World leaders “have moral obligation to act” after UN climate report

ByJonathan Watts and Matthew Taylor 8 October 2018 (The Guardian) – World leaders have been told they have moral obligation to ramp up their action on the climate crisis in the wake of a new UN report that shows even half a degree of extra warming will affect hundreds of millions of people, decimate corals, […]

Architect of Paris climate accord criticizes Australia government’s policy on carbon emissions – “Mr. Morrison’s stance goes against the science, spirit, and letter of the Paris agreement”

By Nicole Hasham 3 October 2018 (The Sydney Morning Herald) – A key architect of the landmark Paris climate deal has lambasted the Coalition government’s inaction on greenhouse gas emissions, saying it “goes against the science”, squanders economic opportunity and risks Australia’s international standing. Laurence Tubiana, a respected French diplomat and economist, also says Prime […]

Rising gas output lifts Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions – “Pollution is going up, the government boasts it has no renewables policy, and global warming is getting worse”

By Peter Hannam 28 September 2018 (The Sydney Morning Herald) – Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions have continued to climb, reaching the highest levels on a quarterly basis since 2010, led by a surge in gas production.For the 12 months to March 31 2018, emissions totalled 529.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent, up 1.3 per cent […]

Rainfall tallies plummet after Australia’s driest September on record – “Below average rainfall covered almost the entire country”

By Peter Hannam 1 October 2018 (The Sydney Morning Herald) – Australia has notched its driest September on record, with less than a third of the usual rainfall for the month, extending the dry spell that has farmers and firefighters increasingly desperate for rain. Victoria posted its second driest September, also collecting just a third […]

The costs of climate inaction – “The way in which society currently prices carbon is an order of magnitude too low”

25 September 2018 (Nature) – Politics, according to the nineteenth-century German statesman Otto von Bismarck, is the art of the next best. The global approach of politicians to tackling climate change is a sorry example of this. The problem: destructive storms that hit the United States and southeast Asia this month are the latest reminder […]

Nauru refugees: The island where children have given up on life – 12-year-old on hunger strike – “We are starting to see suicidal behaviour in children as young as eight and 10 years old”

By Virginia Harrison 1 September 2018 (BBC News) – Suicide attempts and horrifying acts of self-harm are drawing fresh attention to the suffering of refugee children on Nauru, in what is being described as a “mental health crisis”. The tiny island nation, site of Australia’s controversial offshore processing centre, has long been plagued with allegations […]

Global debt soars to $169 trillion, along with fears of crisis ahead – “We were supposed to correct a debt bubble. What we did instead was create more debt.”

By David J. Lynch 3 September 2018 (The Washington Post) – Ten years after the worst financial panic since the 1930s, growing debt burdens in key developing economies are fueling fears of a new crisis that could spread far beyond the disruption sweeping Turkey. The loss of investor confidence in the Turkish lira, which has […]

Renowned coral scientist: Great Barrier Reef headed for massive death – “It’s the beginning of a planetary catastrophe”

By Rebecca Wright and Ivan Watson 24 August 2018 TOWNSVILLE, Australia (CNN) – In a dusty, secluded corner of the Australian state of Queensland, a septuagenarian scientist is on an urgent mission to raise the alarm about the future of the planet. John “Charlie” Veron – widely known as “The Godfather of Coral” – is […]

Video: Australia farmers endure crippling drought – “It attacks you from all angles”

20 August 2018 (Journeyman Pictures) – In the Australian outback, farmers are suffering the profound consequences of severe drought, the worst for a decade. Three families give their own outlook on the nature of hardship in a changing world. “It attacks you from all angles”, says Brendan Cullen of Kars Station, New South Wales. “The […]

Australia PM abandons carbon emissions legislation – “The federal government has now completely capitulated on emissions and climate change, and abandoned the Paris climate change commitments”

By Katharine Murphy 20 August 2018 (The Guardian) – Malcolm Turnbull will face the verdict of his colleagues in a tense party room meeting on Tuesday, after effectively abandoning the government’s signature energy policy in what could be a fruitless attempt to stay ahead of a full blown leadership crisis.The prime minister announced on Monday […]

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