Australia and New Zealand warn about China’s missile test while spending billions on military integration and lagging on the climate threat facing Pacific neighbours. (more…)
Category: Climate
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Environment: Governments must use the evidence to encourage low-carbon lifestyles
Encouraging people to adopt low-carbon lifestyles is useful but no silver bullet for climate change. Plus, deep sea mining of thermal vents may look commercially attractive but will lead to the extinction of many unique animals. (more…)
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Who restrains power when power refuses restraint? – Message from the Editor
Across this week’s pieces on P&I, the same question keeps appearing: who or what restrains power when the powerful decide restraint is optional? (more…)
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The next Basin Plan is a disaster in the making
Members of the Murray-Darling Basin Knowledge Alliance explain why the original Basin plan was flawed and the proposed new plan will also fail to protect and restore the rivers of Murray-Darling Basin. (more…)
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Climate change should be depoliticised
Fossil fuel interests have politicised climate action and slowed the transition. A trusted, science-led expert group could help galvanise public demand for change.
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Getting Murdoched: climategate
This edited extract of Getting Murdoched: How Murdoch’s Media Wields Power and Punishment Andrew Dodd and Matthew Ricketson examines Murdoch’s destructive anti-climate change campaign. (more…)
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Environment: UN says 2050 before greenhouse gas emissions fall
Despite all the talk, emissions will be almost 50 per cent higher in 2050, speeding up global warming and bringing tipping points closer. The US’s coercive neocolonialism trades medicines for minerals. And Australian mammals’ eyes, ears and noses help them enjoy the night. (more…)
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A nature-based food revolution
Forget AI. The technological advance that will save the most human lives is being led by two million Indian farmers, who are pioneering advanced natural food production in a revolutionary movement that is spreading almost by the hour. (more…)
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Diversifying the critical minerals supply chain
Reducing dependence on China in the world’s critical mineral supply chain doesn’t require building a separate market. The trading system must find a balance between defence interests and the push for decarbonisation. (more…)
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Disaster mitigation won’t prevent flood, or drought and fire
More can be done in the way of disaster mitigation in Australia but the country cannot be proofed against floods, droughts and bushfires. (more…)
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The effects of global warming on Europe’s historic cities
European cities are having to face the dilemma of conserving their heritage and adapting to the effects of a warming climate. (more…)
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Environment: El Niño spells trouble for Aussies this spring
A new El Niño will likely bring heatwaves, droughts and health problems to southern Australia. In the UK, it’s already too hot for a warm beer. Wealthy nations are making very slow progress on emissions reductions. (more…)
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The madness of King Oil
Most governments remain hooked on oil instead of making the vital changes humans and the planet need for global energy transformation. (more…)
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We’re running late on climate, but not out of time
Overshooting the 1.5 degrees target for limiting global warming is not good news but there is progress on renewable energy and electrification. (more…)
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Does stopping native forest logging in Australia really kill orangutans?
The trope that ending native forest logging in Australia would be ‘a very bad day for orangutans’ does not stack up. (more…)
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Environment: a smaller global population won’t reduce climate change
Reducing the global population won’t stop global warming and, after temporarily overshooting 1.5oC, the world won’t return to what it was but we can still act to save our flora. (more…)
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A tale of two budgets: NSW and Queensland
The release of the NSW and Queensland state budgets reveals a stark contrast in the recognition of the role of renewable energy in securing economic and social benefits. (more…)
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Mining needs renewables, whatever Rinehart and Hanson say
Gina Rinehart’s companies acknowledge mining is essential to net zero, yet her public attacks on renewables and Pauline Hanson’s anti-climate agenda clash with the reality that mining projects increasingly depend on clean energy. (more…)
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COP-31: electrifying the global economy a practical priority
Ahead of COP-31 in November this year, Australia has endorsed an ambitious new global electrification target to hasten exit from fossil fuels. (more…)
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Environment: Cities swelter as global warming speeds up
Global warming is accelerating, extreme heat is already endangering lives in India, and Australia’s Safeguard Mechanism is failing to deliver meaningful emissions cuts from the country’s biggest industrial polluters.
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Who will release the next pandemic?
The next pandemic may emerge from wildlife trade, intensive farming, land clearing, laboratories, global travel or antibiotic resistance, as human behaviour continues to multiply the risks of another major disease outbreak. (more…)
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Should we bring back native forest logging? The answer is a clear no
Native forest logging is economically costly, environmentally damaging and socially divisive, and should not be revived in Victoria or Western Australia or maintained in Tasmania, New South Wales and Queensland. (more…)
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Bowen’s electrification gospel has a truck-shaped problem
Australia is urging the world to electrify, but its own freight system remains overwhelmingly dependent on imported diesel when electric trucks could cut emissions, strengthen fuel security and lower costs. (more…)
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Decarbonisation is now being driven by cost, security and necessity
In emerging and developing economies, the shift away from fossil fuels is increasingly being driven by energy security, affordability and economic pressure rather than formal climate targets alone.
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Not measuring climate change won’t make it go away
The US National Science Foundation is dismantling a deep ocean monitoring system that provided crucial data on ocean currents. (more…)
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Man the desert maker; woman the healer
The solution to the desertification of the planet may well rest with women – since it is men who do most of the destroying. (more…)
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Avoiding ‘worse-case’ climate warming is big news. But is it true?
Claims that climate scientists have abandoned their most dire scenario have been widely misunderstood. While the highest emissions pathway is now considered unlikely, evidence suggests the climate system may still be tracking toward dangerously high levels of warming.
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A carbon tax is a good idea
A carbon tax would help substantially in tackling two of the major problems facing Australia today: climate change and paying for the government services that we want. (more…)
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Hybrid wind and solar power plants are the next step for Australia
A wind and battery hybrid could replace a coal plant – and outperform it at almost every level. Then next step for Australia is to create fully integrated renewable generation systems. (more…)
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Stop native forest logging
Research across the world shows that logging substantially increases fire risks in Australian native forests. (more…)