Date: 22 March 2024 at 09:07:28 GMT+11
To: Undisclosed recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Mar 22
Post of the Day
Clean Energy Council launches national ad campaign against “nuclear distraction”
CEC launches national advertising campaign against nuclear push as former chief scientist Alan Finkel says pausing renewables for nuclear will set back climate action for two decades.
On This Day
Ecological Observance
National Tree Day in Sint Maarten
Climate Change
UN weather agency flags major climate change concerns after a year of records
In a recent report the World Meteorological Organization highlights an alarming acceleration of climate change indicators, issuing a “red alert” due to unprecedented increases in greenhouse gases, temperatures, and ice melts.
Biden’s climate corps initiative faces stiff opposition
President Joe Biden’s proposal for an $8 billion American Climate Corps has sparked immediate and intense criticism from Republican lawmakers, highlighting a deep divide over climate policy.
Texas takes a giant leap in carbon capture
Texas is set to host a facility aimed at significantly reducing atmospheric CO2.
National
Australians fear moving from where they live due to climate disasters
The majority of Australians have lived through a climate disaster and they are increasingly afraid of having to move away from the place they live due to extreme weather events, a new survey by the Climate Council shows.
26.8 million: Australia’s population growth in charts
Australia’s population grew by 2.5 per cent in the 12 months to September 2023, driven by record levels of overseas migration.
Courts unlikely to ‘rubber-stamp’ greenwashing allegations from regulators
With three companies currently facing civil penalty actions brought by ASIC for alleged greenwashing, recent judicial comments have revealed potential issues in the regulator’s approach to “stamp out” greenwashing.
Tap the brakes on fuel rules, say carmakers [$]
Labor is preparing to unveil its controversial New Vehicle Efficiency Standard, as the automotive industry demands the government pare back its ambitions in line with the US.
Entrepreneur Dick Smith says no country has ever been able to run on renewables, labelling the idea “impossible”. What do they experts say?
Battery storage the next green energy frontier [$]
James Curtis
As government and large organisations grapple with the realities of delivering renewable energy as part of the energy transition and meeting the net zero targets, its essential that we leave no one behind.
Best plans hit a snag on the way to saving Australia’s biggest river
Quentin Grafton
For more than a decade, the Australian government poured billions into the country’s biggest river system, trying to protect it from irreversible damage.
But instead of saving the river, the Murray-Darling Basin Plan serves as a cautionary tale for other regions.
Almost a third of Australia’s plant species may have to migrate south if we hit 3 degrees of warming
Julian Schrader
For ecologists, one of the most pressing questions is to understand how ecosystems will change or adapt as the climate changes rapidly. We are already seeing many species of plant and animal moving uphill and towards the poles in response to higher temperatures. It’s very likely most species will move to track their preferred temperature niche.
Global heating, land clearing and the ‘extinction vortex’: the fight to save Australia’s koalas
Graham Readfearn
A century ago, the sheer volume of koalas meant they were hunted for fur in the hundreds of thousands; today a dwindling population faces threats from continued logging and heatwaves
I discovered why seemingly healthy amphibians were being wiped out
Andrew Cunningham
The mass deaths were puzzling scientists around the world – there were no signs of viruses or parasites. Then we looked closely at their skin
Here’s why there is no nuclear option for Australia to reach net zero
Alan Finkel
Any call to go directly from coal to nuclear is effectively a call to delay decarbonisation of our electricity system by 20 years
No gas means higher emissions [$]
Australian editorial
Supply shortfall is bad for jobs, energy security and environment.
10 million animals die on our roads each year. Here’s what works (and what doesn’t) to cut the toll
Graeme Coulson and Helena Bender
There’s almost no warning. A dark shape appears on the side of the road, then you feel a jolt as something goes under the car. Or worse, the shape rears up, hits the front of your vehicle, then slams into the windscreen. You have just experienced a wildlife-vehicle collision.
Cleaner cars a politically charged driving test for Chris Bowen [$]
Phillip Coorey
The climate change and energy minister should be cut some slack. He is in the minority attempting hard and unpopular reform, such as the new clean fuel policy.
Nuclear vs Renewables shouldn’t be Ford vs Holden [$]
Matthew Warren
Reducing the complexities of national energy policy to a clean energy brawl is the last thing Australia needs in the middle of the biggest industrial rebuild in the nation’s history.
Australia has massive battery opportunity, and it needs to think big and go hard to seize it
Danny Kennedy
We’re a quarter of the way through the 21st century and Australia has yet to materialise the investment strategy to capitalise on its unique competitive advantage.
Australia’s leap to “instantaneous” 100 pct renewables may have to wait another decade
Giles Parkinson
The opportunity for Australia’s main grid to reach instantaneous 100 pct renewables will emerge in the next year, but coal stands in the way and it likely won’t happen for another decade.
Victoria
Australia is one of the world’s biggest gas exporters. Victoria may have to import it
Fresh warnings of energy shortages could lift demand for gas imports, despite Australia being one of the world’s top producers of LNG.
New South Wales
Cattle dying from mosquito-borne disease spreading south with warmer, wetter climate
A potentially deadly virus normally seen in warmer climates is killing cattle in an area of New South Wales where farmers rarely, if ever, see a case.
New solar farm to power 200,000 homes
The Sandy Creek Solar Farm, located 25 kilometres southwest of Dunedoo in the central west of NSW, includes the construction of a 840MW solar farm and battery energy storage system.
New NSW gas import plant could avert predicted east coast shortages, CEO says
Port Kembla facility will be able to meet all of Victoria’s needs and cover for 70% of New South Wales, according to Squadron Energy
How renewable energy zones will increase annual power bills by $58 [$]
NSW is rolling out five renewable energy zones. So far one project is producing power. But already, administration costs of $110m have been foist on NSW households and small businesses through electricity bills. And that’s the just.
Conservationists to clash with government at koala summit
Friday’s koala summit is set for a showdown between conservationists and the government over delays in creating the Great Koala National Park and the intensification of logging within the proposed boundaries.
Queensland
Punk beetle’s chance discovery was almost disregarded as bird droppings
Researchers investigating the discovery of the spiky-haired specimen say nothing of its kind has been seen in Australia before.
Koala ‘hotspot’ to be bulldozed for $1.6bn Olympic stadium [$]
Significant native forest home to endangered koalas would be bulldozed to make way for the state government’s controversial Olympic athletics stadium.
Developer looking to merging homes, farming into ‘agrihoods’ to ease food, housing pressures
Ever wanted to quit the city and run away to start a farm? Welcome to the agrihood, where you can have town living in a rural setting.
Will Plibersek let a property developer destroy the habitat of our critically endangered birds? [$]
David Papps
The environment minister will soon decide whether to allow a $1.4 billion property complex to be built on a conservationally recognised habitat.
South Australia
‘Another massive day for SA’: Mali hails key nuclear sub jobs moves [$]
Major job and training details of the Adelaide nuclear-powered submarine project have been applauded by Premier Peter Malinauskas.
Tasmania
What’s going on with Tasmania’s container refund scheme?
It has a name, a logo, and even a nifty YouTube video explaining how it works — but there is still no confirmed launch date for Tasmania’s container refund scheme.
Labor would can Southern Outlet 5th lane to save coin [$]
Plans for a fifth lane on the Southern Outlet would be canned, if Labor is elected, leader Rebecca White has revealed.
EPA to challenge Robbins Island Wind Farm decision [$]
The EPA says it had no other option but to launch an appeal against Robbins Island Wind Farm due to a clause in the state’s coastal policy not being considered.
Northern Territory
Company applies to extend NT uranium mine lease against traditional owners’ request
Mining company ERA wants to extend its lease on Jabiluka — one of the world’s largest uranium deposits — but Mirarr traditional owners are fiercely opposed to the plan.
Western Australia
Fallout from WA’s nine-day blackout continues as government defends two-year wait for a fix
WA’s Shadow Energy Minister says the Goldfields is facing the prospect of more blackouts next summer, with the government’s plans to improve the reliability of the grid to take at least two years.
Sustainability
Biden administration issues new rules aimed at cutting vehicle carbon emissions, boosting EV sales
The new standards will avoid more than 7 billion tonnes of planet-warming carbon emissions during the next three decades and provide nearly $151 billion in annual net benefits, according to the EPA — but they could be rolled back if Donald Trump is returned to office.
Industrial plant emissions linked to health hazards, study reveals
A recent study highlights the severe health and economic impacts of flaring and venting at industrial plants, including premature deaths and exacerbated asthma cases.
Amazon’s recycling claims fall short, investigation reveals
Despite Amazon’s assurances that its plastic packaging is recyclable through store drop-off programs, a new investigation suggests most of it ends up in landfills or incinerators.
New study shows potential for major cuts in crop-related ammonia emissions
A recent study highlights a path to significantly reduce ammonia pollution from rice, wheat, and corn cultivation through better fertilizer management.
Say hello to biodegradable microplastics
Finding viable alternatives to traditional petroleum-based plastics and microplastics has never been more important. New research shows that their plant-based polymers biodegrade — even at the microplastic level — in under seven months.
The next World War has started
Julian Cribb
World War Three has already begun, though few have noticed. It is being fought out in parliaments and the press, on social media platforms, in pubs and at family dining tables around the globe. It is an almost silent war that will kill millions, potentially billions and wreck the planet for all.
Maelor Himbury | Library Volunteer
Australian Conservation Foundation | www.acf.org.au
1800 223 669
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