenous land – and there is growing recognition that first peoples have vital role to play
Protect delicate polar ecosystems by mapping biodiversity
Concerted action is required to mitigate the impact of warming on polar ecosystems and sustainably manage these unique habitats.
Officials have yet to find the source of the oil spill, which has left chunky globules and long slicks near a 67-mile-long pipeline system off the coast of Louisiana.
Jamaica battles relentless plastic pollution in quest to restore mangroves
Currently there are several efforts to restore mangroves in the island country, as experts recognize the many ecosystem services they provide, including the protection and stabilization of coastlines as human-induced climate change worsens. However, restoration efforts face numerous challenges.
‘Stressed jellyfish’ reveal dangers of seabed mining
An experiment with a common jellyfish has revealed the potential harm of seabed mining on creatures in the deep.
Maelor Himbury | Library Volunteer
Australian Conservation Foundation | www.acf.org.au
p | 1800 223 669 t | @AusConservation
This email and any files transmitted with it may be confidential and legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, you must not disclose or use the information contained in it.
If you have received this email in error, please notify us by return email and permanently delete the document.
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of this country and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay respect to their elders past and present and to the pivotal role that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to play in caring for country across Australia.