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Date: 23 February 2024 at 09:05:13 GMT+11
To: Undisclosed recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Feb 23
Post of the Day
Steven Kenway et al
Why is there such a big gap between people, industries and government agreeing we need urgent action on climate change, and actually starting? Scope 3 emissions are a great example. These are greenhouse gas emissions that organisations can influence, but don’t directly control.
On This Day
Magha Puja – Buddhism SE Asia
Climate Change
Switzerland calls on UN to explore possibility of solar geoengineering
Proposal focuses on technique that fills atmosphere with particles, reflecting part of sun’s heat and light back into space
Trump’s climate stance clashes with emerging Republican climate strategy
Despite former President Trump’s denial of climate science, some Republicans are advocating for policies to address global warming.
Arctic rainfall: a new climate challenge
The Arctic faces a new environmental challenge as rainfall increases, impacting wildlife and indigenous communities.
Climate change is fanning the flames of NZ’s wildfire future. Port Hills is only the beginning
Nathanael Melia
Last week, wildfire burnt through 650 hectares of forest and scrub in Christchurch’s Port Hills. This is not the first time the area has faced a terrifying wildfire event.
National
Red meat industry questions sustainability ‘remit’ of Australian Dietary Guideline review
Sustainability is on the menu for the official review of the national dietary guidelines, but the red meat industry is concerned it will not recognise its work to reduce greenhouse emissions.
Commonwealth to pay $900m to coal generators [$]
New estimates have put the cost of rebates to coal generators at a total fiscal cost of $1.85bn under Labor’s market intervention, with Canberra to pay a 50 per cent share.
Electric vehicle charging sparks concern among drivers [$]
Most Australians think the nation has too few public charging stations to support electric vehicles, a new study has revealed, even though their numbers almost doubled over the past year.
First Nations engagement guide launched for renewable energy sector
The first comprehensive national guide on engagement, consent, participation and benefit-sharing with First Nations people on renewable energy projects was launched Thursday.
Drive-by charging for electric trucks to be trialled on Australian roads
[$]
A world-first project will attempt to recharge heavy-duty electric trucks as they drive along roads in regional Australia, in a development researchers say could help accelerate adoption of low-emission transport.
Major parties set to block Pocock move to enshrine climate change “duty of care” for children
Labor and Coalition likely to block climate “duty of care” bill designed to close the gap that allows new fossil fuel projects to be approved.
Rooftop solar, batteries, EVs and heat pumps could save Australians $19 billion in energy costs – SwitchedOn podcast:
Dr Gabrielle Kuiper argues distributed energy resources must not come second in policy, planning and regulation to transmission and large-scale generation.
We discovered two new Australian native mammals – the first of their kind this century
Emily Roycroft
Australia can lay claim to two new native mammal species, discovered as part of our collaborative research published today in the journal Molecular Ecology.
Subsidy spending ends in tears [$]
Australian editorial
Coal, gas, steel, cars and rare earths are all in interventionist sights.
Adani’s started solar in India. So should the Nats in the regions [$]
Matt Edwards
Rather than worry about waking up with a transmission line in your back paddock, the biggest landscape threat is not renewables but climate change.
Victoria
More homes lost to bushfires as Victorian towns remain under threat in state’s west
Authorities have confirmed homes, sheds and stock have been lost, with an out-of-control fire bearing down on dozens of communities in Victoria.
Firefighters battle Beaufort blaze into the night as towns evacuated
Emergency services have warned a wind change left those in the Pyrenees Ranges remaining vigilant into the night as bushfire burns near Beaufort.
The urban bandicoot that could stop the bulldozers
Hundreds of endangered southern brown bandicoots live behind a predator-proof fence on Melbourne’s south-eastern fringe. A proposed development nearby could push the marsupial closer to extinction.
Victoria’s power outage could have been far worse. Can we harden the grid against extreme weather?
Bruce Mountain
Last week’s destructive storm took Victoria by surprise. As winds of up to 150 kilometres an hour raced through the state, transmission towers near Geelong toppled and the grid went into chaos.
New South Wales
Florence is back to the grind, but Snowy 2.0 has a long way to go
After about a year marooned in soft ground, the machine named Florence is on the move again. It’s a relief to the trouble-plagued Snowy 2.0 project, but those troubles are not over.
Asbestos investigation widens as new companies named
The hunt for sites potentially contaminated by asbestos in mulch has widened to include big construction projects involving apartment blocks.
What’s the risk of inhaling asbestos from contaminated mulch if you stroll through a park?
Widespread asbestos contamination of mulch has left residents of Sydney and Canberra worried, but experts say it does not pose a “significant risk”. We unpack how asbestos causes health issues and what kinds of exposure are harmful.
Critically endangered bettongs survive fires, floods to double population in NSW
A program re-introducing brush-tailed bettongs to a conservation area in the Pilliga State Forest shows promise, after an east-coast extinction lasting more than 100 years
Natural disasters could cost NSW $9bn a year by 2060, analysis finds
Modelling suggests climate change and population growth must be mitigated to avoid high damage bills and coastal hazards will dominate risk in future
Second stage of Parramatta light rail finally gets green light [$]
Seven years after the former Coalition government first announced the proposed route, the 10-kilometre tram line between the Parramatta CBD and Olympic Park has been given the tick by planning.
ACT
Ditch expensive light rail and push for trackless trams: advocates
An expensive and inflexible extension to Canberra’s light rail network should be abandoned in favour of improved bus services and a possible “trackless tram”, a new discussion paper written by community advocates has said.
Queensland
Bleaching fears along 1,000km stretch of the Great Barrier Reef
Scientists are investigating reports of dying coral from Lizard Island in the north to Heron Island in the south
The major Brisbane roads where Greens want more bus, transit lanes [$]
The Greens will unveil plans to turn traffic lanes on six Brisbane roads into bus lanes or transit lanes as part of their proposal to ease congestion by improving the bus network.
Claims of ‘bribery’ in government’s $5 million spend in small town to win support for pumped hydro
The Queensland town of Imbil, at the centre of a major clean energy project, has been gifted millions in funding in what the state government has described as a “gesture of goodwill” but some have referred to as “bribery”.
Matt Pollard and Tim Buckley
The Sunshine state has turbo-charged its transition towards renewable energy, providing a compelling case study for other states
Most Brisbane traffic isn’t for work, yet everything leads to the city [$]
Tony Moore
Brisbane’s transport network is largely designed to get people to the CBD, despite 30 per cent of trips being less than six kilometres in length and often more local than city-bound.
South Australia
SA government to spend $100m on desalination plant and pipeline network ‘pre-feasibility study’
The South Australian government explores building a desalination plant on the state’s Eyre Peninsula that would deliver water to mining and agriculture in the far north.
500 trees a year, 10,000 more bikes in CBD: City’s climate plan [$]
Adelaide’s future “looks very bleak” if it doesn’t act now to reconfigure the CBD to cope with 50C days, the Lord Mayor says.
Mt Lofty Ranges fire contained, but CFS says ‘stay indoors’ [$]
Crews rushed to the area north of Adelaide after smoke was sighted by residents just after 3pm.
Tasmania
‘Climate refugee’ from Queensland cleaning up after business flooded by storms in Tasmania
A motel owner who left Queensland because of torrential downpours is one of many cleaning up after a flood in an east-coast Tasmanian town.
Greens back free public transport right across Tasmania
Transcript of media conference with Greens MHA for Clark, Vica Bayley and Greens Leader Rosalie Woodruff, Glenorchy Bus Mall, 22 February 2022.
Northern Territory
Embattled prawn farm project liable for multi-million-dollar payout after being ruled insolvent
A bid to build one of the world’s largest prawn farms on a remote Northern Territory cattle station has been dealt a major blow.
Western Australia
WA man on trial for alleged breach of Aboriginal heritage laws
The trial will hear arguments as to whether every change to the physical landscape constitutes damage to an Aboriginal spiritual site.
WA’s domestic gas export policy no longer fit for purpose, report says
A report into WA’s domestic gas reservation policy declares it is no longer fit for purpose, is unlikely to mitigate gas shortfalls and could threaten thousands of jobs.
WA gas shortage looms as ‘tricky’ companies game state gas policy
WA faces an “imminent and potentially severe gas supply shortfall” from “tricky” exporters trying to avoid the spirit of their agreements to supply the local market.
Nickel crashes green superpower picture of El Dorado [$]
Phillip Coorey
Whatever the government comes up with to shore up the WA nickel industry, it will be a sobering day when Australia’s golden goose needs a subsidy to stay competitive.
Sustainability
EU updates air pollution limits, yet falls short of optimal health standards
The European Union has revised its air pollution regulations, setting stricter limits on harmful pollutants, although these new standards still don’t meet the World Health Organization’s recommended levels.
The switch to electric vehicles is a breath of fresh air for children near highways
A new study highlights the potential for electric vehicles (EVs) to significantly reduce childhood asthma attacks and other health issues caused by exhaust exposure, particularly in low-income, urban areas.
Nature Conservation
UK government can never accept idea nature has rights, delegate tells UN
Dismissal of concept already recognised in UN declarations described as shameful, contradictory and undemocratic
6m, 360kg: Qld scientists discover huge new species of anaconda [$]
A new giant species of anaconda – the largest sighted at 6.3m and 360kg – has been discovered by University of Queensland scientists in the Ecuadorean Amazon.
Tobago’s oil spill crisis: a threat to marine life and local economy
A recent oil spill near Tobago has caused significant environmental concerns, with the spill extending more than 150 miles and impacting local wildlife
Maelor Himbury | Library Volunteer
Australian Conservation Foundation | www.acf.org.au
1800 223 669
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