Most recent 40 articles: Sydney Morning Herald
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Getting down to the business of evolving Australia's climate policy - Sydney Morning Herald (Jan 30, 2020) |
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Jan 30, 2020 · Scorched by unprecedented bushfires, our nation badly needs a global solution to climate change. Evolving emissions policy, as the Prime Minister has suggested, can deliver a more ambitious, durable and trade-neutral approach, and get investment flowing to the industry and the infrastructure we need for a prosperous future. Success requires clarity about what we're trying to do, and smart policy design that suits the enduring needs of the community and industry.
Many fear that the recent fires are the "new normal". The truth seems to be both better and worse than that. The specific circumstances that produced the most dire bushfire season in recorded Australian history won't ... Read more ...
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'Climate is changing': Historical maps show it's getting hotter and drier - Sydney Morning Herald (Dec 20, 2019) |
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Dec 20, 2019 · As severe bushfires raged in NSW and Victorians baked under Friday's brutal sun, a new set of official maps shows in stark detail how Australia is growing dramatically hotter and drier.
The charts produced by Agriculture Victoria show a marked rise in maximum temperatures across much of the country in recent years, a trend the government agency's climate experts expect to continue.
But the charts, mapping climatic conditions for the past 109 years and intended as a planning tool for farmers, also offer hope for those suffering under drought conditions that good rainfall years will come again.
Australia has already had its hottest December day on record this week. ... Read more ...
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Morrison's big failure is his lack of leadership on climate change - Sydney Morning Herald (Dec 20, 2019) |
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Dec 20, 2019 · Prime Minister Scott Morrison has admitted he showed poor judgment in trying to sneak off on holiday in the midst of catastrophic bushfires.
Saying sorry for the trip to Hawaii was the right thing to do but it is a sideshow. Mr Morrison must correct the failure in leadership on climate change policy which is the real reason this bushfire season will be damaging for him politically in the long run.
No one is saying that Mr Morrison faced an easy choice in deciding whether to go on holidays this week. This was his only chance to have a summer holiday with his children before visits to Japan and India next year.
Yet, as a politician who is obsessively focused on media ... Read more ...
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How Australia's attempted carbon trickery is stoking India to pollute - Sydney Morning Herald (Dec 12, 2019) |
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Dec 12, 2019 · In the closing backroom negotiations at the United Nations climate conference in Madrid this week, the full impact of Australia's proposal to use accounting tricks to nullify its commitments to cut carbon emissions became abundantly clear. In response, India for the first time proposed using credits from old "clean development" projects under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol as a way to water down the targets it committed to under the Paris Agreement in 2015.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison told us yet again on Thursday that Australia only accounts for 1.3 per cent of global emissions, so what we do at home makes little or no difference to the environmental outcome. But the tough-talking ... Read more ...
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Australia's 'betrayal of trust' emissions plan to be tested in Madrid - Sydney Morning Herald (Dec 08, 2019) |
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Dec 08, 2019 · The Morrison government could be forced to justify Australia's plan to count "carry-over credits" towards the country's Paris climate target, with a global summit set to debate eliminating their use.
The 25th Conference of the Parties (COP25) meeting in the Spanish capital of Madrid is scheduled to debate the so-called "rulebook" for the goals agreed by the nearly 200 Paris signatory nations.
According to the draft "guidance on cooperative approaches", one "option" for debate will be that "Kyoto Protocol units, or reductions underlying such units, may not be used by any Party toward its [nationally determined goals]".
The Morrison government has repeatedly said ... Read more ...
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Climate change will require policy on new coal mines - Sydney Morning Herald (Oct 22, 2019) |
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Oct 22, 2019 · NSW is facing a difficult decision on whether planning rules should consider the potential impact on climate change in deciding whether to approve new coal mines.
In three recent cases, decision makers have cited the likely impacts on climate change as a possible reason for rejecting new coal mines.
They have pointed out that approving the mines contradicts other NSW policies which support global emissions reduction.
In fact, no NSW coal mine has been stopped solely because of climate change. Global emissions were not the main factor in the two cases where the mines were rejected.
The Independent Planning Commission rejected KEPCO's Bylong mine and the Land ... | By Sydney Morning Herald Read more ...
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Drought deepens as 'very dry winter' combines with record heat - Sydney Morning Herald (Sep 02, 2019) |
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Sep 02, 2019 · Drought-hit regions of southern and eastern Australia got little if any relief during winter, with barely half the normal rainfall and the country still posting its warmest start to any year for daytime temperatures.
The Bureau of Meteorology's winter summary showed the country had its sixth-warmest June-August for maximum temperatures, while rainfall averages were the least - at 36.4 millimetres - since 2002. For the first eight months of 2019, maximums are running the hottest on record and mean temperatures the second-warmest.
"It was a very dry winter over the bulk of the continent," said Blair Trewin, the bureau's senior climatologist, adding that ... Read more ...
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Amazon rainforest deforestation booming as satellites show 740km cleared in 30 days - Sydney Morning Herald (Jun 09, 2019) |
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Jun 09, 2019 · Brasilia: Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil sped up in May to the fastest rate in a decade, according to data from an early-warning satellite system, as experts pointed to activity by illegal loggers encouraged by the easing of environmental protections under President Jair Bolsonaro.
According to the Brazilian space research institute INPE, the DETER alerting system registered deforestation of 739 square kilometres in May, the first of three months in which logging tends to surge following the region's rainy season.
That is up from 550 square kilometres in May 2018 and more than double the deforestation detected two years earlier.
"If this ... Read more ...
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Great Barrier Reef corals, algae may not be able to adapt to climate change - Sydney Morning Herald (May 28, 2019) |
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May 28, 2019 · Coral and algae species subjected to more acidic seawater showed no acclimatisation to the new conditions for over a year, a new study has found, suggesting that vulnerable reefs may not be able adapt fast enough to cope with climate change.
With oceans absorbing about 22 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere a day, seas have already become about 30 per cent more acidic over the past two centuries.
Shell-forming creatures from oysters to types of plankton are increasingly at risk from the changes, which have been called the "evil twin" - along with higher temperatures - of climate change.
They found "completely no change over a ... Read more ...
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Australia: Labor's emissions policy does not have to be a carbon tax to have a cost - Sydney Morning Herald (Apr 02, 2019) |
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Apr 02, 2019 · Bill Shorten's new climate change policy asks Australian companies to make a huge effort to cut their greenhouse gas emissions in a way that is certain to come at a cost.
Industrial polluters will have to pay to bring down their emissions or buy permits to meet Labor's ambition to reduce emissions by 45 per cent by 2030, and some of them will have to pass these costs on to customers.
This does not make it a carbon tax. The semantic debate over a "tax" has poisoned Australian debate on energy and climate for too long. It is about time the policies were examined without resort to stale political soundbites.
The Labor policy expands the Coalition's existing ... | By David Crowe Read more ...
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Australian coal at risk from China move, warns government report - Sydney Morning Herald (Mar 29, 2019) |
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Mar 29, 2019 · A new government report warns China's restrictions on coal imports is the number one risk for Australian coal this year and could lead to a significant price slump.
Since February, China has been placing increasingly onerous import restrictions on Australian thermal coal.
Some ships carrying Australian coal are now being diverted to other countries such as India or Vietnam rather than deal with Chinese customs.
"Supply disruptions are likely to be the primary story in the short-term, with demand changes increasingly important the further we look out," the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science's chief economist Mark Cully said in the latestResources and ... | By Cole Latimer Read more ...
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Comment: As an ex-coal boss, I'm telling politicians: wake up to climate threat - Sydney Morning Herald (Mar 14, 2019) |
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Mar 14, 2019 · Human-induced climate change is happening faster than officially acknowledged. Extreme events intensify, particularly in Australia, Asia and the Pacific. Victoria and Tasmania are ablaze again. Queensland needs a decade to recover from recent floods. Much of south-east Australia has become a frying pan, curtailing human activity.
The economic and social cost is massive – as Reserve Bank deputy governor Guy Debelle warned us this week – but too many of our leaders refuse absolutely to acknowledge climate change as the cause.
Given the overwhelming evidence and repeated warnings of the dangers we face, even as a former oil, gas and coal industry executive I find it ... | By Ian Dunlop Read more ...
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Jane Goodall's urges consumers to follow Greta Thunburg's global climate movement - Sydney Morning Herald (Mar 12, 2019) |
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Mar 12, 2019 · Individuals everywhere must make different choices if humanity - and many of the world's other species - are to avoid a "bleak" future, leading environmental campaigner Jane Goodall says.
Dr Goodall, who is heading to Australia in May for a series of talks dubbedRewind the Future
The renowned naturalist, who turns 85 next month, said the increase in youth activity - such the global climate movement started by Swedish student Greta Thunberg - was a source of hope that rising environmental threats would be addressed.
Ms Thunberg is "completely amazing ... she's brave and she truly, truly believes in what's she's talking about", Dr Goodall said of ... | By Peter Hannam Read more ...
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Hong Kong firm lobs bid to build Hunter Valley coal-fired power plant - Sydney Morning Herald (Mar 06, 2019) |
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Mar 06, 2019 · An obscure Hong Kong-listed company claims to have sealed early plans to develop a low-emissions coal-fired power station in the Hunter Valley - although NSW Planning is yet to receive a formal approach.
Kaisun Holdings, which has a market value of about HK$181 million ($33 million) told the Hong Kong stock exchange on February 28 it had entered a memorandum of understanding for the joint development of an "ultra super critical" coal-fired power plant with 2000 megawatt-capacity in the Hunter Economic Zone (HEZ).
At that size, it would more than replace AGL's ailing Liddell power plant, with its 1680MW-capacity, that is due to close in 2022.
Kaisun, which ... Read more ...
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Is corporate Australia facing a 'tipping point' on climate change? - Sydney Morning Herald (Nov 05, 2018) |
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Nov 05, 2018 · In the parlance of climate science, a "tipping point" is a dire prospect – a critical threshold breach that triggers an abrupt and rapid change in climate.
But last week, Australia's second biggest asset manager used the phrase in a more optimistic sense – to describe a shift in how investors, regulators and companies are thinking about the varied risks that climate change poses, and what they should actually do about it.
A string of recent events - from financial regulators pushing companies on "material" climate risks, to the recently-surveyed views of directors ranking climate change as a top priority - amount to a "real tipping point" ... | By Ruth Williams Read more ...
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Climate-change theatre show 2071 separates science from politics - Sydney Morning Herald (May 22, 2017) |
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May 22, 2017 · In 1948, George Orwell dreamed up a vision of the future:1984
Today, humankind is faced with a different threat: anthropogenic climate change. What, from the vantage point of 2017, can we imagine our future to be? What will the planet be like in 2071?
In 2014, the British theatremaker and playwright Duncan Macmillan sat down with leading climate scientist Chris Rapley of University College London to consider the direction the planet is heading in. After 10 months of discussions and thousands of pages of transcribed notes were distilled, a dramatised lecture titled 2071
Now2071
"It is the most ambitious thing I've ever done, and one of the most ... Read more ...
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Grim State of the Environment report warns climate change impacts could be irreversible - Sydney Morning Herald (Mar 07, 2017) |
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Mar 07, 2017 · The impact of climate change on the Australian environment and its ecosystems is increasing and some aspects may be irreversible, the latest State of the Environment report has warned.
The condition of the environment was "poor" and "deteriorating" in some areas, despite improvements in the marine environment and the Murray-Darling Basin, according to the report.
To be released on Tuesday by Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg, the five-yearly dossier says Australia lacks overarching national policies that establish "a clear vision" for protecting and managing the environment, including climate change, between now and 2050.
A summary ... Read more ...
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What a relief that climate change doesn't really exist - Sydney Morning Herald (Feb 14, 2017) |
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Feb 14, 2017 · As we've sweltered through this terrible summer – and lately, as bushfires have raged – what a comfort it's been to know that climate change doesn't exist and isn't happening.
Or, if it does exist, it's not caused by anything humans have done, so there's nothing we can do about it.
Or, if itis
say
That way, we'll have all bases covered: something to calm the consciences of those still silly enough to believe climate change is real, but not enough to annoy the party's many climate change deniers, nor our generous donors in the coal industry.
And, just to make you feel better, let me remind you of the big win the deniers have had. The Coalition's leading, ... Read more ...
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Trump reminiscent of Stalin says Australia's chief scientist Alan Finkel as science 'literally under attack' - Sydney Morning Herald (Feb 06, 2017) |
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Feb 06, 2017 · Australia's Chief Scientist Alan Finkel has compared US President Donald Trump's move to censor environmental data with former Soviet dictator Josef Stalin's control of science in the USSR.
Speaking at a Chief Scientists' roundtable discussion at the Australian National University on Monday, Dr Finkel made his comments saying he was "going off topic" as "science is literally under attack".
Dr Finkel said: "The Trump administration has mandated that scientific data published by the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] must undergo review by political appointees before they can be published."
In the first week of his presidency Mr ... Read more ...
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More rain on the horizon as climate change affects Australia, study finds - Sydney Morning Herald (Jan 17, 2017) |
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Jan 17, 2017 · Australians will need to batten down the hatches with more intense rain storms predicted as a result of higher humidity driven by a rise in global temperatures.
New findings from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science, published in Nature Climate Change on Tuesday, reveal that a two-degree rise in average global temperatures would lead to a 10-30 per cent increase in extreme downpours.
The study's authors predict that while some parts of the continent will become wetter, others will experience increasing drought.
Steve Sherwood, a professor at the Climate Change Research Centre at the University of NSW who contributed to the research, said global ... Read more ...
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