We don’t want to be buying a pig in a poke now, do we? Michael Ambrose is onto it here, mandatory disclosure of energy performance gives the prospective buyer information they need.
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From: Maelor Himbury <M.Himbury@acfonline.org.au>
Date: 21 August 2024 at 8:54:40 AM GMT+10
To: Undisclosed recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Aug 21
Date: 21 August 2024 at 8:54:40 AM GMT+10
To: Undisclosed recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Aug 21
Post of the Day
Rachel Standish and Tina Parkhurst
“Nature-based solutions” are gaining momentum in environmental policy, including in Australia. They involve working with nature to protect, restore or manage ecosystems in a way that benefits both people and the environment.
On This Day
Climate Change
The Supreme Court’s recent decisions limiting federal authority are already complicating the legal landscape for environmental regulations, potentially slowing down critical climate action.
Shell USA’s foundation gave more than $500,000 to right-wing organizations that promote climate denial, anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ+ agendas, including several involved in Project 2025, which aims to weaken federal agencies like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
New research shows that using terms like “climate emergency” or “global boiling” doesn’t significantly raise public concern compared to traditional phrases like “climate change.”
National
Australia is soon to host an international “nature positive” summit, but the federal government can’t get its own “nature positive” laws through parliament.
Raising the wind speed at which turbines start spinning could prevent tens of thousands of bat deaths each year, researchers find
More than a year after the collapse of REDcycle, Australian industry and government can’t agree on how to collect our sea of soft plastics, let alone what to do with it.
Corporate Australia needs to not only get on top of their climate policies but also start educating their employees about what it covers.
Homes will be legally required to disclose their energy efficiency rating at the point of sale under a new scheme being developed by the federal government so prospective buyers can identify whether homes are power soakers or energy efficient.
Adam Morton
The opposition has still produced nothing to back up its widely disputed claim that Australia could have an operational nuclear industry before the 2040s
Chanticleer
Queensland and NSW’s big coal miners have their eyes up, knowing consolidation makes sense and could create value for investors
Llewelyn Hughes
Since the 1990s, the economic agenda of governments across much of the world has been dominated by the Washington Consensus. This is a series of policy recommendations centred on privatisation of state businesses, deregulation of industries, liberalisation of trade, and opening economies to foreign direct investment.
Sue Arnold
Neither major party nor the Federal Greens have ensured environmental issues are the nation’s top priority policies.
Jeremy Webb
A number of new studies highlight an embarrassing fact: Australia is playing a not insubstantial and growing role in slowing the reduction of global carbon emissions. By diligently increasing the development of unwanted new gas and coal fields we are only adding to Trump’s exhortation ‘drill baby drill’ with ‘drill mate drill’.
Charlie Lewis
The ongoing shitshow of redundant offshore rigs continues, with environmental groups singling out the ‘failures’ of the government’s regulator.
Gabrielle Kuiper
A “smart” hot water heat pump can create cheap, flexible demand and deliver big consumer savings. It’s time for governments to act.
Victoria
For decades, Victorians burned their rubbish in backyard incinerators. It’s now back in vogue, with five waste-to-energy facilities under development across the state.
Train tests on Metro Tunnel show interference with equipment in the hospital precinct, and despite the issue being identified a decade ago, it is now costing Victorians tens of millions of dollars annually.
Dairy farmer Jason Smith says southwest Victoria’s green drought is the worst he has witnessed and has him considering his future in the industry.
New South Wales
Along with its population, temperatures in NSW are also projected to rise significantly in the foreseeable future. How sustainable will this growth be for NSW residents old and new?
Recent testing has found low levels of PFAS across several Sydney water catchments. But experts say there are a lot more ‘forever chemicals’ that we don’t know about.
North-south links and connections to the far flung Northern Beaches, southwest and southern suburbs are the next step in Sydney’s Metro network, experts say.
Tanya Plibersek was persuaded to rule against Regis’s full proposal for a $1bn goldmine after listening to a dissident Aboriginal corporation registered with just 18 members.
Australian editorial
By vetoing the $1bn goldmine, Tanya Plibersek has cast aside the job prospects and economic wellbeing of local Indigenous people and Australia’s reputation among investors.
Opinion
Mining in NSW is now subject to the whims of ministers and activists. Just witness what happened to a gold mine that would have provided hundreds of jobs and hundreds of millions in mining royalties.
Queensland
As cane toads spread across northern Australia, Indigenous rangers and scientists have worked out how to stop freshwater crocodiles from eating the toxic creature – by giving them food poisoning.
South Australia
The Whyalla steelworks has entered a series of shutdowns of its blast furnace due to an inability to source enough coking coal, according to an email obtained by ABC News.
John Boland and Chris Bryant use their garden to shade their house from Australia’s hot summers – and it helps feed them as well
The biggest battery project in South Australia has been licensed and registered, paving the way for testing and commissioning.
Tasmania
As the decision on whether to restrict salmon farming in Tasmania’s Macquarie Harbour to save the endangered Maugean skate comes to a head, a delegation of salmon industry representatives have flown to Canberra to plead their case.
Northern Territory
Monday’s Four Corners program shone a spotlight on a little-known quasi-government body called the NT Land Corporation. Where did it come from? What power does it have? And what scrutiny is there?
SunCable’s Australia-Asia Power Link project in the remote Northern Territory has received crucial approval from the Commonwealth government.
Western Australia
The invasive shot-hole borer beetle has been found outside Perth’s quarantine zone, sparking fears it could spread to the east coast.
The Australian Conservation Foundation says its case was “unlikely to succeed”, calls for legislative change, and apologises to supporters.
China’s cooling property market has seen iron ore prices tumble faster than expected this year, and the decline could see $3 billion wiped from the federal budget. How concerned should WA be?
Sustainability
As the world faces the challenges of mitigating climate change and providing resources for a growing population, there is increasing focus on developing circular economies for sustainable production.
Researchers’ new analytical model can assess neighborhood-level hazards globally
Behind closed doors: Civil society groups excluded from key global treaty talks on plastic pollution
This week’s global treaty talks on plastic pollution in Bangkok have sparked outrage as environmentalists and affected communities are locked out of the negotiations, raising concerns about transparency and the future strength of the treaty.
Charlie Huang
Africa, a continent with boundless high-quality iron ore, is poised to become one of the world’s biggest producers of low-emissions steel, rivalling China.
Nature Conservation
Appearance of dark crimson underwing causes excitement on land that would be bisected by road scheme
Researchers report that deforestation during the last two decades induced a higher warming and cloud level rise than that caused by climate change, which threatens biodiversity and water supply in African montane forests.
Maelor Himbury | Library Volunteer
Australian Conservation Foundation | www.acf.org.au
1800 223 669
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