Australia

Half Australia’s oceans to be protected - more than any other country

Friday - Little-known Australian islands that teem with emperor penguins and elephant seals, and have the country’s only two active volcanoes, will be protected with an additional 300,000 square kilometres of marine park.

Coalmines and gasfields may be emitting twice as much methane as declared, report warns

Friday - Australia’s coalmines and gasfields may be emitting twice as much methane as they currently declare, underscoring the need to introduce independent reporting of the potent greenhouse gas, an energy thinktank has warned.

Australia suffers setback in green hydrogen race

Thursday - Australia’s bid to become a global hydrogen superpower has been dealt a blow, with the nation’s biggest energy utility pulling out of building a large-scale green hydrogen hub despite the project being shortlisted for a share of $2 billion of funding from the Albanese government.

Australian Security Leaders Climate Group calls on federal govt to overhaul climate threat preparedness

Wednesday - The danger of climate change has led to calls for a radical overhaul of how the federal government is planning to manage climate threats.

Our leaders are collaborating with fossil fuel colonialists

4 Oct 24 - By Tim Winton | COMMENT: The lassitude that distinguishes our moment is born of sorrow and buried rage. We act like colonial subjects because, in effect, that’s what we are

Australia’s ‘immoral’ coalmine decision akin to drowning its Pacific neighbours, Tuvalu’s climate minister declares

1 Oct 24 - Tuvalu’s climate minister says Australia’s decision to approve three coalmine expansions calls into question its claim to be a “member of the Pacific family”, and undermines the Australian case to co-host the 2026 UN climate summit with island nations.

Define ‘tree’: The fight over Woolworths’ eco-beef pledge

27 Sep 24 - Woolworths’ ban on beef reared on deforested land has prompted Australian farmers to campaign for rules to define the practice that would allow them to chop down trees as part of their land management.

Not enough demand: Big batteries in Aus may be told to stand by on empty to avoid rooftop solar switch-off

26 Sep 24 - The Australian Energy Market Operator is poised to introduce a significant shift in operating protocols that would involve instructing big batteries to stand by on empty to help address periods of...

'Why are carbon offsets not dead yet?'

26 Sep 24 - Journalist and environmental activist George Monbiot discusses neoliberalism, nature, and negative consequences with the Australia Institute's Climate and Energy program director.

New book exposes just how long, and hard, the fossil fuel industry has worked to advance its interests

25 Sep 24 - As freelance journalist Royce Kurmelovs points out in his new book Slick: Australia’s Toxic Relationship with Big Oil, most people underestimate just how far in advance the fossil fuel industry plans...

Climate change threatens Australian tourism more than is widely believed. Here’s why

23 Sep 24 - Right now, Australia is one of the top five tourist destinations in the world, a distinction the World Economic Forum says it shares with only the United States, France, Spain and Japan.

Cop31 is a chance for Australia to go from climate laggard to global leader

20 Sep 24 - OPINION: Australia’s bid to co-host the UN’s climate conference is not just a diplomatic event; it is a pivotal opportunity to redefine the nation’s role in the global fight against climate change.

Almost 68% of Australia’s tourism sites at major risk if climate crisis continues, report says

13 Sep 24 - Uluru, the Daintree and Bondi beach among locations that could be impacted if planet hits even 2C of warming by 2050.

Australian city stands to receive $200m economic boost if bid to co-host UN climate talks succeeds

12 Sep 24 - Australia and Pacific countries are vying with Türkiye to host the annual United Nations climate change talks in 2026.

Australia may delay release of 2035 climate target as world awaits outcome of US election

6 Sep 24 - Experts urge Australia not to delay target too long as report by Climate Change Authority identifies six barriers to net zero.

How climate change accelerated Australia's spring winds

4 Sep 24 - Strong winds in eastern Australia this week are being driven by climate change interfering with jet streams, the powerful high-altitude winds that encircle the globe.

Australian homeowners struggling to afford insurance as climate risks grow, report says

28 Aug 24 - Home insurance is becoming unaffordable for a growing number of Australian households as increased climate threats drive up their premiums.

Australia passes landmark bill mandating climate risk disclosures for companies

26 Aug 24 - New reporting standards require climate resilience assessments under both 1.5°C and 2.5°C warming scenarios.

Summer heat arrives in August, threatening to break all-time Australian winter temperature records

26 Aug 24 - Extraordinary August heat is developing across Australia, causing temperatures to spike up to 16 degrees Celsius above average while threatening all-time seasonal records in multiple states.