The Seven Stages of climate denial:
1. It’s not real
2. It’s not us
3. It’s not that bad
4. Do you want us to live in caves!
5. It’s too expensive to fix
6. Here’s a fake solution
7. It’s too late: why didn’t you tell us?
@COP28 denies reality of #ClimateChange
Date: 6 December 2023 at 9:00:00 am AEDT
To: Undisclosed recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Dec 6
Post of the Day
WTF is the ‘Global Stocktake’? We explain the ‘heart’ of COP28
Confused about the term COP delegates keep throwing around? We’ve got you covered. Hint: It’s critical to the future of humanity.
On This Day
Saint Nicholas Day – Western Christianity
Climate Change
Global emissions at record highs as world continues to overspend on ‘carbon budget’
New research shows global carbon emissions from fossil fuels have increased over the past year despite most of the world committing to net zero targets.
1.5°C pathways can still be achieved, combining fairness and global climate protection
Global warming can still be limited to 1.5°C by 2100 while ensuring that the poor are not hit hardest by climate policies and climate impacts. This is achieved by immediately introducing broad carbon pricing together with re-distributive policies using carbon pricing revenues and further measures to reduce energy consumption, accelerate technological transitions, and transform the land sector.
COP28 president is wrong – science clearly shows fossil fuels must go (and fast)
Steve Pye
According to the president of COP28, the latest round of UN climate negotiations in the United Arab Emirates, there is “no science” indicating that phasing out fossil fuels is necessary to restrict global heating to 1.5°C.
Liam Cassidy et al
Humanity’s emissions of greenhouse gases have caused rapid global warming at a rate unprecedented in at least the past 2,000 years. Rapid global warming has been accompanied by increases in the frequency and intensity of heat extremes over most land regions in the past 70 years.
Hyping the carbon capture con, big consulting firms infest COP28 [$]
Bernard Keane
The Big Six know an opportunity when they see one — and the fossil-fuel industry representatives at COP28 offer a lucrative one.
National
‘Green Wall Street’ passes parliament despite claims Labor is rushing legislation
New laws that would allow farmers and other land managers to cash in on nature-boosting practices passes parliament after Tanya Plibersek struck a deal with the Greens, her second in less than 10 days.
Do you live in a ‘low-performing’ home? These changes could save you up to $2.2k a year
There’s a strong case for a renovation wave across Australia, researchers say. This is why.
Jim Chalmers open to clean energy investment reforms pushed by super funds
Treasurer says government ‘committed to consider’ proposals, including concessional finance to bankroll new transmission infrastructure
Australian EV sales have increased by 185% since 2022
Industry experts say electric cars sales figures could be higher if the government stops delaying fuel efficiency standards
Fall in coal, gas exports to send growth below 2pc [$]
A sharp fall in coal and LNG exports has pushed Australia into a balance of payments deficit and is expected to have driven annual economic growth below 2 per cent.
These Australian companies are highlighting ways to reduce methane emissions at COP28
There’s been a flurry of announcements and initiatives aimed at trying to dramatically reduce the amount of methane escaping into the atmosphere each year.
Carbon credits from landfill gas projects are on the nose
Andrew Macintosh & Don Butler
Integrity issues have arisen with landfill gas projects because baselines have been set too low – and do not properly account for two drivers of methane combustion.
Fact-bombing by experts doesn’t change hearts and minds. But good science communication can
Tom Carruthers et al
A stir went through the Australian science communication community last week, caused by an article with the headline Science communicators need to stop telling everybody the universe is a meaningless void. In meetings and online back channels we cried “not ALL science communicators!”
Take the long view on immigration, it might surprise you
Matt Wade
Australia’s openness to new migrants will be a major asset as the 21st century unfolds. If you don’t believe me, take a look at the long-range population modelling.
I don’t want ADF repeatedly called on to clean up climate mess
Peter Dunn
I first deployed to fight fires as a member of the Australian Defence Force in the summer of 1993. During that summer, I served in both the Blue Mountains and southern Sydney to combat bushfires that first responders couldn’t manage on their own.
Why we need to overhaul the rules around charitable giving [$]
Alex Robson
The proposed changes would refocus the deductible gift recipient system towards activities with a greater public benefit.
The Paris Agreement is dead. Australia must change its strategic priorities
Ian Dunlop and David Spratt
As COP28 flounders, the Paris Agreement is dead, and the imperative for emergency action has never been greater. This demands a fundamental change to Australia’s strategic priorities.
Our suburbs are no longer safe from bushfires. Here’s what you can do [$]
Graham Dwyer
It’s a myth that you’re safe from bushfires in the suburbs. If you’re near any type of wild vegetation, your property may be at risk.
Victoria
Bus-only lanes touted as a quick fix for Melbourne’s traffic gridlock
More than a third of Melburnians have never caught a bus, put off by slow and complex routes, infrequent services and limited operating hours – even though 80 per cent of people live within 400 metres of a stop.
Maribyrnong dam ruled out, but flooded residents ask at what cost? [$]
A report into last year’s Maribyrnong River floods says a long-proposed dam on the river in Keilor – that would slow floodwaters when a big deluge hit – should be abandoned because of its cost and environmental toll.
New South Wales
The 200 small white cans taking Sydney’s temperature 3 million times
The City of Sydney and Western Sydney University will install 200 temperature gauges across the city to measure how heat impacts the city.
Queensland
First cyclone of the season edging closer to Queensland coast.
Nervous wait ahead for Queenslanders as cyclone forms off the state’s coast.
Could a turtle stop Qld’s $14.2 billion pumped hydro project? [$]
The success of the multibillion dollar Borumba hydro project hinges on environmental approvals and there’s a chance endangered species, which stopped the Traveston Crossing Dam, could come into play again.
Gaza war to delay Qld power station coming back online [$]
One of the state’s biggest power generators will remain offline for weeks longer than scheduled amid multiple issues, some related to the war in Gaza.
South Australia
Earlier this year alleged off-target spray drift damage from Overwatch caused bleaching on gardens in nearby townships, and there are concerns it will happen again next harvest
Worries about bushfire safety and drinking water supply in marina development that never took off
Residents and property owners in a town in South Australia’s south-east are growing increasingly frustrated at services being reduced in what they had hoped would be an idyllic place to retire.
Tasmania
Eyes in the sky: windfarm plans to install better eagle protection [$]
A development application hopes to erect an American produced monitoring system that would switch-off turbines at a North-East windfarm to prevent eagle collision
Bob Brown argues no case to answer in Snow Hill trespass fight [$]
Lawyers acting for veteran environmentalist Bob Brown are fighting for the courts to dismiss a trespass case against him, after he was arrested at a Snow Hill anti-logging protest.
Arrested at anti-logging protest, Brown’s still Green after all these years
Environmentalist Bob Brown is expected to give evidence as he attempts to fight a trespassing charge stemming from an anti-logging protest in Tasmania.
Northern Territory
Chief Minister Fyles rolls out the red carpet for Tamboran lobbyists
Australian Greens media rlease
Reports that the Fyles Government political strategy is being advised and led by the same consultancy that is directly responsible for lobbying by fracking giant Tamboran Resources are alarming and outrageous.
Western Australia
More than 300 fires deliberately lit in WA over past two months
WA has been hit by 1,600 bushfires over the past two months, a 70 per cent increase on last year, and more than 300 of them have been deliberately lit.
With very hot temperatures in Broome projected to increase from 56 to 87 days per year by 2030, Kimberley doctors are coming together to call for stronger climate action to prevent a health disaster.
Greenpeace activists scale crane to protest Woodside gas expansion plans
Greenpeace activists protesting Woodside’s Burrup Hub gas export plans have scaled a 140-metre crane alongside the company’s Perth headquarters.
Australia’s biggest polluter is now funding green tech in WA. Here’s how – and why
With Chevron’s carbon capture system failing to live up to its obligations, the fossil fuel giant will fund multimillion-dollar grants for other decarbonisation ideas.
Mandurah dolphin research project gets funding
The Mandurah council has backed the second round of a research project focusing on Mandurah’s dolphins, committing $45,000 in funding over three years.
Sustainability
Plastic is here to stay. Can it be made more sustainably?
Redesigning plastic requires navigating a series of trade-offs between cost, scalability, emissions, toxicity, and more.
Nature Conservation
In hotter regions, mammals seek forests, avoid human habitats
Forests will be increasingly important for mammals in a warming world
On the 50th anniversary of the US Endangered Species Act, a threat looms
Kim Heacox
The act is believed to have saved 99% of listed species from extinction, but rightwing lawmakers are chipping away at it
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