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Date: 15 December 2023 at 12:29:10 pm AEDT
To: Undisclosed recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Dec 15
Post of the Day
COP28 wrap up: Some positives but fossil fuel phase out remains elusive
PhD students working in climate-related research give their reflections on the COP28 climate change conference
On This Day
Climate Change
Himalayan glaciers are cooling down, potentially slowing down effects of climate change
The research shows that the glaciers have been cooling and drying in recent decades.
‘We are a little confused’: Pacific representatives ‘not in the room’ as COP28 deal approved
After COP28’s central document was approved, Samoa’s lead delegate delivered a critical assessment of the Dubai climate summit agreement’s flaws — and pointed out the Pacific Islands delegates were not even in the room when the deal was done.
Failure of Cop28 on fossil fuel phase-out is ‘devastating’, say scientists
Climate experts say lack of unambiguous statement is ‘tragedy for the planet and our future’
The COP28 climate agreement is a step backwards on fossil fuels
Alaa Al Khourdajie et al
The COP28 climate summit in Dubai has adjourned. The result is “The UAE consensus” on fossil fuels.
Actions, not words, needed on climate [$]
Canberra Times editorial
It is profoundly disappointing, given humanity has just lived through the hottest year since records began, that the COP28 participants could not agree to phase out fossil fuels.
Cop28 finished with a whimper, while 2023 will be the hottest year on record. What gives?
James Goldie and Chris Bartlett
As politicians, activists and UN emissaries haggle with fossil fuel chiefs at the Cop28 climate conference in Dubai, the world keeps getting hotter.
Caution as rising heat risks pressure on energy supply
Scorching temperatures could place pressure on the energy grid as households and businesses are asked to reduce non-essential power use as much as possible.
Aemo warns coal-fired power plants could drop off before replacements are ready
Solar and windfarms will need to triple by 2030 to 57GW and expand seven-fold by 2050 to 126GW
Transport costs accelerate by more than $900 a year
Transport costs have soared by more than $1000 a year in some Australian cities, with expenses topping $24,000 on average and putting added pressure on household budgets.
Business welcomes nuclear and gas in COP28 edict [$]
Business groups have backed the COP28 declaration and urged Australia to take heed of the global summit’s agreement that gas, carbon capture and nuclear power need to be used in the transition to net zero.
State energy ministers give themselves power to force coal generators to stay open
State energy ministers give themselves power to force coal generators to stay open if a fast-tracked closure puts grid reliability at risk.
Myrtle rust is devastating Australian forests. A new high-tech spray holds out hope for native trees
Rebecca Degnan and Alistair McTaggart
Around a decade ago, an invasive fungal disease called myrtle rust reached Australia and began to spread like a plague through certain plants. The disease affects plants of the Myrtaceae family, which includes eucalypts, paperbarks and lilly pillies, and makes up 10% of Australian plant biodiversity
Coal will be all but gone by 2034 under Australia’s latest energy roadmap
Dylan McConnell
Australia’s coal power stations will all close in 2038 – five years earlier than previously expected – and variable renewable energy capacity will need to triple by 2030 and increase sevenfold by 2050.
Frank Jotzo
The government’s new stance is unusual for a large fossil-fuel-producing country, even if it’s not translated into policies
COP28 puts heat on everyone but Australia is well-placed to act
Kerry Schott
The world has taken stock of its climate change response and found it seriously wanting. Action can and must be taken.
Anti-science Bowen a threat to Australia’s future [$]
Andrew Bolt
Energy Minister Chris Bowen has confirmed he’s a zealot who won’t let facts stand in the way of his crusades — no man so anti-science should be anywhere near our electricity supplies.
Food shortage, starvation, civil war: the climate math is simple [$]
Chris Barrie et al
Australians we speak to often express a great fear that we will not have a liveable future, and we share their heartache.
Wishful rhetoric on fossil fuels’ exit hard to COP [$]
Graham Lloyd
Away from the COP hoopla, the Albanese government must explain why it makes sense for Australia to limit our existing national income from fossil fuels, while pivoting to a renewable energy system.
Make COP28 serve the economy [$]
Australian editorial
‘Big fat nothing burger’ allows for cost-effective decisions on power.
The race is on to transform Australia’s environmental protection laws [$]
Elfy Scott
Despite talking a big talk on addressing global warming, the laws intended to protect our vital natural habitats do not bind the government to consider climate change.
Australia could be at 99 pct renewables by 2032, if green exports take off as hoped
Giles Parkinson
The green export scenario – the basis of the hope that Australian can be a renewable superpower – suggests the grid could reach 99 per cent renewables within a decade.
Victoria
Bills to soar as Victoria moves away from gas
Consumers can expect rapid and sharp rises in gas prices within four years as the local supply hits a cliff.
State gas modelling ‘does not stack up’ [$]
Lily D’Ambrosio says Victorian households can save $1700 a year by replacing gas appliances with electrical ones, but the total average Victorian gas bill is less than $1600.
Climbers barred after rock art discovery [$]
Official blasts failure to detect Indigenous rock art that has forced another climbing closure in Victoria’s Grampians.
New South Wales
Emergency warnings downgraded for multiple bushfires in NSW Hunter region
Residents are told to remain alert and watch out for spot fires, even though weather conditions are easing.
Rope crossings saving possums at roadkill hotspot, researcher says
Rope bridges were installed at Ku-ring-gai in 2006 after a study found 600 possums had died there in two years. Research suggests the strategy is working.
Hills of Gold: Contested New England wind farm wins planning approval
One of the most contested wind projects in NSW wins planning approval from department, just the second wind project in five years in the state. But it still has another hurdle to jump.
ACT
‘It’s life-threatening’: Roads where ACT cyclists feel the most unsafe
Canberra’s busiest road listed the most dangerous for cyclists.
Queensland
Queensland zoos and wildlife sanctuaries struggle to keep up with koalas’ huge appetites so they are thinking outside the box, partnering with prisons to grow more food.
Cyclone Jasper weaker but floods still threaten$]
Tropical Cyclone Jasper may have passed but far north Queensland is still under threat with flooding set to test locals in the coming days.
Steven Miles to set more ambitious emissions reduction target on day one as Queensland premier
Miles will refocus climate debate on job creation in rural areas to remove tension between resource-rich regions and urban south-east, sources say
Tasmania
Dead salmon pumped into crates at Tassal pen as environmentalists warn of heatwave
The Bob Brown Foundation films thousands of dead fish being pumped from the bottom of Tasmanian salmon pens. The owner, Tassal, says the incident is “minor”.
Northern Territory
Darwin Harbour Middle Arm expansion plan slammed by critics as ‘extraordinary fossil fuel subsidy’
A multi-billion-dollar taxpayer-funded extension plan for Darwin Harbour is being slammed by Pacific neighbours and environmental groups, saying it represents a major fossil fuel subsidy.
Western Australia
Greenpeace accuses Woodside of ‘burying the truth’ on climate action, takes company to court
The activist organisation launches proceedings in the Federal Court accusing Woodside of misrepresenting its climate performance.
Roger Cook targets ‘environmental lawfare’ in bid to make WA a renewable energy ‘powerhouse’
Premier Roger Cook says the environmental approvals process in WA is “broken”, but will his government’s legislation to overhaul it create a free-for-all for resources companies?
Looming gas shortage predicted to bite WA hard
Australia’s gas export powerhouse faces a severe shortage of the fuel for its own use as the switch to renewables is moving too slowly to offset declining gas production and the coal phase-out.
Zero fees: WA to get free public transport during holidays [$]
Public transport across WA will be free for five weeks in a much-needed cost-of-living reprieve handed to families just ahead of Christmas.
To hit net zero, we need gas [$]
Sarah-Jane Tasker
Imagine a State that has an abundance of gas reserves to draw from hitting a deficit in supply that then forces energy prices to rise.
Coal debacle foretells grim future for WA’s energy security [$]
Steve Thomas
The State Government’s management of the coalfields over the past six years has been an unmitigated disaster that has let down the town of Collie, the energy system in this State, and all of WA.
The stench of WA Inc. is back — and it’s wafting over to the rest of us [$]
Bernard Keane
WA Inc. has returned — but this time the corporate interests are far bigger, and the surrender of the WA government much more complete.
Sustainability
In X-Change: Batteries, RMI highlights the remarkable, exponential growth of battery sales, which is driven by a domino effect of battery technology adoption that cascades from country to country and sector to sector.
Reshaping the future of heating and cooling
Two hope-inspiring initiatives — the Global Cooling Pledge and Buildings Breakthrough — are unveiled at COP28.
Tesla recalls two million cars
Tesla has issued a recall for almost all its electric vehicles sold in the United States, to fix a defective autopilot system.
With UNCOP a disaster, Community Energy is the way forward
Jonathan Paul Marshall
Community Power Agency and researchers from UTS and Melbourne University suggest that one way around this problem is to encourage Community Renewable Energy (CRE), as CRE projects can be sensitive to local concerns, can allocate money fairly, can look after the land, and reduce ecological destruction.
Call me all the names you want – I won’t stop telling the truth about livestock farming
George Monbiot
I’ve been accused of being a ‘soyboy’ and ‘in the pay of Big Lettuce’ by one of the most destructive industries on Earth
An indulgence our cities can no longer afford
John Hanscombe
As much as I try, I struggle to sympathise with golfers. Their ancient pastime is an environmental disaster.
Nature Conservation
Earlier this month, an estimated 1,200 tonnes of sardines and mackerel were found floating on the surface of the sea off the fishing port of Hakodate in Hokkaido, forming a silver blanket stretching for more than a kilometre.
Earth faces a mass extinction. Hawaii is ground zero
Our planet faces a mass extinction. I visited ground zero.
Klamath River dam removal hopes to undo decades of ecological destruction
The largest-ever dam removal is underway, a milestone in the nation’s reckoning over its past attempts to bend nature to human will.
Maelor Himbury | Library Volunteer
Australian Conservation Foundation | www.acf.org.au
p | 1800 223 669 t | @AusConservation
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