Category Archives: Climate crisis

End of rapid Covid test and telehealth subsidies criticised – as it happened

Posted on by

Payments extended to eight more local government areas and sped up to prioritise victims over auditing; free Covid rapid tests for concession card holders to end this month. This blog is now closed

A new campaign has launched today to tackle racism by the Australian Human Rights Commission.

Chin Tan, the race discrimination commissioner, was on ABC Radio this morning discussing the campaign he says calls on all Australians to reflect on the causes and impacts of racism, not only on its victims but Australia’s collective wellbeing as a society.

Continue reading...

Texans urged to save energy as extreme heatwave strains power grid

Posted on by

Electricity demand expected to surpass supply as temperatures hit triple digits, shattering records

Texans sweltering under record temperatures and high humidity have been urged to conserve energy as the power grid struggles to cope with a surge in demand.

An extreme heatwave across the south-west and central US has led to searing temperatures since Friday, with heat warnings in place for millions of Americans until at least midweek.

Continue reading...

Australia a ‘trusted global partner’ on climate again, Albanese to tell energy forum

Posted on by

Prime minister will open international forum in Sydney, saying the Indo-Pacific faces ‘enormous’ challenges but also opportunities

Anthony Albanese will declare Australia has now rejoined the ranks of “trusted global partner” on climate action while committing his government to finding common ground across the Indo-Pacific to address both the climate crisis and the emerging economic opportunity of the clean energy revolution.

The prime minister will open the Sydney Energy Forum on Tuesday before travelling to the Pacific Islands Forum in Fiji, where he hopes to progress Australia’s proposal to co-host a United Nations climate summit with Pacific neighbours.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Germany to reactivate coal power plants as Russia curbs gas flow

Posted on by

Parliament approves measures to use mothballed sites to produce electricity and preserve gas supplies

Germany’s two houses of parliament have passed emergency legislation to reactivate mothballed coal-fired power plants in order to support electricity generation amid fears of gas shortages as Russia curbs capacity.

The move has been described as “painful but necessary” by the government’s environmentalist economics minister, Robert Habeck. It has the backing of leading Greens in the coalition government, who argue it is needed as a short-term crisis management tool.

Continue reading...

California wildfire forces partial closure of Yosemite national park

Posted on by

Washburn fire is burning near southern portion of the park, Mariposa Grove, home to over 500 mature giant sequoias

Yosemite national park has been partially closed as firefighters try to contain a wildfire that has now stretched across more than 60 acres.

The Washburn fire is burning near the southern portion of the park, Mariposa Grove, which is home to more than 500 mature giant sequoias in the park, officials said.

Continue reading...

Weather tracker: La Niña and climate crisis behind recent Australia floods

Posted on by

Warmer conditions around the western Pacific have led to torrential rain and burst rivers

Dangerous and widespread flooding has been widely reported over the past week in eastern parts of Australia, particularly New South Wales. Tens of thousands of people have been forced from their homes after incessant torrential rain led to significant flooding from burst rivers.

The central Pacific Ocean is currently in a weakening “La Niña” state, whereby sea surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific are lower than normal, while in the western Pacific, particularly around Indonesia and eastern Australia, they are warmer than normal. This increased warmth in the latter raises moisture content and tends to lead to wetter conditions. This has been the driver for the huge volumes of rain witnessed over the past few days, generated by a series of Pacific storms.

Continue reading...

‘Far from adequate’: former Pacific leaders group urges Australia to increase 43% emissions cut

Posted on by

Pacific Elders Voice also called for Australia to end gas and coal developments ahead of Pacific Islands Forum

Former Pacific leaders have called for “urgent actions” to reduce global carbon emissions, including a commitment to no new coal or gas projects as Anthony Albanese prepares to travel to Fiji for the most important diplomatic regional meeting in the Pacific.

A group of former leaders of Pacific island nations, called Pacific Elders Voice, have called for accelerated efforts to move beyond coal and gas, and for new finance to be made available for loss and damage caused by the climate crisis, in the foreword to a new report released today by the Australia-based Climate Council.

Continue reading...

Australia news live: fourth covid vaccine dose to be offered from 11 July; NSW rain and flood risk move north

Posted on by

In his speech, Jason Clare also lamented the fact that although the target of 40% of people aged 25 to 34 having bachelor degrees had been achieved, a separate target for 20% of enrolments to be from people from low socioeconomic backgrounds had not.

Instead, it had “barely moved” from 15%, from when the target was set in 2008. Indigenous enrolment was less than 10%.

I don’t want us to be a country where your chances in life depend on your postcode, your parents, or the colour of your skin. None of us want that. But that’s where we are today. I am not naive, I know this is hard to shift.

And that, at its core, is what the Australian Universities accord will be about: a reset. And an opportunity to build a long-term plan for our universities, together. Drawing on the advice of the leadership in this room, your staff, unions, business, students, parents and all political parties.

Looking at everything from funding and access to affordability, transparency, regulation, employment conditions and also how universities and TAFEs and other higher education and vocational education providers and training institutions work together.

Continue reading...

Global dismay as supreme court ruling leaves Biden’s climate policy in tatters

Posted on by

Biden’s election was billed as heralding a ‘climate presidency’ but congressional and judicial roadblocks mean he has little to show

Joe Biden’s election triggered a global surge in optimism that the climate crisis would, finally, be decisively confronted. But the US supreme court’s decision last week to curtail America’s ability to cut planet-heating emissions has proved the latest blow to a faltering effort by Biden on climate that is now in danger of becoming largely moribund.

The supreme court’s ruling that the US government could not use its existing powers to phase out coal-fired power generation without “clear congressional authorization” quickly ricocheted around the world among those now accustomed to looking on in dismay at America’s seemingly endless stumbles in addressing global heating.

Continue reading...

Snow at one of world’s highest observatories melting earlier than ever before

Posted on by

Peak at Sonnblick in Austrian Alps has melted more than a month before previous record time

The snow at the highest observatory in the world to be operated all-year-round is expected to completely melt in the next few days, the earliest time on record.

Scientists at the Sonnblick observatory in the Austrian Central Alps, which is 3,106 metres (10,190ft) above sea level, have been shocked and dismayed to see the snow depleting so quickly.

Continue reading...

NSW floods: Sydney braces for two more days of flooding as state smashed by rain and wind

Posted on by

SES perform 252 flood rescues overnight and thousands urged to evacuate as threat of inundation remains in Hawkesbury and Nepean

The New South Wales State Emergency Service reported more than 5,300 requests for assistance on Monday night, including 252 flood rescues, mainly of drivers stuck in cars and residents needing to be relocated.

The wild weather continued in NSW through the night, with heavy rain and strong winds lashing the state.

Continue reading...

‘Industrial revolution’: Australia’s decarbonisation needs rigorous management, thinktank warns

Posted on by

Grattan Institute paper recommends allowing trading of carbon credits and a firm limit on emissions for country’s largest polluters

Australia’s biggest polluters need a rigorous emissions reduction regime that avoids exemptions for trade-exposed industries, according to the Grattan Institute, which says decarbonising Australian industry is an “Industrial Revolution against a deadline”.

In a new policy paper released on Monday, Tony Wood, the paper’s lead author, says that the “next Industrial Revolution” for the sector will require the government to implement a range of policies to work towards the net zero by 2050 target while avoiding political opposition and social friction.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Environmentalists condemn Biden administration’s offshore drilling plan

Posted on by

Policy would ban new ocean drilling but allow up to 11 lease sales in Gulf of Mexico and Alaska’s south coast

Joe Biden’s administration on Friday unveiled a five-year offshore oil and gas drilling development plan that blocks all new drilling in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans within US territorial waters while allowing some lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska’s south coast.

The plan, which has not been finalized, could allow up to 11 lease sales but gives the interior department the right to make none. It comes two days after the US supreme court curbed the power of the Environmental Protection Agency to respond to the climate crisis.

Continue reading...

Australian company secures $700,000 deal for carbon capture and storage machine

Posted on by

AspiraDAC device can remove two tonnes of CO2 a year and store it underground using direct air capture technology

A solar-powered and tent-sized Australian prototype machine that can suck CO2 from the air has secured a $700,000 contract to capture and store carbon.

The deal, part of a project backed by corporates including the owners of Google and Facebook, is thought to be the first time an Australian company has secured a deal to remove CO2 using direct air capture (DAC) technology.

Continue reading...

Western Australia’s EPA urges 50-year extension of country’s most polluting gas project

Posted on by

Woodside’s North West Shelf gas development would release more than eight times Australia’s annual emissions if it continues to operate until 2070

Western Australian authorities have recommended a 50-year extension of the country’s biggest polluting fossil fuel development, sparking condemnation from climate campaigners who warned it could add more than 4bn tonnes of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

The WA Environment Protection Authority (EPA) advised the state government it should give the greenlight to oil and gas giant Woodside Energy to run its North West Shelf gas development in the Pilbara until 2070.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Brand new bang: Lake Tahoe resort scraps July 4 fireworks for drones

Posted on by

Pyrotechnic displays pose a heightened fire risk in a time of intense drought and cause distress to wild animals

Lake Tahoe’s north shore is breaking with tradition and will replace its Fourth of July fireworks celebration with a colorful light display of an entirely different nature.

The tourist town on the Nevada side of the storied lake will offer a night-time drone light show, a display officials at the Incline Village Crystal Bay visitors bureau said carries less danger in a parched landscape primed to burn.

Continue reading...

US supreme court hobbles government power to limit harmful emissions

Posted on by

Court sides with Republican states as ruling represents landmark moment in rightwing effort to dismantle ‘regulatory state’

The US supreme court has sided with Republican-led states to in effect hobble the federal government’s ability to tackle the climate crisis, in a ruling that will have profound implications for the government’s overall regulatory power.

In a 6-3 decision that will seriously hinder America’s ability to stave off disastrous global heating, the supreme court, which became dominated by rightwing justices under the Trump administration, has opted to support a case brought by West Virginia that demands the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) be limited in how it regulates planet-heating gases from the energy sector.

Continue reading...

Former Australian chief scientist to head review of carbon credit scheme after whistleblower revelations

Posted on by

Climate change minister to announce Prof Ian Chubb will lead six-month probe of scheme labelled ‘largely a sham’ by one expert

The former Australian chief scientist and senior academic, Prof Ian Chubb, has been appointed to head a thorough review of Australia’s carbon credit scheme as experts escalate calls for a complete overhaul of the system.

Chris Bowen, the climate change minister, will announce on Friday that Chubb, a neuroscientist and former vice-chancellor of the Australian National University, will lead the six-month review of the scheme, after a respected whistleblower described it as a fraud and waste of taxpayer money.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Nation records 60 Covid deaths as SA reports first monkeypox case – as it happened

Posted on by

Nation records 60 Covid deaths; SA records first monkeypox case; Anthony Albanese meets Justin Trudeau at Nato summit. This blog is now closed

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has renewed his calls for China to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, declaring that Vladimir Putin “has made a strategic mistake because what his actions have done is unite the democratic world”.

Albanese – who has been in Madrid for a Nato summit – spoke to reporters yesterday after having a meeting on the sidelines with the leaders of Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.

There we discussed the important focus of this Nato’s summit on the Asia-Pacific region. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has solidified the support amongst democratic countries for the rules-based international order and a determination to continue to provide support to the government and the people of Ukraine who are suffering as a result of this breach of international law and this brutal invasion by Vladimir Putin’s regime.

Vladimir Putin has made a strategic mistake because what his actions have done is unite the democratic world and provide a real determination to make sure that the resilience being shown by the Ukrainian people is backed up by resilience and support from democratic countries, including Nato, but also countries throughout the world.

Well, what we saw is prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we saw a without-limits partnership between Russia and China. We’ve seen a failure of China to condemn any of the Russian aggression that has occurred against Ukraine. China must look at what is happening and look at the resolve that is there from throughout the world and should be condemning Russia’s actions.

Continue reading...

Government policy failures are obstacle to UK net zero target, advisers warn

Posted on by

Progress report from the Climate Change Committee suggests ministers could renege on greenhouse gas emissions commitment

The government is failing to enact the policies needed to reach the UK’s net zero targets, its statutory advisers have said, in a damning progress report to parliament.

The Climate Change Committee (CCC) voiced fears that ministers may renege on the legally binding commitment to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, noting “major policy failures” and “scant evidence of delivery”.

Continue reading...