Tag: Climate Change
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Scientists thought the Great Barrier Reef was doomed – but a new study finds hope
The famed corals of the Great Barrier Reef face a bleak future under the current path of global warming – but could have time to adapt if temperatures edge no higher than 2C, new modelling suggests. The “coral-centric” analysis from the University of Queensland builds on existing modelling focused on ocean temperatures high enough to…
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The ‘playbook’ lobbyists use to delay climate action
When Professor Christian Downie appeared before a Senate inquiry into climate and energy misinformation, he warned that Australia faces coordinated campaigns designed not to debate climate solutions, but to stall them. Downie has spent years inside boardrooms and the lobbying world studying how these campaigns are built – tracing the billions spent on messaging by…
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How Anthony Albanese killed the climate wars
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was first elected on a pledge to fix the climate wars. The most recent test of that promise was the emissions targets he announced on the world stage. But if the targets themselves don’t meet the standards set by scientists – and the policy underpinning them hasn’t dramatically altered – what’s…
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Exposed: PR firms spread climate misinformation
Have you heard offshore windfarms kill whales? (They don’t.) Or that electric vehicles catch fire more often than petrol cars? (It’s the opposite.) Perhaps you’ve heard “natural” gas is clean? (It can be worse than coal.) This is what climate misinformation looks like. These claims are common, influential and damaging. They’re often spread for a…
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Albanese spruiks Adelaide’s bid for COP31 to UN
Anthony Albanese urged the world’s nations to co-operate on climate change and peacekeeping, as he warned the US can not be relied on to uphold the international rules-based order on its own. “The United Nations is much more than an arena for the great powers to veto each other’s ambitions. This is a platform for…
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Mali slams Trump climate change ‘con job’ claims
US President Donald Trump has told the UN General Assembly that climate change was “the greatest con job ever” in a blistering tirade, drawing the ire of the South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas. In an interview on ABC Radio this morning, the Premier said “I don’t think you’re human if you don’t get really worried…
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‘Food bowl’ under threat as heat rises
Australia’s worrying future under climate change was laid bare last week when the first National Climate Risk Assessment was released. It revealed extreme heat, fires, floods, droughts and coastal inundation already threatens lives and livelihoods – and will wreak further havoc in coming decades. Much media attention focused on the effects in the continent’s south,…
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How the government’s climate targets stack up
Having released the National Climate Risk Assessment – a report full of apocalyptic climate warnings – earlier this week, the government has announced its 2035 emissions reduction target. It’s a range, not a single number – 62–70 per cent below 2005 levels. The government says it’s achievable and ambitious, backed by more renewables and industry…
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Climate target imminent as opposition voices concern
Australia is about to unveil its next steps for tackling climate change as a divided opposition questions the cost of the fresh emissions target. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will announce the government’s 2035 emissions reduction target later on Thursday, once the figure is signed off by cabinet in Sydney. Treasury has modelled a cut to…
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How one fossil-fuel giant captured Australia
Last week, the federal environment minister approved Woodside’s plans to keep its North West Shelf project producing gas out to 2070. Both the government and Woodside claim that gas is a necessary transition fuel as the world decarbonises – but how convincing are their arguments? Today, investigative journalist and author of the Quarterly Essay “Woodside…