From: Maelor Himbury <M.Himbury@acfonline.org.au>
Date: Thu, 24 Sep 2026 at 8:15 am
Subject: Daily Links Sep 24
To:
Post of the Day
Our message to global leaders: we need solar power everywhere by the decade’s end
Bernie Sanders et al
As the UN gathers, signatories from Bernie Sanders to Yeb Saño issue an open letter calling for clean power for all
On This Day
Our Lady of Mercy Day – Dominican Republic
Feast of Saint Rupert – Austria
Climate Change
At Climate Week, Elmo recalls a storm on Sesame Street: ‘Courage is when you still help others’
New York event hears about the red Muppet’s fears during a recent storm as climate crisis increasingly affects children
UK shares findings of damning climate crisis national security report suppressed under Starmer
El Niño poses critical threat to nations’ defences, says Ed Miliband in presentation to global foreign ministers
Germany pledges to phase out fossil fuels for first time with target of 2045
Campaigners say plan marks notable shift away from oil and gas as previously pledges were only for carbon neutrality
The climate fight has one great ally. You just can’t look at it directly
Bill McKibben
There is hope in solar power. As the UN meets, we are urging leaders to pursue a clear goal: clean energy for all by 2030
Poorer nations will be among the last to benefit if global emissions cut to net zero
Graham Readfearn
Scientists found unequal impact of the climate crisis would not be reversed even if implicit goal of the 2015 Paris agreement is achieved
We’re heading past 1.5°C. Now we need a plan for what comes next
Nicholas Stern
As the world heads towards overshooting 1.5°C, reaching net zero remains essential but will not be enough to bring temperatures back down. Governments must accelerate emissions cuts while investing in adaptation, carbon removal and research into the risks of geoengineering.
National
Coalition vows to ‘take a chainsaw’ to climate laws, offshore wind
The Coalition has promised a major slowdown of renewables if it wins power, including scrapping most offshore renewables sites, formalising its commitment to unpick Australia’s key climate policies.
Cautious farmers embrace renewable energy to boost income streams
Farmers sign up to renewable projects on their land to diversify income, but large-scale projects and transmission lines remain sticking points.
Federal government urged not to let fire ant eradication funding lapse
State agriculture ministers met in Canberra on Friday, where they noted fire ant eradication remained “technically feasible, cost beneficial and in the national interest”.
The dingo debate is heating up. How we manage these animals will determine their future
Niraj Meisuria et al
How we manage dingoes is a source of heated debate. Dingoes play an integral ecological role as a top predator, and have immense cultural significance to First Nations communities. However, many farmers view dingoes as a threat to their livestock, livelihoods and mental health.
Albanese, AUKUS and the broken promise on nuclear weapons
Tilman Ruff
As Albanese receives an international award for his leadership on security, Australia remains outside the nuclear weapons ban treaty he once championed. Meanwhile, expanding US military access raises new questions about Australia’s exposure to nuclear conflict.
Canberra establishment waking from self-induced energy lethargy [$]
Graham Lloyd
Australia’s data centre boom has done what years of political debate could not – cracked open the Albanese government’s energy ideology from within.
Net zero is dead, now for Taylor’s real test [$]
Peta Credlin
Angus Taylor faces the task of matching One Nation’s ideological consistency with a rigorous, realistic migration framework.
Hold the front page! Cost of clean energy transition just shrank by $100 billion [$]
Peter Hannam
The Murdoch media has come up with some Very Big Round Numbers in reports on the cost of the transition to renewables. So where do they come from? And why has one of them just been shaved by $100bn?
AI brings an opportunity for energy reality check [$]
Australian editorial
Data centres are a must and so is the gas needed to power them.
Victoria
Residents near huge data centre demand financial compensation
A Senate inquiry into artificial intelligence and data centres hears from residents and local councils about the impact of an influx of data centres in Melbourne’s suburbs.
Gas lobby ‘scare campaign’ urges Victoria to scrap ban in new homes, leaked documents show
Exclusive: Australian Gas Infrastructure Group lobbying campaign warns energy bills could increase by $100 unless ban is reversed, despite experts disagreeing
Gums, ginkgos and a golden wych elm: which will win Victoria’s tree of the year?
From Carlton to Castlemaine, the National Trust of Victoria competition aims to raise awareness about trees
Why Victorians are demanding Yallourn power station keeps running [$]
Explosive new polling shows the majority of Victorians want Yallourn power station to remain open past 2028, as the Libs pledge to “take a chainsaw” to green targets to keep the plant operating.
New South Wales
Sydney council stares down protest in push for synthetic football field
Ku-ring-gai Council faced protest as the new mayor vowed to push ahead with a synthetic field and scrap planned community consultation.
Schools trial AI leak detection technology to save water
The NSW government says about 20 per cent of the 2 million megalitres of water used by schools is lost to leaks every year.
Coogee ranks as Sydney’s worst ocean beach for faecal pollution – again
Seventy-nine per cent of all NSW swimming sites rated ‘good’ or ‘very good’, as state’s cleanest and most polluted beaches revealed
Explainer: How a controversial scheme will fund Australia’s largest koala park
Experts, conservationists and politicians are divided on using carbon credits to help fund the Great Koala National Park.
Queensland
Huge dead creature found on Aussie beach
Researchers have mobilised after a massive creature washed up on a beach in Queensland, with authorities testing for possible links to bird flu.
$32bn data centre to consume more electricity than biggest coal station [$]
The Anthropic-backed Western Downs Digital Park would single-handedly blow out Queensland’s data centre power forecasts by more than 30 years, documents show.
School holiday warning for K’gari travellers
Authorities have issued a warning over one of K’gari’s most popular times of the year as dingo breeding season clashes with holidays.
South Australia
‘Extremist’ park protesters plot ambush at Premier’s forum [$]
Protesters have urged supporters to “ambush” an invitation-only Premier forum, escalating a bitter fight over the $45m North Adelaide Golf Course redevelopment.
Western Australia
Video captures ranger’s joyful tears on finding rare night parrot chick
New video captures a sighting of the elusive bird in its grassy home in the remote Great Sandy Desert during the day.
Commonwealth to foot bill for maintenance, safety of abandoned WA oil platform
The federal government is paying to keep an oil platform safe after its owners collapsed. The Cliff Head platform off the WA coast has raised fresh questions about the strength of Australia’s offshore decommissioning laws.
Sustainability
‘More dangerous’: The numbers on this sign raise a bigger question
As fuel prices climb to their highest level in months, experts caution that global energy shocks are unlikely to go away.
London buses in decline? Why public transport in global cities is slowing to a crawl – visualised
As experts fear for future of UK capital’s bus network, some commuters are giving up entirely. London is not alone – with worrying implications for the poorest in society
Pesticides contain hundreds of chemicals that could boost breast cancer risk, new research finds
Hundreds of chemicals commonly used in pesticide products could be increasing the risk of breast cancer. This includes active ingredients, but also inactive ones that do not receive the same level of testing.
New mining map highlights damage caused by extracting metals for your smartphone
Mark Maslin
The most sustainable smartphone is the one you currently own. An estimated 80% of your phone’s negative impact on the environment happens before the first minute of use – before it is even unboxed.
Here’s what California’s paraquat ban means for the future of pesticide policy
Anna Lappé
With some U.S. states joining global bans on one weedkiller, it’s time to keep the momentum going.
Nature Conservation
Bats originated in Europe, rewriting mammals’ family tree, study reveals
Biggest study of its kind provides insights into bats’ evolution – a potential gamechanger for research into treating viruses and cancer in humans
Pacific nations unite ahead of global biodiversity talks
Fourteen Pacific Island countries have come together in Fiji to develop a coordinated regional position ahead of the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Maelor Himbury | Library Volunteer
Australian Conservation Foundation | www.acf.org.au
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