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Federal minister says regional Australia is ‘not just about farmers’ and party must represent diverse views
Victorian Nationals MP, Darren Chester, has warned his party to listen to its diverse heartland and be “part of the solution” when it comes to practical environmentalism and emissions reductions rather than “sideline ourselves from big debates”.
The federal veterans’ affairs minister used an interview on Sky News on Thursday to push back at National party colleagues who declared they would cross the floor if the prime minister, Scott Morrison, tried to legislate a mid-century net zero commitment.
Related: National party ministers pour cold water on Australia's push for net zero emissions by 2050
Related: UN global climate poll: ‘The people’s voice is clear – they want action’
Continue reading...Smart, activist states could prove as effective at handling the biodiversity crisis as they have at tackling the pandemic
Let’s be honest: few government-commissioned reports make a real difference. Often ministers call on an expert to look into a contentious issue in the hope of kicking it into the long grass, and when a weighty tome duly arrives with uncomfortable recommendations, it is quietly ignored.
It is easy to see how the review into the economics of biodiversity by the Cambridge University academic Prof Sir Partha Dasgupta could be one of those that gathers dust in the Treasury, because it has a tough message. Put simply, Dasgupta says humanity – all 7.8 billion of us – is on a collision course with the planet. Our current economic system is unsustainable and endangers the prosperity of current and future generations.
Larry Elliott is the Guardian’s economics editor
Continue reading...Late-summer temperatures may prove unbearable for some visitors, posing threat to vital holiday industry
Increased heat in Mediterranean countries is making the traditional summer beach holiday season in late July and August untenable for many northern Europeans. Tropical nights, where the temperature does not drop below 20C, are increasing and a recognised danger to health. The changing climate does have a plus side: beach and inland resorts that used to be too cold for comfort in spring and autumn are now a pleasant temperature.
Related: Europe heatwave: cities take steps to limit effects of record temperatures
Continue reading...Kepco had appealed against decision to refuse development proposal to extract 120m tonnes of coal over 25 years
The development of an underground and open-cut coalmine in the Bylong Valley will not be allowed to proceed after a ruling in the NSW land and environment court.
In what environmental campaigners described as a historic win, the court on Friday upheld a decision by the state’s Independent Planning Commission (IPC) to reject Kepco’s proposal for a mine that would extract up to 120m tonnes of coal over 25 years for export.
Related: NSW plan for 21 coalmines would create seven years of nation's emissions, expert says
Continue reading...Coalition funding for gas exploration in Northern Territory labelled a costly plan ‘for a climate catastrophe’
The Morrison government has been accused of embarking on an “expensive plan for a climate catastrophe” after it announced it would pay the gas industry up to $50m to speed up exploration in the Northern Territory.
The commitment, revealed on Thursday, also prompted warnings that taxpayers’ money could flow offshore to companies linked to tax havens and a Russian oligarch.
Related: Putin's blacklisted oligarch ally to cash in from Morrison government's gas-led recovery
Related: Scott Morrison’s ‘gas-led recovery’: what is it and will it really make energy cheaper?
Related: Benefits of Coalition’s ‘gas-led recovery’ overstated and declining usage inevitable, report finds
Related: Spinning emissions: Australia's climate projections are not what they seem
Continue reading...After protests last year over the festival’s principal sponsor, fossil fuel giant Woodside, it has introduced new rules for performers and producers
Australia’s first fringe festival for 2021 has become mired in controversy over a clause in performer and promoter contracts to deter criticism of the event’s sponsors.
Perth’s Fringe World, which opens on 15 January, attracted criticism and protests earlier this year over its longstanding sponsorship by fossil fuel giant Woodside.
Related: 'It's all been very weird': arts organisations still waiting for promised funds
Continue reading...It’s the Seabirds for Climate Justice end of year review!
Sign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are publishedGet all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and printsContinue reading...Australia’s leaders are playing with climate policy, pitching a nationalist and populist message to their base
Australia ends the year as one of the only developed countries not committed to net zero emissions by 2050.
To this, prime minister Scott Morrison is adding another distinction. Australia is about to become the only developed country with a parliamentary committee charged with persuading corporates not to move beyond carbon.
Continue reading...Increasing our woodland by allowing trees to naturally regenerate is a welcome idea, but some management will always be necessary, writes Robin Prior. Plus letters from Patrick Cosgrove, Alex Johnson and Jane Gifford
I wholeheartedly support the idea of increasing the amount of woodland we have i n Britain, especially in England, which is very thinly forested by northern European standards (Restore UK woodland by letting trees plant themselves, says report, 15 December).
But the problem with “just letting nature get on with it” is twofold: first, ecological succession takes a long time. And second, Britain now contains so many invasive plant and animal species that we may never get the resulting forests we hope for through a policy of benign neglect. In other words, some management will always be required.
Continue reading...Tesla, Origin Energy and Atlassian among hundreds that have made parliamentary submissions backing proposal
A major business lobby group and corporations including Tesla, Atlassian and Origin Energy have used parliamentary submissions to back Zali Steggall’s climate change legislation that includes a target of net zero by 2050 that can be ratcheted up in line with changing scientific evidence.
Steggall’s private members proposal is now before federal parliament’s multi-partisan environment committee for an inquiry. Hundreds of groups have made submissions endorsing the proposal either in full or with qualifications.
Related: The Morrison government subsidising dirty fuel amid the climate crisis beggars belief | Bill Hare
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