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Date: 27 November 2023 at 8:24:18 am AEDT
To: Undisclosed recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Nov 27
Green growth or degrowth: what is the right way to tackle climate change?
Mark Fabian
Nearly all the world’s governments and vast numbers of its people are convinced that addressing human-induced climate change is essential if healthy societies are to survive. The two solutions most often proposed go by various names but are widely known as “green growth” and “degrowth”. Can these ideas be reconciled? What do both have to say about the climate challenge?
On This Day
Guru Nanak Jayanti – Sikhism
Ecological Observance
Climate Change
Last week, the planet appeared to briefly breach a climate threshold set by world governments for the first time. Experts say it is just another sign of how much the planet is warming.
British empire’s past emissions ‘double UK’s climate responsibility’
Data shows that including CO2 from countries once under colonial rule makes Britain one of world’s biggest historical emitters
Success of Geert Wilders’ far-right PVV raises fears for Dutch climate policies
The party has a hostile stance on attempts to cut carbon emissions but got more votes than any other in general election
UAE, host of COP28 climate talks, is an oil kingdom big on solar energy
The United Arab Emirates, host of COP28, is building solar projects that could power a small city. It is also ramping up its oil production capacity like never before.
National
State and federal consumer affairs ministers vote to implement compulsory country of origin labelling of seafood in all hospitality venues.
Native bee knowledge gap frustrates researchers unwilling to work for free
Native bee researchers are travelling overseas and interstate to find work despite there being a sizeable knowledge gap about Australia’s vast array of species.
Do you know what to do if you come across a fossil or Indigenous artefact?
The rules meant to protect Australia’s natural history can be tricky to comprehend. Here’s what you should do if you ever come across a fossil or an artefact.
For every tonne of climate pollution that will be reduced by Albanese government climate policies to 2030, more than seven tonnes of additional pollution will flow from new fossil fuel projects that have been approved or received other material support under this government, new analysis released today by the Australian Conservation Foundation shows.
New gas supply needed in all net zero pathways: EY report
The Australian Government’s Future Gas Strategy consultation paper highlights the urgent need for investment in new gas supply to avoid future shortfalls and underpin the net zero transformation in Australia and the region.
How the climate credentials of Australia’s big banks stack up
ANZ stands out as ‘laggard’ while Commonwealth Bank and Westpac have restrictions on facilitating bonds for fossil fuel clients
Chris Bowen says country ‘reaping the economic opportunities’ of clean energy as emissions projection improves
Big change to Australian cars remains stuck in traffic
Major changes that could determine what car you buy next have hit a speed bump.
Uranium on a roll and this time it looks like it’s for real [$]
After what experts regard as a series of false starts over the years uranium’s price is firing up, creating opportunities through shares or ETFs.
Bowen rejects nuke bid as ‘utter fantasy’
Energy Minister Chris Bowen says Australia has such abundant access to renewable energy sources that it would be ‘utter fantasy’ to join AUKUS allies in embracing nuclear power.
Australia to hit 2030 emissions target, government says
The government says Australia is on its way to hitting its 2030 climate targets as it faces criticism from conservation groups for support of fossil fuels.
Labor ‘obsessed’ with ‘renewable ideology’
Labor has been slammed for being “out of date” on nuclear energy and having an “obsession” with renewables, just days away from a major climate conference in the Middle East.
Labor takes on Greens over gas with deal to add supply, lower price
The federal government will reveal two energy deals to fix a looming gas shortage under an industry regime the Greens are seeking to block.
Frustration over delay in major changes that could affect what car you buy
The law that will change what cars are sold in Australia is facing delays in a development some experts say is hurting buyers’ wallets.
Fire season in Australia starts early
Though experts do not think that this season will be the worst yet, they also warn that the past is no longer a reliable guide to the future.
Has Australia’s dingo management gone to the dogs?
Zacharias Szumer
Advocates for dingo protection are ramping up pressure on governments to stop lethal management programs. On the other side of the ring are the livestock industry, government agriculture departments and various organisations they fund.
The wholesale price of electricity has halved this year — but bills haven’t come down. Why?
David Taylor
The retail price of electricity has an in-built 12-month lag by design. This means the energy bill relief could be in place now, but the system does not allow it
Chris Bowen’s bold and sudden movement on climate sent the Coalition clutching at its pearls
Katharine Murphy
The existential battle against global heating requires connecting science, politics and community life, often much harder than it looks
Hot potato issue for most is not the climate, it’s dinner [$
Vikki Campion
Despite claiming they can do nothing about the cost of living in Australia, your government is jetting off to Dubai because they believe they can change the temperature of the globe.
Labor’s energy disaster turns city against country
Chris Kenny
Three things are clear about Chris Bowen’s renewable energy policy: many landscapes will never be the same; electricity will become more expensive and less reliable; and none of this will alter the climate.
What was Parliament doing as the earth boiled?
Noel Turnbull
On the day on which the Earth recorded a global average surface temperature of more than 2 degrees centigrade for the first time since records began what was the Australian Parliament and media doing?
Worse than Whitlam: Federal gov’s disastrous global warming scheme [$]
Andrew Bolt
The Albanese government is desperately taking a double-or-nothing gamble to save its disastrous global warming scheme, but all its main climate targets are in danger or simply impossible.
Buybacks are popular with the majority of Australian irrigators [$]
Bill McClumpha
I am a long-time active irrigator in the Red Cliffs irrigation district in the Sunraysia district in North West Victoria. Currently, I grow dried grapes having downsized after selling my wine grape property at Merbein.
Victoria
North East Link hurtling towards mega budget blowout [$]
The state’s most costly road project — which has been plagued by delays — is on track for a multi-billion dollar budget blowout, that will see it cost almost $20bn by the time it’s finished.
New South Wales
Coal miners and flood victims among those paddling out to block world’s largest coal port
Hundreds of people use kayaks and floats to block the Port of Newcastle for 30 hours to protest coal exports and a lack of action on climate change.
NSW Farmers demands ‘war-like response’ to red fire ant infestation at Murwillumbah
They have been in Queensland for more than 20 years, but with red fire ant nests discovered 13 kilometres into New South Wales, farmers are questioning if the invasive pests can be stopped from marching over the border.
‘Nukes R Us’: Protest erupts at Liberal event]
Protesters dressed in hazmat suits were kicked out of the NSW Liberal Party conference for calling Opposition Leader Peter Dutton the “MP for Fukushima”.
NSW Labor forced to back Coalition, crossbench emissions target
NSW Premier Chris Minns previously dismissed an emissions target of 70 per cent by 2035, but his government has had a change of heart.
Ruin the land to save the planet [$]
Transmission lines that will cut through parts of country NSW for the HumeLink should be undergound with locals furious Transgrid have opted for cheaper, overhead lines.
97-year-old reverend among 80 protesters arrested for defying deadline in Newcastle port blockade
The mass protest at the world’s largest coal port is demanding the government stop allowing new coal projects and tax fossil fuel export profits at 75 per cent.
NSW looks for more flexibility on storage, but has it pulled plug on pumped hydro?
NSW to change storage definitions as it juggles its storage needs to support the wind and solar that will replace its coal fired generators.
Queensland
Excessive red tape and ‘unmanaged’ national parks blamed for Queensland bushfire devastation
Sid Godwin says back-burning may have prevented a bushfire on his property where he lost 10,000 hectares of grazing land.
South Australia
SA’s largest battery park worth ‘several hundred million dollars’ slated for Limestone Coast
A multi-national energy company has announced plans for a renewable energy battery park near Mount Gambier which it says will reduce electricity price volatility.
Tasmania
Hobart might be a small city but it still has traffic jams. Will this be the fix?
Houses are starting to be demolished in a project aimed at widening a major road into Hobart and to fix years of traffic congestion, but not all are convinced the plan will be enough.
How Tasmanian farmers are preparing for ‘unprecedented’ bushfires [$]
One of the biggest concerns for Tasmanian farmers is bushfires and drought, and ahead of a potentially devastating season this summer, many are proactively taking control.
Why Kirsha is bringing bitter enemies together for forestry summit [$]
Mona’s Kirsha Kaechele will this week welcome 120 delegates from around the world to a major event at the museum, which she hopes could birth a new understanding of the value of Tasmania’s forests.
Hopes high for return of lost pines [$]
As intense bushfires burn plants that usually escape fire, should Australians accept their permanent loss – or can we intervene? An experiment in Tasmania’s high country is seeking answers.
What job is worth the extinction of an entire species? [$]
Ebony Bennett
Last week I attended the Tasmanian Ocean Summit, the second one hosted by the Australia Institute. Much like the rest of our natural environment, our oceans are in big trouble thanks to climate change and other pressures like fish farming and over-fishing. Sadly, both governments and industry are using similar greenwashing tactics to avoid what needs to be done.
Northern Territory
‘Recipe for disaster’: Tensions rise over poor hunter behaviour [$]
Bart Irwin
Hunters battling overcrowding of reserves have so far controlled their aggression, but the luck will run out sometime.
Western Australia
Clean energy race gives Pilbara traditional owners a ‘seat at the table’
Pilbara Solar has timed its entry into Western Australia’s renewables market and focus on First Nations involvement perfectly, with the transition to clean energy and Indigenous engagement gathering momentum in resource-rich WA.
New Perth mountain bike trails revealed
Mountain biking in the northern suburbs is a step closer with the design and construction of family-friendly trails going to tender.
Mystery crab migration ‘never seen before’ off Shark Bay could be new subspecies
A carpet of “tens of thousands” of crabs found bobbing in the Indian Ocean has sparked calls for better, more detailed research.
‘Threat to lives and homes’ as WA fire danger remains
A bushfire emergency in Western Australia’s Pilbara region has been downgraded after threatening lives and homes, as seven districts brace for extreme fire danger.
Sustainability
Exposure to widely used insecticides decreases sperm concentration, study finds
Study’s author says ‘we need to reduce exposure in order to ensure men who want to conceive are able to without interference’
Motor emissions could have fallen by over 30% without SUV trend, report says
Global fall averaged 4.2% between 2010 and 2022 but would have been far more if vehicle sizes stayed same
NZ Greens launch petition to save oil and gas ban
The Green Party has launched a petition to save the ban on oil and gas exploration.
As groundwater levels fall in the U.S., powerful players block change
Here are some of the people fighting efforts to conserve a vital resource that’s disappearing across the United States.
Frequent flyers are rewarded for polluting. Let them pay the full price
Martha Gill
A progressive carbon tax on flying would protect poor people far more than simply abandoning green policies
Environment: 1.5 degrees of warming in 10 years
Peter Sainsbury
Not long ago it looked like we’d exceed 1.5oC in 20 years, now it looks like 10. Maybe sooner if politicians keep approving new fossil fuel mines and fields and the logging of native forests. Particulate air pollution kills 9 million a year.
Nature Conservation
‘Adopt an axolotl’ campaign launches in Mexico to save the species
Academics in Mexico City are asking for donations to protect axolotls, an iconic fish-like type of salamander. The campaign asks people for as little as 600 pesos to virtually adopt one of the tiny “water monsters.”
Fears for the ‘powerhouse’ of the Southern Ocean – podcast
Antarctica is often referred to as Earth’s last great wilderness, but there’s growing concern for one of the key species in the Southern Ocean’s ecosystem. Antarctic krill are critical to maintaining the health of our planet, acting as a billion dollar carbon sink. But ocean warming and reports of over-concentrated krill fishing are threatening their populations.
Could rewilding save our environments? – podcast
As world leaders head to the United Nations Climate Change Conference next week, climate targets will be put under the microscope. But some scientists say greater attention should be placed on the role of animals in controlling the carbon cycle – suggesting the introduction of even a targeted group of species to some ecosystems could be enough to keep global temperatures below the 1.5 degree Celsius tipping point. It’s a conservation process called ‘Rewilding’ – which involves re-patriating wildlife to damaged ecosystems – and allowing nature to ‘bounce back.’
Maelor Himbury | Library Volunteer
Australian Conservation Foundation | www.acf.org.au
p | 1800 223 669 t | @AusConservation
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